Switch cleaner

I’m getting a problem with my 282 balance control. Occasionally, there’s a dip in SQ performance that seems related to the balance functionality.

If I turn the balance knob rapidly from side to side I get a “scratchy” sound over the speakers which disappears after a few side-to-side turns and then the SQ is back to what it should be.

I recall that back in the day, this would be diagnosed as a “dirty pot” and require an internal spray with some “switch cleaner”.

So:

Is this the case with my 282?

If so, which “switch cleaner” would be recommended?

Never use contact cleaner. It does more harm than good.

Turn the power off. Then pay a child to rotate balance and volume knobs full lock in both directions for 5 minutes. The mechanical abrasion will clean the contacts.

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Oh I can do that.

The child can be cleaning the chimney…

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Hmm, rewarding a child for cranking the volume dial up and down.

This could end badly…

Trust me. After 5 minutes per knob, they will be crying that their arm is about to fall off.

They won’t want to look at it again.

This doesn’t help much but I had that on my Nait 3. When it came back from a Naim service there was a note on the job sheet that the pot had been cleaned and re-lubricated.

I never noticed that sweeping the control side to side helped properly fix the issue, unfortunately. It didn’t seem to obviously harm the pot though, as I had tried that solution before sending in for service, and the pot was deemed ok to clean and re-use.

Well I am glad that it is not a thread about the need to clean network switches :innocent:

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Give it time.

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I recommend using a good quality switch cleaner. You will find Servisol 10 in most engineers workshops.

My 52 had a scratchy volume and it was only on the right channel and it didn’t matter how many times i rotated the volume knob it didn’t go away. Bought some Deoxit D5 cleaner which was highly recommended to me and this cured the problem, so it worked for me.

I’m not sure why some are wary of contact cleaners. It’s normal to clean pots with the correct stuff ( so not WD40).
My naim pre amps have been recently serviced and the pots and input selectors show evidence of contact cleaner. Which is as I’d expect.

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Probably something to do with the manual:

But clearly used at service.

Yes, I was just saying that the manual recommending against cleaners is probably part of the reason why some are wary of them.

May also be different in the sense that HQ knows what they are using and how to use it correctly, while still recommending against it for mere mortals. Or they figure it makes sense once every 10 years during service by expert hands, but not something that should be done every few months by OCD-afflicted owners :slight_smile:

If its done in a controlled way it will be fine. But, if an enthusiastic individual sprays any old contact cleaner ,or even wd40, then who knows what will happen.

Exactly

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"OCD-afflicted owners "

Excuse me?

Not you specifically, you are experiencing a real issue that needs addressing. But you know how it is :slight_smile: If Naim wrote into the manual that one should clean contacts and pots, some people would overdo it.

I’ll start by saying that I would never even open the lid on my Naim stuff, but following reading this topic, it made me think about my Music Fidelity A1 amp. This is my second rarely used system, that I powered on the other day as it has a cheap TT attached, so thought I would play some old records I found din the cupboard from the 80’s. Anyway the Volume control was knackered. Very scratchy, but found that it was just about usable if I didn’t touch it. Anyway after reading this Topic I looked at a few YouTube videos and brought some Servisol Super 10, and squirted it in the pots yesterday. To my surprise, it was a complete fix. I must admit, not knowing about electronics, I always assumed the volume controls just break down easily, and never new there such a simple fix out there. I’m now on the hunt for other scratchy Volume controls

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The noise is usually dirt or oxides building up. Correct use of the cleaner should fix it. Clearly if the pot is worn, then it will not. Most MF stuff uses Alps pots anyway. Getting the part number off the side would have told you which bit you needed. The A1 is great in the winter for keeping the house warm as well!