How To Use Ultrasonic Cleaner

How to clean a motherboard:
Why do we use ultrasonic cleaners?
Motherboards that do not work can often be fixed by putting them through an ultrasonic
cleaner. The ultrasonic cleaner removes crap from the board that can short circuit
components. It also removes sticky residue that can add capacitance between
components causing strange random shutdowns or malfunctions, as well as cleaning
underneath many chips that you cannot get to with a toothbrush or q-tip. Corrosion and
residues can cause strange intermittent issues: even if you can’t see it. {PAUL
PICTURE NEEDED of some sort of wine or sticky spill that doesn’t corrode anything but
gives you one of those blotches you can see when you put the board to light at an
angle}
Ultrasonic cleaner setup:

1. The ultrasonic cleaner should be filled with distilled water, not tap water! If we
are out of distilled water, ask a manager about purchasing some from the local
pharmacy.
2. The liquid we put in is a mixture of cleaning fluid(branson EC) and distilled water.
For each gallon of water poured into the ultrasonic cleaner, 113 mL of branson
EC should be added. Usually we put in approximately 1.8 gallons of water, and
add 180 mL of branson EC - the branson should be approximately 3% by volume
of the water.
3. The easiest way to do this is fill up the ultrasonic cleaner “to the lip” with distilled
water and slowly add branson as the water heats up.
4. The solution should be heated to 140f, or 60c prior to any cleaning being done.
Ultrasonic cleaner usage:
1. Remove any thermal paste from the logic board to prevent it from going all over
the board & under chipsets. {PAUL PICTURE NEEDED of thermal paste on
CPU}
2. Remove any sticky, soft shields from the board to prevent them from dissolving
and getting under the chips.{PAUL PICTURE NEEDED of shields of new
machines}
3. Remove any metal shields that are covering components so that they are not
blocking the cleaning of components under them. The ultrasonic cannot clean
through metal shields. {PAUL PICTURE NEEDED of shields}
4. Once the cleaner is heated to 60c with 1.8 gallons of distilled water + 180 mL of
Branson EC inside of it, place the board inside the cleaner labeled “BRANSON
EC”
5. Clean one side of the board for 2 minutes. DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM THE
CLEANER. The MOMENT it is done being cleaned, it must be flipped.
6. Remove the board, clean the other side of the board for 2 minutes. DO NOT
WALK AWAY FROM THE CLEANER. WE DO NOT WANT TO KEEP IT IN
THERE A SECOND LONGER THAN IS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY.
7. Remove the board from the ultrasonic cleaner, and place it into alcohol
tupperware container filled with 99% alcohol for 10 seconds.
8. Remove the board from the alcohol tupperware container, and place into 2nd
ultrasonic labeled “ALCOHOL.”
9. Ultrasonic the board for approximately 30 seconds in the alcohol. This is not
necessary, but will result in a cleaner looking board in the end, with no water
hiding under a component.
10. Leave the board on the fan to dry for approximately one day, ensure the fan is
on.
Glossy vs. matte finish boards.
Boards that appear to have a “glossy” finish are more delicate & fragile than boards that
appear to have a “matte” finish. Boards that are glossy must be ultrasonically cleaned
more carefully - for these boards, only ultrasonic them for 1 minute per side. For
A1989, A1990{PAUL PLEASE PUT OTHER MODELS I LEFT OUT HERE}, clean for 1
minute per side.
Risk of board death from ultrasonic cleaning
A working board can be killed by an ultrasonic cleaner. The motherboard is the most
expensive part of the machine, and on modern machines often has the data integrated
onto it. We must seek to prevent death by cleaning as often as possible. Common
causes of death are:
1. Cleaning at too high a temperature.
2. Cleaning the board for too long.
3. Leaving the board to soak in the cleaner because you went back to your desk &
forgot it was still in the ultrasonic.
4. Trying to power the board on before it is fully dry.
5. Using inappropriate cleaning materials that are too rough on the board.
#3 is a very common reason for board death - which is why we have the rule of not
returning to your desk until the board is done being cleaned. Put a game on your
phone or something to make sitting next to the ultrasonic for a few minutes more
tolerable.
Rapid drying.
Sometimes, it may be necessary to expedite a repair for an impatient customer. In these

cases, the board must be dried more quickly. Some boards which are less sensitive can
be placed in the oven for more rapid drying, at 150f, for a period of approximately half
an hour. You can do this after step 10 in the ultrasonic cleaning procedure - instead of
letting the board sit for 1 day, it can sit for 10 minutes, and then be placed into the oven.
Please speak with an experienced board technician or management before
placing boards in the oven.

How To Use Ultrasonic Cleaner

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How To Use Ultrasonic Cleaner

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How to clean a motherboard:

Why do we use ultrasonic cleaners?

Ultrasonic cleaner setup:

Ultrasonic cleaner usage:

Glossy vs. matte finish boards.

Risk of board death from ultrasonic cleaning

Sometimes, it may be necessary to expedite a repair for an impatient customer. In these

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