stix Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 I know this is not pyro related, but I thought I would throw it out there in the hope that someone may have some ideas from a chemical perspective. About 2 weeks ago I did some 4wd through salt water - I thought I washed it all off but now there are electrical issues. The remnant salt crystals, being hygroscopic are playing havoc, and it's been very humid here. From what I've researched Sodium Chloride cannot be neutralised. Any ideas? Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrB Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Lots, and lots of water rinsing with low salinity water? I'm thinking de ionized, like after pushing it through a RO filter or similar. We got that in "manually was your car here" stations here. The drawback is that it comes in the form of a high pressure washer, meaning you'll get water bloody everywhere. If it doesn't get the salts out, it's going to make things worse, for sure. Just of the top of my head, sorry.B! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stix Posted January 15, 2015 Author Share Posted January 15, 2015 Yeah, Thanks B! Hopefully the engine is not too screwed. it's been very humid here and it didn't start this morning, but later as it got warmer it did. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagabu Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Stix, Its electrical, probably not the engine itself. A regular water hose will dilute the salt, then after its dry, you need to pull ALL the connections you see apart one by one and use QRC QD on the contacts. Sounds like you have simple arcing issues, probably in your ignition system. WD-40 also works but the propellants have to evaporate first and its flammable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobosan Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 Do some 4wd through a fresh water lake or creek on a nice sunny day to dry out. It's probably too late by now since the salts sound like they are eating away at stuff already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogeryermaw Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 (edited) Stix, Its electrical, probably not the engine itself. A regular water hose will dilute the salt, then after its dry, you need to pull ALL the connections you see apart one by one and use QRC QD on the contacts. Sounds like you have simple arcing issues, probably in your ignition system. WD-40 also works but the propellants have to evaporate first and its flammable. +1 dag a little di-electric grease in the contacts you pull open would help prevent furthur corrsion in the event you want to go again. Edited January 15, 2015 by rogeryermaw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddewees Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 I watched a video recently of this spray stuff they put on electrical connections on rc parts and stuck the whole thing under salt water. I can't remember the product for the life of me, but wish I could. I'm almost positive I saw the video on one of these fireworks sites. Maybe someone else knows... the product looked amazing though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagabu Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 DeoxIT works really well on electrical connections but I don't know about submerging it. Any idea what it was named? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddewees Posted January 15, 2015 Share Posted January 15, 2015 I'll try to remember, but can't at all right now. It was two kids (I think one was Asian) who were doing an experiment/infomercial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobosan Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 You're not going nuts, Dan. I saw it too maybe a link on Fireworking. Some kind of conformal coating I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddewees Posted January 16, 2015 Share Posted January 16, 2015 Thanks Bob, you set me in the right direction... [Video] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaMtnBkr Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 I was going to suggest CorrosionX before seeing the video. It is pretty impressive stuff and is supposed to be a pretty good lubricant as well as preventing rust. It's not only supposed to prevent it but also stop current rust. Rust is kind of like cancer for metal. Once you have some it grows and spreads and this stuff claims to stop and further damage though it will need re-application. There is the regular stuff, some labeled as HD, as well as a marine made for use around saltwater. I've used the regular stuff around saltwater and it seems to work well. Including the engine on an airboat that is exposed with no cover or cowling and have been impressed. Not real cheap though. I would flush with lots of water then start and warm up to dry things up as much as possible. Let cool and repeat. Pull any connectors as mentioned and spray a bit of CorrosionX and put a dab of dielectric grease and put back together. If already corroded you need to try and scrape as much off you can first and then spray. Good luck. Salt is good for fried stuff, bad for vehicles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eb11 Posted January 17, 2015 Share Posted January 17, 2015 I am an electrician we use deox on connections up here Maine by the ocean works really good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stix Posted January 17, 2015 Author Share Posted January 17, 2015 Thanks everyone for your input. It seems ok at the moment. The problem was it was kicking over fine but not starting - I couldn't get to work that morning or the next (shame). There was a lot of condensation under the hood as it had also been very wet the previous day and water sprayed up into the engine bay where there must have been lots of dried salt... and there was little sticky droplets everywhere!! I couldn't easily check if I was getting a spark as I couldn't get any help ie. kick it over and see if there was an arc on the coil or plug leads - my arms weren't long enough. I tried starting it about every hour, then as the day heated up, Presto! it started. So I guess wherever the short was dried out. I've since given the engine a careful rinse and pulled out all the connectors I could get to and flushed them with WD-40 Electrical Contact Cleaner. I have to give it another clean or two and maybe use the suggested di-electric grease or similar. Although I won't be doing any more salt water driving. Only time will tell if the problem resurfaces. Thanks again.Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts