I’m writing this as a precaution to all-and-any that use aerosols to clean equipment.

I have used – silly me – a can of Carb&Choke (C&C) Cleaner to clean electrical contacts in plugs & sensors. I’m talking, Injectors, Inlet Air temp, MAF, Boost Air temp, etc, etc, and all the rest.

I’m uncertain what the chemical constituents of this product are (the can is quite evasive in any empirical formulae) but I suspect it is Tricholoethane. AKA as Trike. It is used in the electronics industry & more for extensive cleaning, by the way.

This chemical has turned my plug & connector rubber-seals into the consistency of jelly, where they have expanded and split. The metal contacts have been stripped of any protection and corrosion has kicked-in. And, believe me when I say this, copper & brass does corrode. They turn (insulating) green.

Do not use the aforementioned cleaner on anything other than what it says to, on the tin.

My car has started to fail left-right-and-centre, where electrical contact has degraded on anything sprayed with C&C, to the point I’m going to disconnect anything & everything on my engine that I may have inadvertently sprayed.

My car failed today, it cut-out if I accelerated, or went above 1750 rev’s. I had to nurse it until I found a parking space. My iCaroft pointed an accusing finger at the Boost Air pressure Sensor, which it was. I sprayed it with WD40 and off it went. Phew.

I’m now having to replace rubber seals and also to clean contacts, spraying them with the same WD40.

What an error I have made.

Everyone, please only use cleaning agents for what is said on the tin, otherwise you might end up doing what I am… tomorrow.

Take heed or pay the penalty I am. Sigh.
And trust me when I say this... I should have known better.

Thanks for posting, useful info and it would be an easy mistake to use a suitable contact cleaner which still may damage the seals.

btw:
" Safe to use on electrical equipment, plastic, rubber and metal "
WD-40® Specialist® Electrical Contact Cleaner Spray
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I use this stuff:

I don't usually like the carb cleaner as it leaves too much residue. Brake or contact cleaner all the way.

In addition to my Thread, I had another look at my i930 fault codes. There were 5. Not just the one after all.
P0235, P1110, P1e25, P0100 & P1190.
I've managed to clear them all, bar 1. Cleaning the connectors with Contact Cleaner did the trick. But P1190 persists. It is Fuel Rail Pressure Plausibility. I now need to check this one out. Any ideas, anyone?

Have a look at what the diagnostics say about the rail pressure live data. The rail pressure sensor harness has a reputation of not being the most robust, too.

Aw, your not going to believe this... it seems I had also sprayed the HP Fuel Regulator's contacts & plug with the Carb/Choke spray as well. It slipped my mind I had disconnected it too.
I did this when I stripped the Starter-Motor, which gave me access.
WD40, followed by Electrical Contact Spray, and all is well.
I cannot believe the adverse effects generated by using a supposed cleaner that has turned out to be rather nasty.
My tin of C&C is in the bin! I refuse to use it again. It's gone.
My car is running as sweet as before.
Please take note, everyone.

Hard Drive said:

Aw, your not going to believe this... it seems I had also sprayed the HP Fuel Regulator's contacts & plug with the Carb/Choke spray as well. It slipped my mind I had disconnected it too.
I did this when I stripped the Starter-Motor, which gave me access.
WD40, followed by Electrical Contact Spray, and all is well.
I cannot believe the adverse effects generated by using a supposed cleaner that has turned out to be rather nasty.
My tin of C&C is in the bin! I refuse to use it again. It's gone.
My car is running as sweet as before.
Please take note, everyone.

Click to expand...

If you had used the product for what it was meant for there wouldn’t of been an issue. This is solely user error nothing to do with the product

I frequently use brake and clutch cleaner for cleaning other parts but I only ever use electrical cleaner or wd40 on electrics.
This is one of those "does what it says on the tin" occasions!

johnlad said:

If you had used the product for what it was meant for there wouldn’t of been an issue. This is solely user error nothing to do with the product

Click to expand...

Mick X11 said:

I frequently use brake and clutch cleaner for cleaning other parts but I only ever use electrical cleaner or wd40 on electrics.
This is one of those "does what it says on the tin" occasions!

Click to expand...

I couldn't agree more, guys.
As I said, it was a silly mistake. Lessons to be learned, eh?
I have.