Solarbird 2d ago

Why would these thermal pads be... wet

this does not seem right. is this a breakdown mode of some thermal pads? Or is it something else entirely, or even by design?

(This device powers up and behaves normally until it doesn't, at which point it flashes its one LED continuously. It feels like overheating, but since it just disappears offline, it's hard to tell.)

#tech #repair #diy #asus #wifi #router

Show threadJacob Scharmberg1d ago
@moira its quite normal for the oils in the pad to seep out over time. But it's not electrically conductive, so shouldn't be an issue.
Show threadSolarbird 1d ago
@jacobscharmberg Thanks! Does it make the pad less effective? I would think it would, but I don't actually know, so.
Show threadJacob Scharmberg1d ago
@moira I'm not sure but I wouldn't expect by much. I think the oils mostly just makes the pad soft, so it can be squished into the correct shape. I certainly have never seen these leaking pads cause overheating.
Show threadSolarbird 1d ago

@jacobscharmberg Thank you! ^_^

So far the only obvious / certain fault I've found in this device was almost certainly from manufacture, a severed antenna wire. That wouldn't be good for the transmitter (or for performance) but it ran for several years that way, so I doubt it's relevant.

Anyway, I learned something today. Thanks again!

Show threadJacob Scharmberg
@moira happy to help! Good luck with the fix. :)
Apr 2 at 5:39pmWeb