One of the uses for WD-40 is to spray into your distributor cap if there was moisture in there and your car wouldn't start. There's quite a bit of arcing in a distributor and people's cars didn't go up in flames. Wd-40 is only flammable while it's wet once the solvents in it evaporate it's fine. Don't forget the pvc insulation on your PSU cables are flammable as well. Isopropyl alcohol as well as most contact cleaners are highly flammable.

(Edit: spelling mistake)

I was looking at some old article about the launch of AMD Bulldozer on one of the hardware review sites, and it was talking about Geekbench results. I had never run it before and was curious so I found a download for the demo version of Geekbench 2.x and made a few runs. Turns out they still have a webpage up collecting Geekbench 2 results online. https://browser.geekbench.com/geekbench2/

Replaced the power supply in my socket A system and it powered right up, which is good because it was clear that something was failing and I wasn't sure if it was the PSU or the motherboard. Guess it was the PSU. This PSU has a dead fan though so it still needs some work.

chrismeyer6 wrote on 2022-11-24, 12:06:

One of the uses for WD-40 is to spray into your distributor cap if there was moisture in there and your car wouldn't start. There's quite a bit of arcing in a distributor and people's cars didn't go up in flames. Wd-40 is only flammable while it's wet once the solvents in it evaporate it's fine. Don't forget the pvc insulation on your PSU cables are flammable as well. Isopropyl alcohol as well as most contact cleaners are highly flammable.

(Edit: spelling mistake)

Lel, pwned

I'm not sure that it has much (if any) positive effect either, though, in the context of a home desktop computer's components.

WD-40's primary purpose is short term Water Displacement (the "WD" of WD-40). Water displacement should be done by other means, in this context. Simple clean heat convection, or purer chemicals, like Isopropyl.

And, aside from it's immediate water displacement effect, any ongoing protection effect of WD-40 (against moisture, or corrosion) is said to be very short lived (days), and therefore a bit pointless in that respect.

I'd happily listen to evidence to the contrary, but as it stands, I don't personally see the point of involving WD-40 with desktop home computer components. The WD-40 will stink for a few days, after which point it'll cease to do much of anything at all, imo.

ayandon wrote on 2022-11-23, 18:37:

Then added a tiny drop of WD-40 and brushed all over it.

Now, its fully working and running! 🥳❤️

As others mentioned WD-40 is not good for motherboards/adapters/etc.

Horun wrote on 2022-11-25, 02:37:

As others mentioned WD-40 is not good for motherboards/adapters/etc.

Thanks a lot for the tip.
I will clean them this weekend using IPA.

Shreddoc wrote on 2022-11-24, 21:51:

I'm not sure that it has much (if any) positive effect either, though, in the context of a home desktop computer's components. […]
Show full quote

I'm not sure that it has much (if any) positive effect either, though, in the context of a home desktop computer's components.

WD-40's primary purpose is short term Water Displacement (the "WD" of WD-40). Water displacement should be done by other means, in this context. Simple clean heat convection, or purer chemicals, like Isopropyl.

And, aside from it's immediate water displacement effect, any ongoing protection effect of WD-40 (against moisture, or corrosion) is said to be very short lived (days), and therefore a bit pointless in that respect.

I'd happily listen to evidence to the contrary, but as it stands, I don't personally see the point of involving WD-40 with desktop home computer components. The WD-40 will stink for a few days, after which point it'll cease to do much of anything at all, imo.

Just sharing a personal experience
My current Intel i7 Computer's Power Button was having some issue. PC won't start only after multiple button presses.
I could not replace it due to lockdowns and availability.

1st I used IPA to clean the dust..... not much effect.
Then, I put just one drop of WD-40 on the button and till then, no issue since 2020.... still using it.

ayandon wrote on 2022-11-25, 03:54:

My current Intel i7 Computer's Power Button was having some issue. PC won't start only after multiple button presses. I could no […]
Show full quote

My current Intel i7 Computer's Power Button was having some issue. PC won't start only after multiple button presses.
I could not replace it due to lockdowns and availability.

1st I used IPA to clean the dust..... not much effect.
Then, I put just one drop of WD-40 on the button and till then, no issue since 2020.... still using it.

Ahh yes OK. Switches are fine for WD-40 but be careful on motherboards and adapter cards.
The solvent in WD-40 can eat certain plastics and many old computer parts are plastic based including the motherboard (being an epoxy based plus the ic's are all plastic encased).
I remember back decades ago cleaning switches and reostats/aka variable resistors (volume, bass, treble, etc) in an older receiver and got wd-40 over spray on the outer black plastic front, went to wipe it off and it had dissolved some of the surface.

Horun wrote on 2022-11-25, 04:31:

Ahh yes OK. Switches are fine for WD-40 but be careful on motherboards and adapter cards. The solvent in WD-40 can eat certain […]
Show full quote

ayandon wrote on 2022-11-25, 03:54:

My current Intel i7 Computer's Power Button was having some issue. PC won't start only after multiple button presses. I could no […]
Show full quote

My current Intel i7 Computer's Power Button was having some issue. PC won't start only after multiple button presses.
I could not replace it due to lockdowns and availability.

1st I used IPA to clean the dust..... not much effect.
Then, I put just one drop of WD-40 on the button and till then, no issue since 2020.... still using it.

Ahh yes OK. Switches are fine for WD-40 but be careful on motherboards and adapter cards.
The solvent in WD-40 can eat certain plastics and many old computer parts are plastic based including the motherboard (being an epoxy based plus the ic's are all plastic encased).
I remember back decades ago cleaning switches and reostats/aka variable resistors (volume, bass, treble, etc) in an older receiver and got wd-40 over spray on the outer black plastic front, went to wipe it off and it had dissolved some of the surface.

Thanks a lot for the valuable tip.

I will clean them with IPA this weekend.
Is it enough?

ayandon wrote on 2022-11-25, 03:54:

Just sharing a personal experience My current Intel i7 Computer's Power Button was having some issue. PC won't start only after […]
Show full quote

Shreddoc wrote on 2022-11-24, 21:51:

I'm not sure that it has much (if any) positive effect either, though, in the context of a home desktop computer's components. […]
Show full quote

I'm not sure that it has much (if any) positive effect either, though, in the context of a home desktop computer's components.

WD-40's primary purpose is short term Water Displacement (the "WD" of WD-40). Water displacement should be done by other means, in this context. Simple clean heat convection, or purer chemicals, like Isopropyl.

And, aside from it's immediate water displacement effect, any ongoing protection effect of WD-40 (against moisture, or corrosion) is said to be very short lived (days), and therefore a bit pointless in that respect.

I'd happily listen to evidence to the contrary, but as it stands, I don't personally see the point of involving WD-40 with desktop home computer components. The WD-40 will stink for a few days, after which point it'll cease to do much of anything at all, imo.

Just sharing a personal experience
My current Intel i7 Computer's Power Button was having some issue. PC won't start only after multiple button presses.
I could not replace it due to lockdowns and availability.

1st I used IPA to clean the dust..... not much effect.
Then, I put just one drop of WD-40 on the button and till then, no issue since 2020.... still using it.

Real world experience is king. I don't doubt your tale. Perhaps contact cleaner may have worked too.

WD-40 has plenty of valid uses, but I would not use it as a general protectant or 'refresher' of circuit boards. It may have some of those properties, to limited degree, but there are generally better options here.

ayandon wrote on 2022-11-25, 04:41:

Thanks a lot for the valuable tip.

I will clean them with IPA this weekend.
Is it enough?

I would not clean the motherboard with IPA if still working.
There is risk of rust on any metal parts if you clean again

I installed this under linux-kvm:

Surprisingly responsive - feels a lot faster RDPing to Windows NT 4.0 than running it under VirtualBox

There are many types of WD-40 sprays, for contacts, slots and other electrical equipment use that:

chrismeyer6 wrote on 2022-11-24, 12:06:

One of the uses for WD-40 is to spray into your distributor cap if there was moisture in there and your car wouldn't start. There's quite a bit of arcing in a distributor and people's cars didn't go up in flames. Wd-40 is only flammable while it's wet once the solvents in it evaporate it's fine. Don't forget the pvc insulation on your PSU cables are flammable as well. Isopropyl alcohol as well as most contact cleaners are highly flammable.

(Edit: spelling mistake)

Wrong:

Is WD-40 Flammable After Drying?
The main constituent of WD-40 is petrochemical distillates, so it is no doubt that the oil is flammable. However, when dry, it burns slowly without any sound, so it can be called more combustible than flammable. When heated, it goes under oxidation, releasing heat energy and making the oil more likely to combust.

WD40 isnt flammable much at all, thinking about how many times ive sprayed it into areas that could catch on fire..
eg into electric motors on RC cars, the brushes must be arcing all the time .. no motor ever caught on fire..

yes it will flame up when you ignite it straight out of the can but thats because the can has a flammable propellant in it (which i always thought was propane/butane) as well as being extremely well atomised (boiling off easily and rapidly)

all this talk is really just speculation unless you can tell us what actually is in WD40

According to common sources such as Wikipedia, the stock WD-40 formulation's ingredients are mostly petroleum products, so it's flammability isn't in question. It certainly is flammable.

But flammability is a very broad definition. It can mean anything from low-grade hazard, to extreme explosiveness. In this case the risk is obviously low, but then, inside a computer, so too are the benefits.

DundyTheCroc wrote on 2022-11-25, 08:46:

There are many types of WD-40 sprays, for contacts, slots and other electrical equipment use that:
wd.jpg

^^^ What he posted.

^^But only if you want to clean moving contacts. Not as a general dousing / brushing of cards.

Shreddoc wrote on 2022-11-25, 10:28:

^^But only if you want to clean moving contacts. Not as a general dousing / brushing of cards.

Wrong!

MarkP wrote on 2022-11-25, 10:32:

Shreddoc wrote on 2022-11-25, 10:28:

^^But only if you want to clean moving contacts. Not as a general dousing / brushing of cards.

Wrong!

Reasoning?