can lubing kill switches?

[Jixr]

Hey guys, on my QF XT I have several switches that are missing inputs.

I did swap the stock reds out for lubed  blacks, and I thought it was just bad joints, so last night I re did those switches, and they are acting the same.

Could the teflon lube be causing issues between the contact plates preventing them from registering? I lubed them just over a month ago or so, and the problem switches seem to be recent.

I have some extra switches I can throw in, but I'm wondering if this could be an issue from lubing?

[tp4tissue]

Hey guys, on my QF XT I have several switches that are missing inputs.

I did swap the stock reds out for lubed  blacks, and I thought it was just bad joints, so last night I re did those switches, and they are acting the same.

Could the teflon lube be causing issues between the contact plates preventing them from registering? I lubed them just over a month ago or so, and the problem switches seem to be recent.

I have some extra switches I can throw in, but I'm wondering if this could be an issue from lubing?

no it' can't KILL the switch..

if it ends up causing chatter, as long as you wipe the contacts carefully.. everything will recover..

There is not enough current going through the thing to  KILL

[CPTBadAss]

Did you check the joints with a multimeter to ensure they're actually working and not cold?

[Jixr]

No, i didn't think of checking the joints with a voltmeter.

i'll try that before I take the switch apart to clean them.


it seems like on all the affected swtiches, it will only register about 3 out of ever 5 keypresses, and sometimes kinda lag and give a double input.

Could be a computer/software issue I suppose.


I'll have to test the KB  on another computer to see.

[phoenix1234]

Hey guys, on my QF XT I have several switches that are missing inputs.

I did swap the stock reds out for lubed  blacks, and I thought it was just bad joints, so last night I re did those switches, and they are acting the same.

Could the teflon lube be causing issues between the contact plates preventing them from registering? I lubed them just over a month ago or so, and the problem switches seem to be recent.

I have some extra switches I can throw in, but I'm wondering if this could be an issue from lubing?

If you are using the multiple purpose grease with PTFE, it has very strong dielectric behaviour.
(e.g. If you're using Super lube, you can check its characteristics here http://www.super-lube.com/multipurpose-grease-ezp-82.html)
Therefore, if these grease touch the contact point, it may temporarily disable it.
As tp4tissue advised,  everything should fine if you can wipe / wash / clean the contact points properly.
You can try Super Lube Super Kleen Degreaser but I don't have any experience with it so please consult other experts if it is safe for Cherry MX metal contact points?

[fohat.digs]

Lubing keyboard switches is a lot different from lubing your bicycle chain.

Lubes have countless formulations including many solvents that do not play nicely with certain plastics. There is a lot of knowledge here far beyond mine, stick with the tried and true, especially if you want the switches to last for years or decades.

[tp4tissue]

Hey guys, on my QF XT I have several switches that are missing inputs.

I did swap the stock reds out for lubed  blacks, and I thought it was just bad joints, so last night I re did those switches, and they are acting the same.

Could the teflon lube be causing issues between the contact plates preventing them from registering? I lubed them just over a month ago or so, and the problem switches seem to be recent.

I have some extra switches I can throw in, but I'm wondering if this could be an issue from lubing?

If you are using the multiple purpose grease with PTFE, it has very strong dielectric behaviour.
(e.g. If you're using Super lube, you can check its characteristics here http://www.super-lube.com/multipurpose-grease-ezp-82.html)
Therefore, if these grease touch the contact point, it may temporarily disable it.
As tp4tissue advised,  everything should fine if you can wipe / wash / clean the contact points properly.
You can try Super Lube Super Kleen Degreaser but I don't have any experience with it so please consult other experts if it is safe for Cherry MX metal contact points?

conductive vs non conductive lube isn't much of an issue with cherry mx switches..

because....  there's a plastic segregation plate on the top housing that would prevent lube from traveling in the direction of the contact.

[mkawa]

you would need a very thick lube, applied such that it basically filled the entire switch to kill the contact of the gold cross-thingamajig. what you can do very easily though is make the switch behave intermittently. you should really stick to pretty thin lubes (even my krytox thick formulation is pretty thin in the grand scheme of things) and be very very judicious in your use of lubrication inside of a switch. any reasonable lube that we would use is non-conductive, so keep that in mind.