[ziggystyles]

Hey all, need some advice here.

In my brilliance...which some of you might call stupidity...lol...I left the bike out last winter. I was hoping to get it into storage before the snow came down...but when it did...it stayed. usually it melts a few times before it ends up staying. My car is out of commission as well so I can't tow it, and the other car has no tow hitch. So the bike just stayed out over the winter. Its between carports at our apartment complex...so it didn't get covered in snow...but the WY winds brought along some sand and dust and the like...got in all the crevices.

Now ive been riding all summer...but I havent really played around with the radio too much. Today we took a long bike ride and I reached down and tried to press the CB button...stuck down...along with all the other buttons on the top row. The memory buttons for the radio were stuck this spring but they are pretty loose now. I think they just have some sand and crap in there.

Any ideas how to get this stuff out without tearing the bike half apart to get at it? I was just thinking of using an air hose with a nozzle and spraying it; not sure if there is a better trick out there or not. We have a higher pressure wash sprayer at work for washing our trucks...but I don't think that is a good idea.

Thanks
Zigs

 

[techdude2000]

NO, don't spray them with a liquid cleaner, they are a different kind of switch. Take a high pressure air hose and push on them one by one while blasting them with the air. Don't get closer than 4 inches away, you don't want to damage them with the air either.

 

[Lab Rider]

NO, don't spray them with a liquid cleaner, they are a different kind of switch. Take a high pressure air hose and push on them one by one while blasting them with the air. Don't get closer than 4 inches away, you don't want to damage them with the air either.

What do you mean they are a different switch?

 

[All Boots No Saddle]

Use a vacuum cleaner with a crevice tool on the end. Vacuum around the buttons while pressing them down to remove grit that has fallen under them.

 

[techdude2000]

What do you mean they are a different switch?

Liquid cleaners are good for mechanic switches, but these switches are not your standard mechanic switch. They are a rubber tactile switch that uses a carbon coated membrane to make the connection. The buttons themselves are just plastic covers and blowing the dirt out with dry air is less harmful to the membrane than the liquid cleaner.

 

[Lab Rider]

Liquid cleaners are good for mechanic switches, but these switches are not your standard mechanic switch. They are a rubber tactile switch that uses a carbon coated membrane to make the connection. The buttons themselves are just plastic covers and blowing the dirt out with dry air is less harmful to the membrane than the liquid cleaner.

Thanks...I got the idea from another thread and thought the TV Tuner Cleaner was a great idea for electronics...never thought about the rubber membrane....

I will erase my first post so not to confuse any one....

 

[techdude2000]

Hey don't sweat it, I know you're not the only one that has done it. :thumbup:

 

[ziggystyles]

Thanks guys for the advice...I went out there with a can of air from Wally world and that did the trick. I had to use a sewing needle as some small chunks of sand got wedged in there...had to use the needle to lift the buttons up...took about 15 minutes...but I got all of those working again...so woohoo!

I have a couple other buttons that are sticky but I don't use em. Cruise is stuck on...button wont pop out...and the CB PTT button isn't working...but I dont have a CB, lol.