Water in the AMP seal

[JustinL]

I had a bit of a scare on the weekend that first manifested itself as full duty cycle with the engine off and the µS powered. Needless to say, it flooded the engine and wouldn't start. Switched back to the old computer and cranked it for a while and eventually cleared out the engine and drove home. Somehow the code got corrupted in the unit. Reflash... reload and she's up and running like a champ again.

Then yesterday, lost the whole microsquirt unit. No injecting, no comms, nothing. So I decided to investigate the plug to check for power as this was the most likely explanation. Turns out the AMP seal connector was full of water. I think the water came in through a crack in my battery tray and dripped down into the passenger footwell, around three corners, down the wires, through the AMP seal and collected.

After a thorough verbal lashing and some drying over night, I plugged it in again this morning and we're back in business. I'm going to relocate the microsquirt for now where it won't get dripped on and hopefully seal up the battery tray when the weather is a bit more cooperative.

[Bernard Fife]

JustinL,

The AMPseal connectors are supposed to be water tight. This depends on the wires not being pulled out of position (i.e., some sort of strain relief - so the wires aren't pulling on the rubber membrane that seals the connector) and the connector being completely latched.

I have noticed that it takes quite a bit of force to properly latch the connector, and it makes a definite 'click' when it seated properly.

I'm sure yours was latched, but I thought I would point this out for others that stumble on this thread.

If I found water in my connector, I would be tempted to uses some dielectric grease in the connector, I think.

Lance.

[JustinL]

Lance,

Yes, you're right my ampseal was clicked and the seal looks really tight around the connector. I think the water must have come in along the wires. Strain may have been the culprit as the microsquirt was sort of hanging by the harness, which also guides any water down into the connection. In fact I actually poured water out of the microsquirt end of the connector. It was quite shocking to see water in there at all.

I figured I make a thread so people will be aware that ampseal does need to be checked and perhaps mounted in such a way that water won't collect.

Justin

[newtyres1]

A drip loop, where the harness goes down and then swings back up a bit so that the water (or condensation) drips from the wires and cannot enter a connector, has been used in varying industries/applications. In this case it is amazing to see how far water will travel!

Ian.