Switches/pots in car amps rarely have a chance to get dirty. Any switch should be a slide, all pots are encased in the heatsink and usually under a beauty cover as well. I have yet to find dirt in a car audio amp without a fan in it, and I don't think this Rockford has one.
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'Dirty' doesn't necessarily mean dust. Contacts get dirty through oxidation.
If you have never seen dirt in a passively cooled amp, you must work in an up-market area. I've seen amps that I couldn't read anything on the board from dust. Other amps have insect infiltration. I had an amp in the last couple of days with multiple cockroaches and extensive evidence that they were there for a while.
If you have never seen dirt in a passively cooled amp, you must work in an up-market area. I've seen amps that I couldn't read anything on the board from dust. Other amps have insect infiltration. I had an amp in the last couple of days with multiple cockroaches and extensive evidence that they were there for a while.
I made note of this.
I do work in a very upscale area, people here keep their cars clean. I have never seen oxidation on even very old car amplifiers sufficient to cause a defect. There is a surcharge for smoke damage, as that brown film has to be cleaned from EVERYTHING and it is disgusting. Especially the resinous film of marijuana smoke.
I'm not saying corrosion is some sort of impossibility, just that it has never caused a problem in a car amp I have worked on. So to help guide the OP with my experience I am suggesting that dirt is probably not the cause of the problem. Still no reason not to refurbish the switches etc. but I doubt that is the source of trouble. It usually is in home audio, usually isn't in car audio.
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