Waterproofing an ECU

[Crawlerer79]

I was just wondering how you go about keeping your ECUs happy in water... I got the Sheffield Mud Plug coming up soon and while I'd rather keep the inside of the Disco dry (which is where the ECU is I believe), I know there's not a chance of that happening! All the carpet and sound deadening is either already stripped or in the process of coming out but I'm not so sure about how ta waterproof the ECU. I've seen Denso tape recommended here on ORE... I come from an RC background and generally people seem to waterproof the ESCs by cracking the case open and coating the control board in something like Liquid-Electrical Tape or Plasti-Dip before throwing the case back on, giving the connectors a wipe with dielectrical grease and then giving it all a good dose of WD40 or silicon spray on the outside to keep it happy underwater... would this idea be suitable for an ECU? Only thing I'd be worried about otherwise is heat build up from the coating acting as an insulator... Any ideas? Other than that (touch wood), the Landie should hopefully be okay in the water as we've done all the mods Dad's done to his carby feed Rangie but the ECU has left us a bit unsure! (Guarantee something else will now die in the water cause I've said this.... )
Cheers guys

[kbushnz]

I take it the ECU is at floor level....
Personally I would look at relocating it somewhere higher like in the glove box or that sort of height.
If you have water that high then you are already in trouble hahaha
Don't have much experience with waterproofing but a plastic bag over ECU and sealed around wire loom should hold it back for a bit.

[Kampfer]

Yeah agree with putting it as high as possible. I've got mine in my glovebox and I've made sure all the panel joins around it are fill with silicone.

I've seen guys that have the ECU in the engine bay putting them in the snap lid box and putting as much silicone as possible around the holes for the cables.

[UBZ]

put in in a sealed electrical box , IP66 rated , cable gland for the wiring
then vent the box to vacuum , ie manifold or snorkel to pull any moisture out of it ,

if you don't vent it the trapped air will condensate inside the sealed box .

I wouldn't coat the ECU in anything as the capacitors , resistors etc can generate a fair amount of heat . electrical grease thins and runs when it gets hot and it is conductive so be careful where and how much of it you use

[yeti]

be right out Sheffield slick...........water will find its way out .............

[Crawlerer79]

I take it the ECU is at floor level....
Personally I would look at relocating it somewhere higher like in the glove box or that sort of height.
If you have water that high then you are already in trouble hahaha
Don't have much experience with waterproofing but a plastic bag over ECU and sealed around wire loom should hold it back for a bit.

Yea it's actaully higher up than I remembered... It sit right at the bottom of the dash by the drivers kickboard... Fairly well tucked up buy any sidling in deep water will have it under so I might look into raising it a bit more and potentially putting it in the centre of the truck more. Only thing with a sealed plastic bag I'd worry about would be condensation but if it's just around there as a temporary solution for the event I'd have thought it should be okay....

put in in a sealed electrical box , IP66 rated , cable gland for the wiring
then vent the box to vacuum , ie manifold or snorkel to pull any moisture out of it ,

if you don't vent it the trapped air will condensate inside the sealed box .

I wouldn't coat the ECU in anything as the capacitors , resistors etc can generate a fair amount of heat . electrical grease thins and runs when it gets hot and it is conductive so be careful where and how much of it you use

Sweet thanks UBZ! I had already got plans to run a box to a vacuum if the sealing it with somecoating or another didn't work... Good to know it's already something that's done! I presume a breather also needs running as an inlet so that the vacuum line isn't just trying to suck the box in on itself? Just want to double check on that?

Good to know that a coating won't work, I'd never heard of it being done in 1:1 world, only RCs ahaha. I'll defintely be careful not to put too much electrical grease on. Thanks

be right out Sheffield slick...........water will find its way out .............

Hopefully I manage to drain the water out without going to such drastic measures

Thanks for all the help guys, much appreciate it!