Cleaning Switches in old Hi Fi receiver.

[Really Ancien]

I have a 1973 Pioneer SX424 amp/tuner, it still works a treat but it tends to lose a channel after being on for a while. This can be corrected by turning the mode switches. I'm assuming that the rather complex physical switches are making intermittent contact. Mates who are telecom engineers, trained in the old Stouger days, told me to clean the contacts with meths, this has not cured the problem totally, is there any more I can do.

Damon.

[Air Dancer]

Last time I dealt with something like this it was a Volume Control on an amplifier. It used to drop one channel whilst turning. Either channel at various points.

Solved it by opening up the box and squirting a little WD40 at the Volume Control gubbins, then repeated full-turns of the control for a couple of minutes.

It ended up silky smooth in operation after that.

[PeteB99]

Lighter fuel used to be the stuff to clean out switches with - Haven't seen it on sale for a while though - Surgical spirit maybe? should have less impurities than domestic meths

[Wombat]

commercial contact cleaner is IPA (Isopropyl alcohol)

Maplins flog it in squirty tins, so you can blast it into the volume control if it has a hole in it like wot they used to, but never seem to these days.

[rogerzilla]

I had that on my old Pioneer amplifier.  Tried Maplins switch cleaner, which made it crackly for days then solved the problem for a very short period.  I gave up and bought a new one - disappointed to see that it was made in China, not Japan, and had about twice as much plastic content.  The race to the bottom continues.

[Really Ancien]

I had that on my old Pioneer amplifier.  Tried Maplins switch cleaner, which made it crackly for days then solved the problem for a very short period.  I gave up and bought a new one - disappointed to see that it was made in China, not Japan, and had about twice as much plastic content.  The race to the bottom continues.

It's the tactile stuff, the graduated notches on the Bass and Treble, the flywheel on the tuner, the concentric voume control for the channels, all of it adds to the listening pleasure. Brushed steel and teak cabinet.

Damon.