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water proof
cadebytiger - 11/7/06 at 04:18 PM

I have an emerald ECU and at the moment the car is kept in the garage so i have not been too owrrid about waterproofing.

I have it mounted on the scutle under the bonnet.

I am soon going to have to keep the car on the drive and don't want to fry it in the wet as i think the bonnet is less than waterproof.

Does anyone know of anyway of waterproofing the emerald?

Thanks for the help

Rupert


MkIndy7 - 11/7/06 at 04:35 PM

On Scrapheap challenge they put all the electrics in Tuppaware containers and then siliconed up where the wires went in, Thats pretty Locost!

Not sure if the units need cooling though.

Would you not be as well with a complete car cover to stop everything getting wet!
Think there only about £30 form Argos etc

Or they even do Garaged sized Gazebo's with sides and doors for about £80 in Makro


robertst - 11/7/06 at 05:52 PM

they say wd40 is good to protect electrical components as it repels water....


stevebubs - 11/7/06 at 06:59 PM

Emeralds apparently don't like water in the slightest.

Think you may get some funny looks if you start driving down the road with a car cover on....you'll have the motoring parazzi on your chuffett to see what supercar you're hiding...

Tupperware, lunchboxes etc are quite common for this sort of role. Basically putting it in any sort of sealable box with reasonable water protection should do.

Stephen


RazMan - 11/7/06 at 08:51 PM

Locost solution - bin bag and gaffer tape!

Don't knock it ..... it really works


MkIndy7 - 11/7/06 at 10:40 PM

quote:
Originally posted by stevebubs
Think you may get some funny looks if you start driving down the road with a car cover on....you'll have the motoring parazzi on your chuffett to see what supercar you're hiding...
Stephen


Hmm think I ment that more for when he was storing the car in the drive


cadebytiger - 12/7/06 at 08:05 AM

quote:
Originally posted by MkIndy7
On Scrapheap challenge they put all the electrics in Tuppaware containers and then siliconed up where the wires went in, Thats pretty Locost!

Not sure if the units need cooling though.

Would you not be as well with a complete car cover to stop everything getting wet!
Think there only about £30 form Argos etc

Or they even do Garaged sized Gazebo's with sides and doors for about £80 in Makro


Ha that sounds great! I could even work on it in the rain! super.

I will see if i can find a good looking lunchbox to pop it in as i don't think the unit needs cooling.

Thanks everone!


andyace - 12/7/06 at 12:49 PM

I am intending to go Megajolt (one day!) and was planning to put the unit and EDIS under the scuttle just behind the dash.

The reason for this was so I could connect it up to the laptop easily enough (was thinking of putting a plug on the dash to connect the laptop). Also so it would not get wet.

Anyone see any issues with this ?


cadebytiger - 12/7/06 at 12:57 PM

I find that i get water comming in under there if it is raining hard. This is most likely because it is not sealed but i guess if it were mounted on the scuttle not on the "shelf" bit then it would be fine

Rupert


John Bonnett - 12/7/06 at 04:36 PM

The ecu certainly needs cooling and I don't think sealing it in a box will do it much good. If you can, it would be better under the dash where it will stay dry but will still have air circulating around it.

John


cadebytiger - 13/7/06 at 09:50 AM

quote:
Originally posted by John Bonnett
The ecu certainly needs cooling and I don't think sealing it in a box will do it much good. If you can, it would be better under the dash where it will stay dry but will still have air circulating around it.

John


Ok will do thanks for the advice! I think i have found a nice spot for it.

Thanks everyone

Rupert


IainB - 13/7/06 at 10:27 AM

My dad was a drilling enginer who built borehole survey tools, all the circuitboards were fitted to the tool then the whole thing was filled up to the top with epoxy resin! meant the whole thing was water proof and almost indestructable! as it used radio to communicate on the surface there were no wires either. Maybe not the best idea for cooling..

Iain


iank - 13/7/06 at 10:53 AM

Epoxy potting compound conducts heat reasonably well, certainly as well as air. You can get it from from Maplins.

It changes repair to replace though so not good for expensive stuff like ECUs unless you have a real need/budget.

The other stuff you can get is called conformal coating which is a spray on silicone or urathane which does much the same thing but gives a chance at repair.


BKLOCO - 13/7/06 at 11:02 AM

The ECU should NOT be mounted under the bonnet. It's too harsh an environment.
Better to mount it under the scuttle or in the passenger footwell.
The components in most after market ECUs are not of a high enough spec to withstand underbonnet temperatures.
You may get away with it but why risk it?