Not for a seven but another old vehicle I have.

I am suffering lots of dry/corroded connections and wonder if anyone can recommend a suitable cleaner or method of cleaning that will help?

Some of the copper wring is blackening and where I can I have replaced with new, is there anything that will inhibit such corrosion?

Many thanks in advance.

give this a try, Ruairidh. http://www.halfords.com/motoring/engine-oils-fluids/lubricating-penetrating-oil/halfords-electrical-contact-cleaner-400ml

Ian Mc.

Location: Shropshire

Thank you Ian.

Thanks from myself as well. A very useful tip.

Location: Colchester

Thou may want to give it a blast with this after cleaning. Ambersil 500 ml aerosol Battery Terminal Protector
RS Stock No.745-7535BrandAmbersil Mfr. Part No.31618-AB

Location: Oakley hants

R,

You don't mention which joints are being affected.

Generally, I tin (with leaded solder) the ends of all electrical wires with bare ends - such as in the switch panel, cut out, dynamo, etc... and have not had any problems here.

After cleaning with brasso, I use Vaseline on the brass wiper contacts of the Switch Panel.

The only corrosion problem that I have had is with a set of rubber indicator lamps at the rear of the car - the retention of the bulb is very poor and I suspect that there is some moisture ingress. I have replaced the bulb holder with something from AES, applied some Vaseline to the contacts and changed to LED lamps and have not had any problems since.

For cleaning - as has been said, there are a number of Aerosol contact cleaners about - I have used "Servisol Super 10 Switch Cleaner" and more recently "WD40 Specialist Contact Cleaner" with success.

Peter

Thanks Derek - I have ordered some up and will use it.

Thanks Peter - I almost all are spade terminals that feed various lights.

You can clean blackened copper with a solution made of white vinegar and normal salt. Just dissolve as much salt as you can in some vinegar then swish the stripped wire ends about in it for a bit. It will remove all the black oxides. Works great on copper coins too. Try it on a coin first to see how it works.

Make sure you wash all the solution off when the copper is clean as vinegar is an acid of course. You can use a solution of baking soda in water to neutralise it if you really want to be sure but washing it very thoroughly with normal water should do.

Pretty sure I got this idea from one of the Knowhow books when I was a kid. This one I think? https://www.amazon.com/Know-How-Book-Experiments-Books/dp/086020135X!

Tinning the ends once they are clean, with a good 60-40 lead electrical solder, will help keep connections clean in the future.

Simon

I found this a while back, ideal for cleaning up corroded wires before soldering.

Wire Cleaning.

This process uses two solutions, one is regular table salt and vinegar. Any kind of vinegar will work, from balsamic, to rice, to white vinegars. Its the acidity and corrosiveness of the salt and vinegar together that you want. The other solution is Sodium Bicarbonate, or baking soda, and water. This is used to neutralize the corrosive properties of the other solution, and to further clean the wires.

Step 1: Strip the wires to be cleaned.

Step 2: Get 2 containers, one for each solution. They can be paper cups, plastic, glass, bowls, whatever you can find.

Step 3: Get 1 tablespoon of raw salt, and put it in one of the containers. Fill up the rest of the container with vinegar, and stir the both together. As a general rule of thumb, put as much salt in the vinegar as will dissolve.

Step 4: Get 1 tablespoon of Sodium Bicarbonate, (baking soda) and add it to the other container. Fill up the rest with water, and stir well. Add more baking soda to make it cloudy. The amount is not important, as long as it is alkaline to cancel the acid of the vinegar solution.

Step 5: Put the stripped end of the wire in the vinegar solution, and stir the solution with the wire. any wire you want cleaned needs to be under the solution. Movement of the wire in the liquid speeds up the process.

Step 6: After 2 minutes or so, the wire will look very shiny and new in the vinegar solution. The acid and salt in the solution is etching away the oxides, exposing the bare metal. Make sure the metal is uniformly shiny. Leave it in longer if it is not perfectly clean throughout.

Step 7: Once the wire is satisfactorily clean, remove the wire from the vinegar, and plunge it into the baking soda solution to neutralize the acid's corrosive properties. If the wire was exposed to the air, without neutralizing the acid first, it would quickly corrode again. The baking soda keeps it clean and shiny. Swish the wire around in the baking soda water for about 10 seconds, and then you are done!! Shiny new wire ready for soldering, and conducting once again!!

Location: Pembrokeshire

Simon and Phil - thank you both.

After you have cleaned the connections by any method i suggest Duck oil or WD40 will reduce any future oxidisation.

Coke or Pepsi are just as good.

Location: NW Devon

Once connections/switches cleaned (and after soldering wire) use a Contact Treatment Grease. For example RS components do a 20g syringe container. It may seem a bit expensive but you only smeer a very thin coating on contacts to help prevent corrosion, spark burning and lubricate the contacts. Makes switch action smoother. Also use on battery terminals.
I have had mine for years and still not even used 1/4 of the tube.

Location: NW Devon

Location: Herefordshire, with an "E" not a "T".

Location: Shropshire

Ian's cleaner and Derek's protector arrived today and everything is working properly again - many thanks again!