weird wd-40 question

My cpu overheated so I blast the dust off the cpu fan and case fan with a can of blaster. except it was wd-40. Now puter runs fine but smells terrible.

Will that hurt it? Any way to clean up the mess? Guess I will have to take the cpu and fan off and clean it with something.
John

WD-40 needs to be banned
 
Be careful to make sure there is no WD-40 loose (drips) that will fall onto your M/B. As long as it doesn't reach anything it can short, you should be OK (it is a very good conductor). Aside from that, you now have another problem. The heatsink and fan is still going to attract dust - and it is now going to stick to the WD-40 and probably create more of a blanket which isn't good for any cooling system.

I would take the heatsink and fan out and try to clean it as best as possible to get all the WD-40 off.

Just my 2 cents!

WD-40..... is called that because the WD stands for WATER DISPLACEMENT formula #40...

A short story.... I am in the security business. Here in NC we had massive floods after hurricane Floyd came through and dumped 15" of rain. One of my customers panels was under 6 feet of water for several days.

I was called in to replace it as soon as the water resided. I carried it to my shop. It was badly corroded. All the IC chips had that chalky white power around the terminals, as it was powered by battery when it was flooded, effectively shorting it out all across the circuit board.

A few weeks later, when I had the time, I sprayed that board front and back with WD-40 soaking it. I used a paintbrush to work the WD-40 into all the crooks and crannies and then used a towel to blot the board removing the excess.

I connected a new keypad and powered it up. The panel worked, and even displayed the customer's name on the keypad. A test of the zones showed they still worked. Basically the WD brought it back to life because I connected the keypad and power to the board before I cleaned it with the WD-40.

SO.... you didn't screw up too bad. I would get some of the contact cleaner in a spray can and spray it on the board where the WD-40 was sprayed. That should clean off the WD-40 residue which will tend to collect dust which you don't want. A circuit board should be dry and have nothing on it to hold dust. It would be best to hold the board at an angle that allows the cleaner to drain off. It will remove the residue and evaporate leaving the board in good condition.

Guitarhacker



SO.... you didn't screw up too bad. I would get some of the contact cleaner in a spray can and spray it on the board where the WD-40 was sprayed. That should clean off the WD-40 residue which will tend to collect dust which you don't want. A circuit board should be dry and have nothing on it to hold dust. It would be best to hold the board at an angle that allows the cleaner to drain off. It will remove the residue and evaporate leaving the board in good condition.



Glad to hear it's not too bad. Showing my ignorance... what is contact cleaner?
Seems to be running ok but the smell is pretty sickening. Going to get a new cpu fan anyway. The one that came with it doesn't do the job if I overclock even a little bit or the fan gets just a little dusty.
John

I would just keep track of it and if you start having heat problems best thing is to replace the heatsink/fan assembly. 

I would say your main concern with the WD-40, John, is not conductivity but interference with heat transfer... and I'm not talking just about dust getting stuck to your fan. Any surrounding chips that aren't covered with a heatsink can possibly suffer over heating. It is a lubricant as well as a water dispersant, and the oils could possibly interfere with cooling. That was my concern when I inadvertently used nail poilsh remover w/aloe vera to dissolve the thermal compound. Not saying this will definitely happen to you but maybe a careful inspection of all exposed chips in the area you sprayed and  a quick alcohol wipe just to be safe.

Being a former amp tech, "contact cleaner" is not the best thing for controls such as volume controls.  They sell separate cleaner that is designed for controls.

I have some Deoxit Contact Cleaner, obviously for switches, jacks, etc and also some Deoxit Fader lube that I use on pots. 

Your main problem with WD-40 is the effect it will have on the plastic-especially the plastic parts of the cooling fan. The MB plastic itself is likely to be more resistant to petroleum based solvents than the fan blade material. It is unlikely that enough will get into the heat transfer compound between the cooler and the CPU to degrade that heat transfer. There is nothing in the WD-40 that will conduct electricity or cause a short. If you decide to use a solvent to clean the stuff off, consider the effect that solvent may have. Alcohol, unless you can get an absolute (water free) compound may cause shorting unless it is fully evaporated prior to power-on. Water and detergent may in fact be safer than other solvents, but thorough drying is imperative.

The Noctua's and Zalman's are what most people go with. Your CPU was covered though so there's no way you got any WD-40 it. Just take the fan off and maybe check the exposed chips that were in the area you sprayed. You'll be hard pressed to find isopropyl aclohol any stronger than 70%, but just dab it on a lint free cloth or tissue to do your cleaning and you won't have any problem. It'll be well evaporated, water and all, by the time you get everything back together again. They make a cleaner and compound remover specifically for chips too. Look into picking up a bottle of each for future surgery. Everybody seems to be going with the Gigabyte boards now. I prefer Asus, but it's all down to personal preference. You'll hear it from both camps how the other board is sure to die on you, lol. Good luck to you old boy... and lay off the WD-40 for crying out loud! :)

John6528


The smell went away so I haven't done anything yet. Seems to be working fine. Ordering new fans tonight.
John

I would just let the thing run and see if it fails. The fans will probably never suffer noticeable deterioration from a little WD-40, and if they do, they will soften and seize or break and you can replace them then. It would be a major shame to pull a pin out of the CPU trying to remove a heatsink that is working fine.

Every time I see this thread I cringe a bit and recall dumb things I've done (like spilling a drop of paint out of a pint can onto a kitchen counter, a little too hurriedly picking up the can to wipe the drop off with a towel, and accidentally pouring some of the paint onto the kitchen floor in the process... *sigh*).

It also reminds me of an old Carlin skit where he wants to know who put the Preparation H where the toothpaste normally is!

Hopefully you'll get everything cleaned out and back to working.