How to fix? 12 Volt remote - Button gets stuck

[DoomedACE]

Hi guys,

my name is Alex, and I am mostly lurking in the Technic subforum...

The reason I post here is:
I found my old toys on the attic of my parents place, and there was most of my Lego stuff, including my beloved 12 volt trains:  Lego 7745, 7755 and the railroad crossing 7866.
All items were almost complete, and still in working condition.

So, currently I do cleaning and bricklinking and I am on my way to revive my childhood. Happy me! :-)

 

One thing that is not working perfectly is the remote of the 7866, the left button (gates open) get stuck almost everytime I press it.
It then can be made to go up again, by pressing the right button (close gates) 1 time.

 

Is there anything I can do to fix this, besides prying it open and having a look?
Would spraying some WD40 into it be a vital solution?

If possible, I really would like to avoid opening it..

 

Any help is greatly appreciated.
Many thanks.
Best regards,

Alex

 

PS: I used the search function, but was unable to find something similar. If I missed something, sorry for that, and please point me towards the other thread - Thank you.

[JopieK]

WD40 can corrode plastics afaik, maybe teflon spray would be a better choice?

[JopieK]

I tried to check it, "In general, WD-40 is a petroleum based lubricant and will not affect most general use plastics such as PVC, PP, HDPE or ABS." it indeed smells a lot like petroleum so maybe it isn't that bad for ABS after all.

[DoomedACE]

Bluntly copied from quora:

 

Just like there are many metals, there are many plastics that are very different from one another. Overall, plastics can be divided into two basic groups:

Crystalline: Polypropylene, Polyethylene, Polyester (all types), Nylon

Amorphous: Polycarbonate, Styrenics (including ABS), PVC

The main ingredient in WD-40 is a light kerosene-like mineral oil, which is hydrocarbon based. Amorphous plastics and hydrocarbons don’t play well together: hydrocarbons will attack the chemical structure of amorphous plastics, breaking them down - essentially trying to “melt” them. In particular, Polycarbonate (PC) and Polystrene (PS). they are two named plastics on the WD-40 “do not use on these” list.

Crystalline materials are unaffected by the hydrocarbons in WD-40, you can spray them as much as you wish.

So, according to that wd40 seems not to be safe.

 

 

Does anybody know what is likely to cause the button to get stuck? I know, that's guesswork....

Edited August 28, 2017 by DoomedACE

[freestorm]

If you need to open it, this thread can help you.

It's not the same button, but maybe you can open it the same way.

 

[Toastie]

I agree with JopieK: WD-40 and ABS go very well with each other; it will not hurt.

The post freestorm is citing is most valuable, if that is the type of switch you are using. In that case, I would open the switch, inspect what the cause is: 1) dirt? 2) corrosion? 3) broken part?

1) I'd clean the area with sprays from the "contact" series (just an example from a German supplier). These are used in electronics for all kinds of things and there are as many spray types, just browse through the different types. Thee are many equivalents around the world. The cleaning sprays hardly affect plastics at all, they are mostly isopropanol-based or the like. Then there is a wash-off spray, which "blows" away any type of sticking cleaning fluid - there is also a harmless solvent in there, but that is very quickly drying off and mainly aiding in the mechanical impact of the spray to remove other stuff.

2) Corrosion - goes usually with 1). If the degree of corrosion is not too bad (and this is mostly the case) go either with WD-40 carefully restricted to the metal pieces affected - or use the "contact 60" spray or equivalent. Let the fluid work fro an hour, Blow off with the wash spray. Then apply "contact 61" for conservation. WD-40 is a one for all mixture it will also work on its own. But it likes to creep everywhere - even after weeks it may show up where it is not supposed to.. In that case: Clean off with isopropanol. There is no harm.

3) Broken part: ABS pieces are very nicely glued together with "super-glue", i.e. the cyano-acrylate based glues. I have used that stuff so many times with ABS - it works. Be careful though: It is "drying" (it is reacting) very fast and almost irreversibly. I would apply the glue with a (one-way) needle or the like. Let dry (max. 5 min ...) and that's it.

Any purely mechanical issues are usually resolved with silicone based sprays - be careful though to not let the fluid reach the metal parts, as this type of spray is aiding electrical isolation, and is not what you want.

 

Good luck!

Best regards,
Thorsten

          

[DoomedACE]

thanks for all the information provided. Will have a look into it the remote this weekend.

[freestorm]

If you open it, can take pictures?
It will be nice to know how it work inside.

For you problem, I bet for the button spring.

[DoomedACE]

I will take pictures - I am probably untalented enough to figure out what the problem might be by myself anyway.... ;-)

Edited August 30, 2017 by DoomedACE

[DoomedACE]

Just to give an update. I did not find time for opening the remote.

My little boy (3,5 years old) saw me tinkering with the remote, and one thing lead to another, and we ended up playing with the trains for the whole day.

But, I'll try to find time for it this week....

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 4, 2017 by DoomedACE