mystery fan [RE-wrenches]

[R. Sparks Scott]

	Scott;

	I would not say that all is lost, or that you should automatically send
the inverter back to the factory.
	Water, all by itself is an insulator. If it wasn't, all of the electrical
grid high tension lines would short out every time it rains. What is a
problem when electronics gets wet is two fold: Contamination and Corrosion.
	As one who has resurrected many a broadcast mixing console which has had
coffee and cola spilled into the guts, let me tell you that your situation
is much less difficult than this. I usually don't get called until the
console quits working because the acid in the beverage has begun to
electroplate the insides of the gear into a solid block of metal.
	The solution is actually quite simple, take it apart and give it a bath!
Hold the printed circuit board under warm flowing water and scrub the hell
out of it with an old, clean toothbrush, making sure to get any gristly
bits out from under component legs, etc.
	The next step is quite important! Have a plentiful supply of clean
compressed air, and blow all of the water that you can out of and off of
the board. Once this is done, and as an optional step, use a tech chemical
such as Blue Shower to hose down the board to remove any grease or trapped
water. Then use a hair dryer or heat gun (carefully) to thoroughly dry the
board.
	Before re-assembly, check all connections and components for evidence of
corrosion of any kind, seat any socketed IC's by pressing down on them
firmly, and put it all back together.
	OK, that sounds simple, but here is the stuff that you DON'T want to get
wet: Any transformers, fans, displays switches or open potentiometers.
Obviously, any water that gets trapped in the high voltage side of an
inverter is going to be more dangerous than a run-away cooling fan, so use
caution when cleaning there.
	If you do all of this and it still doesn't work properly, then consider
calling the factory to get an MRA. It isn't going to be covered by warranty
anyway, and unless your water has more minerals and crud than is already
present from the leaking roof incident, you probably won't do the inverter
any harm.
	Don't tell Allan, but I did this to his Todd just before I sent it back to
him after I repaired it. Where do you guys get that fine dust anyway?
	If the thought of mucking about with water on your electronic equipment
scares you too much, find an electronic assembly/repair facility and see if
you can convince them to toss your circuit boards into their ultrasonic
cleaning tank. It probably won't work and better than the toothbrush, but
it will cost more.
	Also consider that the fan problem is unrelated to the water problem.
Maybe you should try hosing down a second system to see if the problem
duplicates?

	-S

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