microsquirt and vibration

toon2 · Post by **toon2** » Wed Jan 10, 2007 10:13 am

How will the microsquirt unit stand up to shock and vibration?

Post by **grippo** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 8:34 am

It should handle it even better than regular size MS because it is smaller in size. Regular MS has survived dune buggies and all sorts of off road vehicles. All the critical parts are rated for automotive or commercial use.

sparkandfuel.com · Post by **sparkandfuel.com** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 9:25 am

The SMT components have less mass and thus less weight to vibrate and damage over time, plus, there are almost no components with "through the hole" mounting and with this there are a lot less component legs, normally the easiest part of the component to fail. The whole package is more "solid" because of its smaller size and SMT construction.

It would be safe to say that it could last through about anything a vehicle could last through, and then some.

toon2 · Post by **toon2** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 12:16 pm

for my application it will be mounted on the tiller handle of an outboard motor style engine. The handle is directly coupled to the base that the engine is mounted to. This transmits all motor vibration. It will also be subject to shock from hitting logs and stumps.

do you think it will survive this?

Can the unit be potted somehow?

I am going to have a ton of ??'s before I start this project and it's such a specialized setup, would it help if I added pics of what I am trying to convert??

Post by **grippo** » Thu Jan 11, 2007 8:57 pm

You have an extreme case, but there are easy things you can do to help it survive. You can fill the case with potting compund - I have never done this, so I can't recommend a brand to use, but I'm sure you can easily search one out. This will both waterproof and shock protect it. I would also put a piece of rubber between the ECU and the engine mounting. Also a piece of insulation to prevent heat transfer from the engine into the ECU.

The bottom line is that MS is built just like an OEM or other good quality controller, and uses the same quality of parts. If you want to find the cutting edge of endurance, run it as is, but if you want a unit that will survive for a long time, then take simple, sensible precautions.