Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Waterlogged ECU

Drove up to the Lake District Sunday/Monday and the Plus 8 didn't miss a beat, went to use the car on Wednesday and it wouldn't run, plentyl of fuel pressure and spark but it cut out straight away. To cut a long story short two days of torrential rain had flooded the ECU. I disconnected the ECU and water literally poured out. I took the ECU case apart, dried it and left it in the sun for a couple of hours before reassembling and refitting, sadly it was still the same. Took it apart again and dried it with a hair drier. Reassembled and it worked beautifully.
Next job when I get home from Harrogate is to try and find out where the water is getting in and stop it, think I'll also drill a couple of drain holes in the bottom of the ECU case and spray the circuit board with ACF-50. Any other suggestions?
With thanks to Brett at BHM for help over the phone and Keith from BHM for offering to bring an ECU up to Harrogate.

Hmm..this is the Roadster's ECU box with the lid off:



The actual ECU is underneath the black box, which is the interface betwen the Ford Engine and the Smiths Instruments.

I'd assumed that with the lid on it is waterproof, but you have me wondering....

Yours is totally different to mine Peter. My ECU is fitted with a bracket hanging behind the glove box. The water probably(?) travelled along the cable and in through the connector.

Peter, your box contains much more than my Plus 4 box.
For example your row of 6 relays are much easier to access than mine which are right up and behind the dashboard. Also it appears that the bank of 20 mini fuses I have under the dash if front of the radio, is also inside your box. Your location appears to be more convenient than mine.

Well, by the looks of it, it's not been leaking and you must have driven through some heavy rain in the past 12 months!

I would advise sourcing a replacement from a smashed car, if it got that wet the circuit board will be corroding and eventually the voltage/amp tolerances will not be met and then either the ECU will fail or the car will at least start running badly. See this a lot in trashed laptops, and had it on a 944 Turbo when drainage holes blocked up and water ran down the harness and into the ECU box. So even a Porsche can leak, just like a Morgan!

Remove and sit it in the airing cupboard for a couple of weeks! (Used for walkie talkies that have had an inadvertent drowning).

I also go with the sort out a spare too as it is now compromised.

Apparently coffee beans are good at absorbing moisture. Anybody tried them?

Silica gel is the proper way, and it's not hard to get hold of.

For brewing coffee, yes...