[SOLVED] Preparing rained-on electronics for use once more

Ianator

I have a stereo receiver which my parents bought in the late 90s. Some time after my mom and I moved up here we brought a bunch of stuff from storage, including this inside the black trash bag it was kept in. Unfortunately many things we brought were lazily kept outside, among them many VCR tapes and the receiver in question. After picking up a new TV stand cabinet thing we pulled the stereo out of the water-filled bag, let it air dry and put it into the cabinet to maybe be used someday.

What steps can I take before plugging it back in to ensure it is safe to operate? It's definitely dry so what I'm concerned about is deposits left behind by the evaporated rainwater or other things that leached out of the bag.

dispatch.o

Open it up. There is almost certainly paper insulation and capacitors that are done. Unless you inspect the inside of it and know how to troubleshoot and repair electronics, don't plug it in.

Auralynx

dispatch.o wrote: »

Open it up. There is almost certainly paper insulation and capacitors that are done. Unless you inspect the inside of it and know how to troubleshoot and repair electronics, don't plug it in.

A pretty sure sign of "this is a bad idea to plug in" will be chalky (probably bluish or white) deposits around contacts or exposed wire ends, but not nearly the only one. Popped-out tops on capacitors are another thing to look for, but this is not nearly a comprehensive list of bad signs.

E: to be clear, more than likely it's just dead if there's any water damage, but definitely open it up.

Wrizzik

You should be able to use 90% isopropyl alcohol and maybe some electronics cleaner to get rid of all the deposits. Get a small vinyl brush and take your time (while inspecting components)

Look for some YT vids to help too.

When you plug it in to turn on, try to use a surge protector and a circuit separate from most of your other electronics.

Shadowfire

How good of a receiver are we talking here? I mean, if we're talking McIntosh, yeah, do whatever you can to make it work. But if it's not something really high end, is it going to be worth the hassle of tearing open and fixing?

BlazeFire

The thing was submerged in liquid ("pulled it out of the water filled bag") for an unknown amount of time. My bet is definitely " it's toast".

Donovan Puppyfucker

Unless it's some kind of extremely expensive boutique equipment that you would be happy to spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars having it refurbished, it is unserviceable. You can keep it on a shelf if you have a strong emotional attachment to it, but DO NOT plug it in. It's gone, and it ain't coming back.

Ianator

Noted, all. I shall take it to the electronics recycling place tomorrow along with a few other things.

Finally looking at the thing, it is a Pioneer VSX-502. Probably really nice for its day but eBay has one for like a hundred dollars. I can probably find something newer for these speakers (which I'm pretty sure have been inside this whole time).

Shadowfire

I'll be an elitist and say that anything with spring clips instead of binding posts can be safely ignored. It might have been ok at the time, but it's not worth servicing now.