Fried Controller

[Seriousknot]

I fried my Lyen 24 fet controller (went swimming, long story) and I don't have a clue how to diagnose what the damage is...anybody got any ideas?

 

[middriveebike]

Did you dropped it into water?
Is so, dry it up before you use it again.
If it is already fired, it is probably not worth the time to fix it. Go get a new controller.

 

[Seriousknot]

No, I didn't drop it, I rode it into the lake, gotta watch the moss on the edge of the boat ramp, and yeah it was powered up.

 

[Ykick]

Lyen generally builds-in some protection for internal shorts, etc. Have you tried it after a good drying out? Reached out to Edward about potential repair?

 

[dnmun]

even if you opened it up for us to examine and could test it at our directions, do you have the ability to repair it? do you have a voltmeter? or know how to solder?

 

[Seriousknot]

Yes, I reached out to Lyen but he did not respond. I do have soldering skills and a voltmeter. If nothing else, maybe someone could use it for parts.

 

[dnmun]

have you opened it and dried it out inside already? how long did it stay submerged and did you keep trying to use the throttle after it was wet inside or did it just go dead?

if you haven't opened it yet, go ahead, open it, and if you can blow it out with air from an air compressor do that to dry it out first. you could even warm the oven a little and turn it off then put the controller in there to dry totally. don't run the oven with the controller inside though. just for dryness.

 

[QuestionMan]

I agree if you dry it out completely, wait days, you may have a chance.

I put my car clicker through the wash and after it dried it was fine.

However, the big thing to do was not to use it while it was still wet.

 

[Dauntless]

Clean water is an insulator, dirty or salt water a conductor. Saw a guy walk out onto a springboard over the pool at a swimmeet to shoot from overhead with a handheld, as he got farther out the board bounced more and more and he almost fell in, losing the camera as he did. They let the camera sit for over a week to be sure it was dry, but it worked. How well I don't know, I didn't work for them, but I knew the people and they showed up at another event and said that was the very camera. Pool water is very clean.

Meanwhile, I also knew the group that had the cameraman lean too far over the side of the small boat with the camera and fell into the ocean. It was a total loss.

In the early days of arc welding they didn't have the rheostats and they'd have a bucket of water with two cable ends in it, dropping more and more salt in until they had the current they wanted. Just how clean would you say your water was? Just some river or stream, all bets are off, it could go either way.

The best thing about pulling this apart is you can make sure it's all dry, water up connectors might be your only problem.

 

[middriveebike]

If water did not kill your controller right away, and you get it working somehow after it dried, you still have a significantly shorter life of the controller.
It is not just shorting the circuit that you need to worry about, water will also make the copper inside the PCB rust and become green. Salt water would be worse. The best thing to do if you drop your electronic into salt water is to:
(People will say I am crazy)
Open it up and RINSE it with clean fresh water to remove the salt that stayed on the components.
dry it up with a hair drier. Do not over heat a particular part, especially the IC. Do it evenly.
Leave the PCB in open air or in dehumid box(those for camera) for a day or so.
Close it and try it.
If it still doesnt work. You have slim chance to fix it at reasonable cost.
Buy a new one.

 

[dnmun]

it all depends on how it failed. won't know until we can look at it and test it once it dries. but i would have opened it immediately and drained the water before attempting to power up the controller again, or the battery.

 

[Seriousknot]

Luckily it was fresh water, Greer's Ferry Lake in Arkansas. I got ahold of Edward Lyen and I will be sending it to him to be repaired, hopefully. I can't wait to get my bike running again.