Megasquirt Housing / Boxes - Ideas weblinks and help wanted !

[CwazyWabbit]

....I get the feeling people are seeing a problem that's not there - how many people have actually drowned an ECU?

....

I'd be more worried about my phone than an MS ECU, from what I have seen of them they look like they would survive a dunking and probably need little more than running under a tap followed by a quick blast of compressed air.

Don't get me wrong, if people really want the boards sealed away crack on, I just think it's an expensive path to take.....

[landy_andy]

I went with option 1 for a couple of reasons, EDIS is designed to be under bonnet mounted & I wanted the connections to the coil packs to be kept short, also putting the fuses & relays outside the enclosure makes for easy checking/replacement if required.

Don't forget dust can be as harmful to the electronics as much as water, more so if the board & connector is caked in dust & then gets damp. Ideal environment for tracking to happen, conformal coating will reduce this problem but the DB37 could be an issue after extensive use. That's one of the main reasons I went for the Amphanol connectors as in summer our forest roads are just wicked for dust.... you have to leave about a km between vehicles so the following one can see, otherwise your driving blind

This is mine as it stands now, relays & fuses in holders from VWP.... and they'll be mounted to the top of the enclosure with a small bracket. I'll be mounting the whole assy on top of the seatbox with some small rubber isolators to reduce vibration a bit.

Overkill..... yup.... but when your 200km up a forest road, out of cell service and having issues.... I don't want it to be due to MS.... the grizzly bears & cougers are bad enough...

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Erm Moi mr Beagley and another well known challenge comp here who won't be names have all given ecu a swim too deep

[Bowie69]

Did it kill the ECUs?

Were they conformal coated?

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Mr Beagley blew something, mine got washed under the tap and airing cupboard and still worked

the "Other member" killed his, then mine died shortly afterwards and was kindly fixed for me

I don't know what bit(s) failed the MS Boxes I belive are filled with "Magic" and some of it died

Nige

[B reg 90]

Some thoughts:

Sealed boxes - put desicant in them to mop up mositure. You can get moisture indicators that are fitted to 'export' style packing that indicate moisture levels, i.e. you would be able to visually check for moisture with out opening up the box.

Take a spare ECU. Pack that in a sealed pack with desicant. You'd take a spare ecu any way wouldn't you?? Therefore you could afford to dunk the 1st in a worst case upside down in the only puddle kind of incident.

Adrian

[Retroanaconda]

My reasoning behind suggesting roof-mounting was that surely if you've got it wet there then you've either A: driven into water sufficiently deep to cover the car in which case you're personally underwater and the car is likely going to sustain worse damage than electrical issues, or B: flipped it into water in which case you're facing a similar situation - with the added bonus of being upside down and the engine issues that follow along with that.

I know the extreme hardcore challenge scene is somewhat different to normal off-road driving, but even in the most capable vehicle on the planet if I found myself with water up to my neck I'd be packing it in for sure!

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

I also pressure washed mine as well accidently until i Found a box to pop it in !

(That box is no longer made !!)

Nige

[CwazyWabbit]

Actually I'd imagine the pressure washing incident is one that is far more likely to occur (escpecially removing the brown adrenalin streaks from HFH's seats after the 5.2 install).

If you are going to try and protect from pressure washing you are gonna want a seriously well sealed box though.

[TSD]

Mount it inside your airbox downstream of the air filter - if it's not clean and dry in there you already have problems

[zardos]

As my v8 has no doors things tend to get a bit wet inside especially on a slide slope when it just rains in. So everything - ECU, EDIS, relays and all the vehicle fuses are in an ip67 box

[dirtyninety]

Zardos have you got any pictures of your megasquirt box install..... and actually some of your truck please?

[bobtail84]

For that matter, how many people, be they running V8's or TDi's, have ever even had water up past their nips in the cab?

I have... but I did have the ECU in my hand so what ever way it went I could poke it up in the fresh air. But as FF has said condensation is your enemy, I have had an ECU returned to me as one of the injector drivers packed up and he was on a rally stage in the middle of the night as a marshal in minus temps but he had the heating on the Sahara setting and the ECU was bolted to the rear bulkhead on a 90. The combination of heat from the V8 and coldness of the bulkhead killed the driver.

Thanks for sorting the ECU out for me FF.

[zardos]

Zardos have you got any pictures of your megasquirt box install..... and actually some of your truck please?

I would though I would post this one as it is clearer on the box layout without the wires

I've posted pictures of my box before, so here is one from another thread

An a pic of the truck

You might notice the florescent yellow thing next to the drivers seat, this another deep water aid, it keeps the nut behind the wheel breathing

[CwazyWabbit]

Your second picture doesn't expand to the full size pic Zardos .... so here it is in big up size

[need4speed]

Any further forward on this idea Nige?

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Yes

I have a nice sample box sitting on the bench and the manufactuers aren't far from me so looking to go over with a Built PCB and see what

we can do between us to move it forward

I'll post a picture of box later

Nige

[need4speed]

Is the plan to provide the ECU, Relay Board and EDIS a waterproof enclosure, or is it solely going to be for the ECU?

[Hybrid_From_Hell]

Both

At the moment this look like an ECU on its own box winner

IP67 I think, silicone seals, these look a tad big on this box cos its small and cute, Its about 1/3 size of a MS Box !

Can be had with a Feet Mounting option etc etc

[need4speed]

Certainly interested in learning more on the larger version housing all the major components

[landy_andy]

Thought I'd throw this pic up of my ECU & fuse/relay combo, fits nice between the seats on top of the seat box.

This is the bracket that'll mount it over the seat box rear bulkhead joint.

[boringol]

Tesco butty box located in glove box using Durite Superseal Plugs so can be easily removed.

Box has ECU relays fuse and EDIS with screened VRED sensor wire

[missingsid]

Hi Nige,

If the demo box is the correct size for a Megajot ECU I can make use of it for you?

I am currently using a chinese box (take away that is)!!

Marc

[Boothy]

I've spent the last 6 years or so up to my neck in water regularly and the only problem I've ever had was water ingress into the MAP sensor which was due to the the inlet tract getting wet, apart from preventing ingress into the 'V' which is a whole new ballgame.

Now I don't use the MAP sensor anymore "happy days", I power-wash my enclosure following every event (its on the bulkhead inside) without any panic, and just get on with it, like Fridge said earlier your looking for a problem that doesn't exist, you may be thinking of a winch off against a Trident submarine - forget it, stick to mud.

Incidentally Fridge - motor on roof = find something to use centre winch on - right it - start it - and carry on, expert at it.....

[bobtail84]

Found these whilst looking for something else..

The box came from B&Q and cost about a tenner and I do have a picture of the finished job which I can't find at the mo but you will get the idea.

When it was finished it was bolted behind the drivers seat on a 90 and was just the job.