MS Ecu and edis

[skauldy]

Hi folks,

Anyone found any nice waterproof boxes to house there megasquirt ecu, edis unit and relays. In Ireland so if you had any places online that would be handy. Thanks,

Shane

[Bowie69]

EDIS lives in the engine bay, and is waterproof by itself.

[bodumatau]

I have another question similar, once you have your waterproof box and solder your plugs on for the ECU, the ECU is forever "trapped" in the box? or are there clever sealing thingy's out there that you can still pull a plug out of? this is a detail that worries me, once the loom is made and the ECU plug on I will never get it out of the vehicle again unless with its waterproof box.

[skauldy]

Thought I read somewhere before it was good to have as close to the ecu

[Dave W]

Thought I read somewhere before it was good to have as close to the ecu

No, the wires going to/from the coil packs can generate interference that can cause issues if it's close to the ECU, especially if it's right next to it. That's one of the reasons people have big problems when they put coil drivers directly inside the ECU case.

[Dave W]

I have another question similar, once you have your waterproof box and solder your plugs on for the ECU, the ECU is forever "trapped" in the box? or are there clever sealing thingy's out there that you can still pull a plug out of? this is a detail that worries me, once the loom is made and the ECU plug on I will never get it out of the vehicle again unless with its waterproof box.

One option I've seen is to use a waterproof multipole connector (or 2 or 3) either mounted to the waterproof box or connected inline externally. It does mean you have two connectors instead of one but you can still remove everything from the vehicle if you need to.

[skauldy]

No, the wires going to/from the coil packs can generate interference that can cause issues if it's close to the ECU, especially if it's right next to it. That's one of the reasons people have big problems when they put coil drivers directly inside the ECU case.

Oops, I had it arse about Tit. Thanks Dave.

[bodumatau]

Thanks Dave, this option crossed my mind, will it not affect voltages for the ECU having the extra plugs? Or is it negligible.

Do you have plugs you would recommend?

Right now I am tending toward putting the ECU box under the passenger seat and then pulling the whole thing out if needed with only an extra plug on the wires that join ECU-EDIS

[Dave W]

Extra connectors shouldn't have a negative impact, especially if you use good quality ones.

The Econoseal ones are very good, I use a lot of these which are rated at 10A per pin which is more than enough for any of the MS pins...

http://www.polevolt.co.uk/acatalog/Econoseal_Connectors.html

I divide them up into 2 or 3 different connectors so all the signals from the engine go through one connector, injectors, fuel pump and fan control go on another etc...

I've also played with the idea of using one of the Econoseal 36 way ECU connectors, make a PCB to accept the male and seal it into the side of the waterproof box with a ribbon cable or similar to the MS ECU.

http://www.polevolt.co.uk/acatalog/ECU_Connectors.html

If you go down the econoseal route, do yourself a big favour and also buy one of the professional crimping tools for them, saves a LOT of time and effort and gives a good secure connection every time.

[FridgeFreezer]

I'd think twice about how waterproof you really need it to be, even playing submarines you're unlikely to get submerged much deeper than bonnet-deep. A long loom with the ECU at head-height or something is likely to be absolutely fine.

As for the "what if you roll it in a pond?" question - well, then you've got bigger problems and should probably kill the engine / battery anyway!

[Dave W]

I've always mounted mine half way between the seat base and the roof in the middle of the bulkhead so it's equidistant from the sides and roof. I figure if the water level gets to it, whatever orientation the vehicle is in, I'm about ready to bail out anyway !

I was put off the roof thing after a trip to Ireland, one of the motors ended up on it's roof on a gravel track (don't ask !) and, as it was raining and on a slope, there was a stream of water running into the roof, it was only about an inch deep but, unfortunately, the expensive head unit that was mounted in the roof for safety from water, never worked again.

[bodumatau]

my V8 mostly runs around without any roof at all so I need it to be proper waterproof so it doesn't end up soaked after a surprise rain shower, till now I have been draping a plastic sheet over the passenger seat to keep water running down the back of the east and into the seatbox, happy to have all the goodies in a waterproof box and plenty of drain holes in the seatbox so the electrics can keep dry.