Key Locks -- Part II

Sorry. I left out something that I took for granted. You hold the switch
terminals down, keyhole up and squirt/rotate. That means that the cleaner
goop (that's a technical term, you'll get used to it) has to travel through
the switch mechanisms and out the back end before it gives up. If you
squirt it with the switch in the normal horizontal position, all you clean
is the bottom end and most of it will run back out the keyhole. Most
switches won't let you get the little nozzle straw far enough into the
keyhole to really spray the innards.

As to the AD on that switch, the owner can do the AD and sign it off. It is
REALLY HARD to do. You fire the airplane up. You take it to the runup
area. You turn the switch "off" with some reasonable force. If the engine
stops, the AD passes. Ten seconds at the outside. And that is worth a $150
switch to get rid of the AD? $150 buys more beer than even JAY can drink in
a day.

I teach a similar trick to my students for computer 12 volt fans that start
howling. Two small bowls or coffee cans. Half-fill one with paint thinner
and one with a 50-50 solution of MMO and paint thinner. Run the fan for an
hour submerged in the paint thinner (cleans all the crap out of the
innards). Run it for an hour submerged in the MMO solution. Run it for
thirty seconds in the thinner again to get the surface oil off. Set it on a
paper towel to drain. In 95% of the cases you have pretty much a new fan.

Of course, I would NEVER EVER suggest that trick to something that goes on a
certificated blessed stamped and exonerated aircraft. The fact that it
works has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with it.

BTW, gang, those computer 12 volt fans are just the trick for avionics that
need a bit of extra cooling. In a homebuilt, of course.

Jim




Is there any reason I have to remove the switch from the panel to try
this? Can I put a rag behind it in the panel, and try cleaning it?