Connector water protection

[Espo]

So I was out crawling last weekend, completely lost steering at least 6 times. Very frustrating, I bypassed my light controller. Seems that unplugging an replugging connectors fixed the problem but I'm not sure. There is definitely oxidation on some connections. Dielectric grease good or bad?

[Hydrocarbon92]

It works with my boats, and they frequently get fully submerged, but the trick is getting them coated before they get corroded. Usually though it's just white powder that can be removed by reinserting it a dozen times while wet with contact cleaner. Then fill the plugs and coat the pins with dielectric grease.

[Espo]

Thanks. This is the dielectric I have, just wasnt sure if I should use it. well i guess i cant insert image from my drive?
Grote Ultra-seal Stock#99170 I have a brass brush, thinking of popping the pins brushing and assemble

[Mudflap84]

Originally Posted by Espo

So I was out crawling last weekend, completely lost steering at least 6 times. Very frustrating, I bypassed my light controller. Seems that unplugging an replugging connectors fixed the problem but I'm not sure. There is definitely oxidation on some connections. Dielectric grease good or bad?

Dielectric grease is good.I've added Corrosion X HD to my work bench. It's an amazing product for hard reach to places

[Meatwad]

If I know I'll be playing in water, silicone spray for the front universals/cvd's and driveshafts. Then some silicon grease for any electrical connectors. It can attract fine dust but the water protection is worth the price of admission.

[Ditchrat]

Dielectric grease is an electrical insulator. It doesn't mean you shouldn't use it, I do, but it does mean you can not just slob it on and call it good.

The main advantage of dielectric is that it lubricates connections so that you can get them more firmly seated and stop you from accidently creating a short when the grease from two terminals get warm, melt and then connect.

[Farabomb]

I use conformal coating and dielectric grease. I've heard great stories of corrosionX but until I run out of both my bottles of spray and paint on conformal I doubt I will pick some up. I should run out in about 100 years or so.

[Hydrocarbon92]

Dielectric grease is an insulator, but any non-damaged connector will displace it around the actual metal-metal connection. If corrosion is too bad, get some cheap servo leads from ebay/ali and solder them on. You can also find raw pins if you have an open barrel crimper.

My experience with Corrosion-X wasn't great. I conformal-coated some servo boards then used C-X for the motors. Two servos on one rig acted up shortly after Corrosion-X, not fully seizing but acting like the armature epoxy was gumming up. I managed to get them working with CRC 2-26 lube, which I'll stick to since it's 1) a lube, 2) plastic safe, 3) recommended for motors. I'll only use Corrosion-X if the electronics are hidden and can't be conformal-coated.

As for MG Chem type, most people go for the silicone type but urethane is what I used. It's actually tougher and will never peel off. Acrylic is fine too, but is usually used in case you need to solder/repair afterwards. I have a 50ml bottle and have done 15 servos, 10 receivers, and 2 dozen arduinos w/o even making a dent in it. Another cool feature is it's UV-reactive, meaning you can see if you missed a spot.

[Espo]

Well happened this weekend. Ended up swappping steering servo. Can't wait to drive it again. It seems to me a servo vs wiring. Should I tear open the servo? what would I look for?

[Hydrocarbon92]

Most water-damaged electronics will have a white powder around tinned pins & wires (green if not tin-plated), it's a mix of water minerals and flux/etc residue from the board reacting with water. Regardless, look for green patina and/or white stuff on the connectors and the control board inside. The motors are occasionally the issue, but not nearly as often. It might be possible to save it if you scrub it with pcb-safe contact cleaner and a tooth brush. If it's something under a chip, that may not work.

To check the motor, jump the terminals with 5v from a BEC with the servo lead disconnected. It should spin, but too much rotation could break the servo. Pull the motor out 1/4" if possible to disengage the gear.