Open Road

getting thru my electrical testing with my aftermarket ecu, I decided to remove the fuse panel to try and clean it up a bit. It's a good thing I did. My car is stored in an insulated garage and while not climate controlled it does have pretty stable temps and is clean and dry. I was surprised how much oxidation I found on the fuse and relay contacts. Deoxit D5 spray cleaned up quite a bit of it, and I plan on using deoxit D100 on some of the more corroded terminals. Just a heads up that these cars are getting old and some preventive maintenance is in order especially on the ground points and fuse panel. I was amazed at the grit and junk that blew out of the panel when I hit it with compressed air. I was also amazed at the grit and junk behind the panel after being removed.

yes, that is something that should be annually inspected, and dealt with every few years or so. As to the grounds, more frequently. Remember Wally Plumley's tips, he and Jim Bailey were great advocates of this type of routine maintenance.

I'm on the 3rd round with different deoxit products, only because I'm OCD and want to get the panel as good as I can.

D5 spray is good for flushing out but is only 5% Doxit
D100 spray is undiluted but almost useless because it is a spray and hard to tell if what is hitting the contacts is the actual product.
D100 brush on (think fingernail polish brush and even smaller bottle) is tedious to apply. Currently doing this pass and will let it sit for a couple of days.

Then I'll follow up with the D5 spray just because I have it, and will use it to flush out any more crap followed by letting it dry for a few more days, and then I will hit the contacts with deoxit shield SN5 which is supposed to promote conductivity and prevent future oxidation.

its a total pain in the ass to do this but new ones are $4-5K and other used ones from what I've seen on evilbay are in worse condition than mine is.

I've already seen an improvement with conductivity tests and resistance with a multimeter.

All in all I've spent about $120 on materials (this stuff is not cheap) but I think it is a worthwhile investment for the long term, especially after seeing all the threads where people are trouble shooting all kinds of weird electrical crap over the years.

Did your bottle of liquid d100 not have the needle tip applicator cap with it?

I've never purchased the aerosol versions, but went through applying a drop or two to all of the contacts on my electrical panel, as well as every electrical connector I've touched in the interior.

It's been surprising at times, when something I didn't even know was turned on, suddenly starts functioning again as the d100 eats enough of the oxidation and lets a connector regain continuity. (The turn signals I found operational a week after application, though stuck on due to a failed relay... Wipers started working, who knows how long after application, as they weren't an early priority, but inop when I started, and working now.)

I specifically wanted the brush version of D100 and it worked really well. While I had the panel out, I robbed the 2 unused relay sockets as well as the daytime running light socket for spares, and disassembled the fuel pump relay socket to really get the connections cleaned.

relay board is almost ready to go back in. I found some black plugs to fill the holes for the relay sockets I robbed, and I also marked the relay sockets that use the generic bosch relay with a green permanent marker.



This was a huge time suck. Over 400 connections to clean... most of them got individual attention.

Very nice work. It was a nice touch, with the green permanent marker. It just makes it easier, next time you’re in there.

agreed, good idea about marking the 53 slots.

Most important to label the relays before removal.

did that.

I'm a fan of applying the D100 from the needle applicator, then scrubbing with a size 00 Pikster, the littlest bristled dental pick. Probably the same effect as the brush, given that the solution does all the heavy lifting, but the added amount of friction makes me feel better about it.