How do you clean the contact edges of an interface card?

Answer 1

Great question. There are different "cautions" depending whether the contacts are only solder coated or most likely gold plated. Unless you have some really old stuff like I do, let's assume the contacts are gold. In the electronics biz, gold is expensive and though the contacts look like gold, they only have a 15 or possibly 30uInch layer of gold (sometimes only 10u" of gold). Thus the actual gold layer is very thin. There are basically two approaches: If the contacts are gold plated, then using ONLY a soft rubber eraser, gently "erase" the oxides and markings from the fingers, then blow or wipe them off with a cloth or paper towel. It's strongly recommended to use a ground strap on your wrist connected to the computer's chassis. Lacking that, first touch the chassis, then the card, and place the card on a grounded (chassis) surface like the power supply (unplugged of course). Use gentle pressure on the soft eraser and wipe the fingers back to gleaming gold. Too much rubbing or using a harsh eraser can remove the plating. Remember to do both sides! If the fingers are silver colored, then they are simply lead (solder) plated and not as delicate. I would still use a soft eraser, but you can use a little more force to scrub the solder bright again. If you are asking how to clean off some other foreign substance, I'd use a Q-tip swab with water first. If that doesn't remove the debris, then use isoproponol or medical rubbing alcohol to clean the debris off. If there were debris you had to clean off (hey accidents happen!), then once dry, use a soft eraser to buff the contacts until they're bright and shiny. Remember, don't go using an "ink eraser" which is very harsh, and use a soft pencil eraser or better yet, a white plastic eraser like those used for drafting (Mars plastic?). I forget the name brand, but they're among the safest erasers to use. When done, don't touch the contacts, but look at them under a light. They should all be uniformly bright and clean. Now, if there was an "accident", you would also need to inspect the connector for debris. For that, since an "accident" typically is some water based liquid, a moist Q-tip gently used along the connector contacts should help clean them up pretty well.. Be careful not to leave cotton lint in the connectors! Barring the connector cleaning, once the card has been cleaned, insert into the connector and pull it out and reinsert a few times, gently. this will tend to clean the connector but after doing that, you might have to touch up the card fingers with the soft eraser. If the connector is ok, and the card contacts are all shiny and uniform, then you should be good to go.