Yeah, I was dumb. Fortunately it wasn’t turned on at the time, and I immediately flipped it upside down to dry out. But now the tact switches on the left side are a bit sticky. Warranty is out of the question, obviously.
Is there some trick I can do to make the switches less sticky? Like a Deoxit for switches? Or will I just have to replace them? I’m comfortable with a soldering iron, and I’ve already replaced the FUNC switch, I just want to avoid that if I can because they’re a bit spendy.
EDIT: Not sure if it makes any difference but the coffee was black, no cream or sugar
If it was me I would open it up and dry out any fluid that got inside just carefully clean wherever the leak got in. You can also try leaving it in a box with rice for a few days to absorb moisture. Obviously don’t get rice inside the OT.
Whatever you do don’t turn the machine on whilst there is remnants of fluid inside.
might have some issues with the tempo speeding up intermittently and/or the OT not shutting down when it should. no cream/sugar means at least it’s less likely to crash.
I’d advise asking Elektron for a recommendation. But given the focus is on switches I would suggest a product like the one I used to breathe life into ageing Nord switches and regular pots (categorically not encoder type knobs)
As always, do due diligence. But a dedicated product to flush out residue could give them a few more years. Get advice on general board cleaning from Elektron if there’s residue elsewhere that’s less obvious that may cause issues if uncleaned. Product is linked in link.
In my past experience in IT support I was told that spills onto computers are much less likely to have problems if there is no sugar or milk in the liquid.
I would leave it turned off in a warm place for at least 48hrs before using.
I think isopropyl alcohol on a cotton bud (q tip) could be used to clean sticky residue from the PCB and under the switches. It shouldn’t do any harm if you keep it off the screen printing on the outside of the case and the tops of the switches. That does mean taking it apart, which will void your warranty. Another option is to send to Elektron for them to do it; I expect you’d have to pay for that, but the warranty might still be valid for any later problems if they do it.
I’m a coffee addict and unfortunately have spilled many times in the studio. I can say that using 99% isopropyl alcohol and distilled h2o (50/50), with tech swab definitely works. Black coffee is very forgiving, yet cream and sugar can be much more difficult. Take your time and use tech swabs instead of q-tips as they are cleaner and will not leave any fibers on the PCB. Let it dry for a few hours after cleaning, but you should be good if you take your time…
The most important is to wait it’s completely dry before power up. I’d wait more than a few hours, and use not too hot air.
My audio teacher told me it was possible to rince electronic components with water if it’s sticky like with sugar, especially with coca cola, or with salt sea water.
I did it twice with my smarphone who fall in the sea, twice! Removed batteries and cards, then I rinced it. I left it in clean water for a while, then waited it to be dry, with not too hot air. I’m writing with it at the moment. OT falling in the sea? Who knows.
In you case, if you can clean, it may suffice.
Good luck!
