AX8 Foot Switches Sticking

Livstone

Livstone

Inspired
A couple of my AX8 foot switches are sticking. Can they be cleaned or lubricated or is this a replacement issue?
 
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Do you see any dirt or residue of any kind on the buttons where they slide into the switch?
Are you having trouble with multiple foot switches?
Did something get spilled on it?
 
Akstrat said:
Deoxit

http://store.caig.com/s.nl/it.I/id.5/.f
Click to expand...

Is this a plastic safe formula? I actually had two ideas...first plastic safe contact cleaner and two a light shot of WD-40 with the unit turned upside down to prevent any from dropping on the boards inside. Any thoughts on these solutions?

scottp said:
Do you see any dirt or residue of any kind on the buttons where they slide into the switch?
Are you having trouble with multiple foot switches?
Did something get spilled on it?
Click to expand...

Two switches are having this issue on opposite sides of the board and nothing has been spilled on the unit. There is no no noticeable dirt on the switches but they are both really hard to press.
 
Livstone said:
Is this a plastic safe formula? I actually had two ideas...first plastic safe contact cleaner and two a light shot of WD-40 with the unit turned upside down to prevent any from dropping on the boards inside. Any thoughts on these solutions?



Two switches are having this issue on opposite sides of the board and nothing has been spilled on the unit. There is no no noticeable dirt on the switches but they are both really hard to press.
Click to expand...
I'd suggest contacting Fractal Support before doing anything. They do frequent the forum but don't always see everything so direct contact would be the best option for their advice.
 
Livstone said:
Is this a plastic safe formula? I actually had two ideas...first plastic safe contact cleaner and two a light shot of WD-40 with the unit turned upside down to prevent any from dropping on the boards inside. Any thoughts on these solutions?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't use WD-40. It's not really a lubricant, WD stands for Water Displacement, so it basically repels water.

Instead, I would recommend WD-40 brand {or any other brand), Silicone spray instead. Do as you said, hold the unit upside down then let the silicone dry/cure before you plug the unit back in. It will leave a fine layer of silicone on the shaft of the switch and it won't stick anymore.

https://www.wd40specialist.com/products/silicone-lubricant/

I use it on the plastic tracks of my double-hung windows...works great. I even used it on my Panasonic microwave oven. The door switch was sticking so the oven wouldn't turn on because it thought the door was open.
 
Sonofiam said:
I'd suggest contacting Fractal Support before doing anything. They do frequent the forum but don't always see everything so direct contact would be the best option for their advice.
Click to expand...

I sent a message to them at the support section about 5 days ago and haven't heard anything back so I put it up on the forum. I was hoping they would see it hear and give some insight.


Toopy14 said:
I wouldn't use WD-40. It's not really a lubricant, WD stands for Water Displacement, so it basically repels water.

Instead, I would recommend WD-40 brand {or any other brand), Silicone spray instead. Do as you said, hold the unit upside down then let the silicone dry/cure before you plug the unit back in. It will leave a fine layer of silicone on the shaft of the switch and it won't stick anymore.

https://www.wd40specialist.com/products/silicone-lubricant/

I use it on the plastic tracks of my double-hung windows...works great. I even used it on my Panasonic microwave oven. The door switch was sticking so the oven wouldn't turn on because it thought the door was open.
Click to expand...


This sounds like a good idea and may be the remedy. I will look into it.


Thanks to all for the assistance.
 
Livstone said:
Is this a plastic safe formula? I actually had two ideas...first plastic safe contact cleaner and two a light shot of WD-40 with the unit turned upside down to prevent any from dropping on the boards inside. Any thoughts on these solutions?



Two switches are having this issue on opposite sides of the board and nothing has been spilled on the unit. There is no no noticeable dirt on the switches but they are both really hard to press.
Click to expand...


Do the switch buttons rotate easily? In each of the up / down positions?
Can you see any evidence of scoring on the switch shaft?
 
scottp said:
Do the switch buttons rotate easily? In each of the up / down positions?
Can you see any evidence of scoring on the switch shaft?
Click to expand...

No evidence of scoring that I can see and the buttons rotate pretty easily. Its just the resistance when going up and down. I think it's just the metal on metal that needs some slippage. I think the silicon spray might be my best bet but I do wish someone from Fractal would get in on this to see what they think. @FractalAudio what do you think about this?
 
We are fortunate enough to have an AX8 available to use at church. Today one of our electric players got to use it for the first time live.
I asked him how it was to use it. He said, 2 of the buttons were sticking.
I immediately picked up the unit to check it out. (Knowing that this thread was active)
Just like Livestone, all the switches rotated just fine and seemed to operate quite well by thumb or finger.
I am hoping it was just because it was his first time using it.

NOTE: as admin suggested Lithium Grease & Q tip, I would substitute a toothpick for the Q Tip.
The Q Tip can shed fibers easily and you don't want anything caught in between the switch shaft and its housing.
Also with the toothpick you can be a lot more precise in application.
 
Here's an update. I decided to go with the silicon lubricant because I figured the lithium grease would attract dirt so today I went to Home Depot and picked up the WD40 Specialist Silicon Lubricant. I used the method recommended by FractalAudio using a Q tip to put it on the shaft instead of spraying it directly on the switch. After spreading a small amount I worked the switch and it worked perfectly! I then proceeded to do all of them and for good measure turned the unit upside down just in case there is a bit of residue even though this is supposed to dry in seconds. I left it upside down for about an hour and then turned the unit on and all of the switches are smooth to push and work perfectly.

Thanks to all for adding their thoughts and I'm sure this will help some others out there.
 
Update...
I took our church's AX8 home to do the most recent update.
I carefully looked at the foot switch buttons.

What I found is if I slightly side loaded buttons 2 or 3, they would stick.
If I pressed straight down, there was no sticking.
Also, all other foot switches work just fine.

Maybe there is a tolerance factor in some of these buttons?
 
scottp said:
Update...
I took our church's AX8 home to do the most recent update.
I carefully looked at the foot switch buttons.

What I found is if I slightly side loaded buttons 2 or 3, they would stick.
If I pressed straight down, there was no sticking.
Also, all other foot switches work just fine.

Maybe there is a tolerance factor in some of these buttons?
Click to expand...

If a slight slide is causing them to stick then they need some lubrication and it would solve the situation with the method I outlined here.
 
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