Outside unit of Tesa Weather Station Pro ws1151

[khos8]

Outside unit of Tesa Weather Station Pro ws1151 stopped working. As in no temperature and humidity reading on the display. Main unit also does not pick up anything from the outside.

There are some white-ish deposits on the PCB see - photos. It seems like it’s caked onto the board. Maybe condensation that got dried up after years of being outside?

Pointers on what to check will be appreciated. I have some (far from great though) soldering skills and with enough luck may be able to replace a capacitor or similar.
Figured worth a shot before chucking into a landfill.

Thanks!

[Poroit]

G'day khos,

It looks likes water damage. Do you live near the coast?

https://hzo.com/blog/corrosion-water-damage-electronics

Was there a Desiccant pack inside the instrument?

[khos8]

Thanks for the link.
Good call.
Yeah, it's pretty humid here throughout the year.

You reckon it's a goner? No reason to try and salvage?

[floobydust]

The board is dirty in critical areas, it needs to be cleaned - but without splashing anything on the humidity sensor and wrecking it!
I think it's soldering flux, not sure if water-soluble but I would first use q-tips and IPA to spot clean a few places.
The crystal leads on the top are filthy, there is black creep corrosion on the LCD display terminals too, and the batteries look to have taken a piss at some point.

Normally I would remove the humidity sensor and soak the board in hot dishsoapy water and use an old toothbrush to scrub it. If the contamination is not water soluble, like the battery corrosion I'll first use vinegar (on a q-tip) to get that off, then rinse and dry the board.