HELP ! Smelly Circuit Board !

poynton · 18th March 2007, 08:40 AM

Help !

I have a very nice little power amplifier, made by AIWA.

It smells !

There is an acrid smell which gets worse when it gets hot, either from use or just being in the sun. (It is not what I would call 'overheated transformer insulation' smell)

I cannot see any sign of overheating on the circuit board, no brown discolouration or cooked components.

Anybody any ideas ??

Would coating the board in conformal coating or varnish spray help ??

Andy

dnsey · 18th March 2007, 10:49 AM

Any electrolytics getting warm?

poynton · 19th March 2007, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by dnsey
Any electrolytics getting warm?

None of the electrolytics looks like it is leaking.

Andy

Geek · 19th March 2007, 08:37 AM

It's possible through age or contamination, the board is braking down into base components and offgassing. If this is so, there's nothing you can do besides replace it.

If it's something spilled on it, a chemical wash may help. Take a boo through a GC catalog.

Good luck!

XEAGLEKEEPER · 29th March 2007, 08:04 PM

Do you own a cat?

cpemma · 30th March 2007, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by XEAGLEKEEPER
Do you own a cat?

I have done, and after having my nose close to the carpet in that corner of the room behind the TV and all the electronic equipment, I know exactly what you mean...

poynton · 30th March 2007, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cpemma

I have done, and after having my nose close to the carpet in that corner of the room behind the TV and all the electronic equipment, I know exactly what you mean...

Not content with used ladies leather bicycle saddles, you now have to resort to this....!!!!!

poynton · 30th March 2007, 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by XEAGLEKEEPER
Do you own a cat?

No, it's not that sort of smell ! It's certainly from the board.

XEAGLEKEEPER · 30th March 2007, 04:40 PM

Maybe its plastics or fiberglass resin breaking down.I used to own one of those old xcelite multi-driver toolsets--it stunk so bad --and everytime i opened the toolbox --holy**** it reeked ended up throwing the set away.

Dave

DJ Exprice · 21st April 2007, 07:05 AM

I know that smell…

I had the same problem with a RadioShack 4-Channel Mixer. Thing is, it DID smell like cat urine. I have four cats, so it's highly possible that at some point in time it was strangely only funny on the inside, as it was perfectly fine on the outside.

Could it be some sort of finishing that was applied to the PCB perhaps? Please let me know!

18th March 2007, 08:40 AM	#1
poynton Magneto the Gravity Man diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: A life on the ocean waves when I'm not at home in N. Wales (but I'm not Welsh so no sheep jokes!)	HELP ! Smelly Circuit Board ! Help ! I have a very nice little power amplifier, made by AIWA. It smells ! There is an acrid smell which gets worse when it gets hot, either from use or just being in the sun. (It is not what I would call 'overheated transformer insulation' smell) I cannot see any sign of overheating on the circuit board, no brown discolouration or cooked components. Anybody any ideas ?? Would coating the board in conformal coating or varnish spray help ?? Andy __________________ If it ain't broke, break it !! Then fix it again. It's called DIY !

29th March 2007, 08:04 PM	#5
XEAGLEKEEPER diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: central Iowa	Do you own a cat? __________________ Ret. USAF... AKA- Avionic * Solder slinger for hire...*

30th March 2007, 04:40 PM	#9
XEAGLEKEEPER diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: central Iowa	Maybe its plastics or fiberglass resin breaking down.I used to own one of those old xcelite multi-driver toolsets--it stunk so bad --and everytime i opened the toolbox --holy** it reeked ended up throwing the set away. Dave __________________ Ret. USAF... AKA- Avionic * Solder slinger for hire...***

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18th March 2007, 10:49 AM	#2
dnsey diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Shropshire, England	Any electrolytics getting warm?

19th March 2007, 08:37 AM	#4
Geek diyAudio Member Join Date: Sep 2004	It's possible through age or contamination, the board is braking down into base components and offgassing. If this is so, there's nothing you can do besides replace it. If it's something spilled on it, a chemical wash may help. Take a boo through a GC catalog. Good luck!

21st April 2007, 07:05 AM	#10
DJ Exprice diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: San Francisco, California	I know that smell… I had the same problem with a RadioShack 4-Channel Mixer. Thing is, it DID smell like cat urine. I have four cats, so it's highly possible that at some point in time it was strangely only funny on the inside, as it was perfectly fine on the outside. Could it be some sort of finishing that was applied to the PCB perhaps? Please let me know!

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