Das UBoat

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Seriousknot

100 W
Joined
Mar 22, 2010
Messages
202
Ebikes don't like water, especially when they become fully submerged in it. My Lyen 24 fet controller is floatin belly up. My Crystalyte 5305 is drying out and hopefully ok (fingers crossed). Lipo seems none the worse for the wear. Valuable lesson learned, stay the hell away from the edge of the water at the concrete boat ramp, the lake moss is like ice!!! I only wish I had a video of the event. Somehow, I managed to keep my phone dry. Had to push the bike home uphill two miles with my elbow bleedin and my pride bruised. Now I have to diagnose what got fried in the controller and I don't have Lyen's software anymore because the laptop it was installed on was stolen. Anybody got a good link or any advice on troubleshooting?
 
Best advice i can give is give it plenty of time to dry out, then blow it all off with an air line which will find more water then leave it to dry again, dont power it up again untill you are very sure it is completely dry!
The motor probably wont have suffered at all, these should be able to run under water, the controller may not have been so lucky but you never know, wait till its dry and give it a try.

Simon.
 
Thanks, it happened on Saturday. I opened the controller case and let it dry. I have been trying to open the X5, but the side cover is being difficult.
 
The paint holds the motor cover on tightly. I used a knife blade and a hammer in the crack to split mine open.
If you managed to disconnect the power quickly enough, there's a good chance for controller recovery once dried. If the power stays on, the water and electricity will cause accelerated corrosion on parts of the board and typically eats through the traces after long enough.
 
Yeah I dried the controller completely then tried it, I'm pretty sure its DOA at this point. I have the USB cable for it but not the software. I also managed to snap one of John Rob Holme's 12 ga spokes in half too.
 
Probably too late for you, but I heard from an electronis guy that submerged electronics can be soaked in distilled water and allowed to dry. This process removes the minerals that collect on the board with natural water. Those minerals could short-circuit the board during powerup.
 
Distilled water, thanks, I'll remember that the next time I take it swimming :)
 
I've soaked hundreds, maybe thousands of populated circuit boards in plain mild soapy water, including complete PC's (minus fans so I wouldn't have to oil them) so dirty you wouldn't believe it. Scrubbed them with soft brush, then submerged in clear plain hot water to rinse. Shake dry and then use reverse shop vac air to complete drying and get moister from connectors. Then let sit in dry area for a while. Ran for years afterwards. Of course none were powered up at the time.:)
 
Yeah, I'm not concerned about water residue so much, mine was powered and I'm pretty sure something is fried :-(
 
I was wondering if these controllers, or less expensive ones, could be potted in resin to make them more resistant to moisture?
 
Seriousknot said:
I was wondering if these controllers, or less expensive ones, could be potted in resin to make them more resistant to moisture?
Click to expand...
If you plan to ride underwater again, I doubt that any simple means of waterproofing could be up to the task. :mrgreen:
 
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