Waterproofing

[350JeepCj5]

What is the best way to "water proof" your electronics, such as stereo, speakers, amplifier, CB?

[Scrambler82]

Not trying to be TOO much of a wise A$$, the only way to waterproof your electronics in a Jeep is not to put them in a Jeep.

[350JeepCj5]

Thanx, but what are some of the ways that others do it?

[BuffaloYJ]

Is this for existing equipment, or stuff you want to buy? If you're getting new stuff, the easiest (but not cheapest) route is to get marine grade stuff. Amps and HU's mostly have lots of gaskets to keep stuff out, and speakers are made out of corrosion resistant stuff.

If it's for stuff you already have, just be careful if someone tells you to to "seal" stuff with foam baffles, plastic bags, etc. Some of these methods may keep a lot of water out, but will also trap what little moisture may get in. Fo rthings like speaker terminals, adhesive heat shrink tubing does well. For your headunit, you can get a, acrylic cover that flips open from most boat supply stores. Other than that, you really just have to be careful. If you're talking about splashes caused by going through water/mud, you can always just tape makeshift splash guards over stuff and remove it when it's safe.

[350JeepCj5]

Thanks that sounds good

[sentinal02]

Originally Posted by 350JeepCj5

Thanks that sounds good

I did this for the CJ forum's Electrical TOTW a while back. Not much help for things like head units and inverters, but it's good to do in the engine bay itself as well as the splice/solder connections everywhere else.

Waterproofing: When it comes to water, it's generally not the wire itself that has problems, but rather the connection points. There's few things worse then a shorted connection resulting in a stall halfway across deep water. Worn spark plug wires are your mortal enemy in this case. GET RID OF THEM! Be sure to apply a liberal amount of Dielectric grease to the boots of the wires anytime you replace or remove them. The grease helps lock out water and prevents corrosion. Do this both at the plug side and the distributor side. Don't forget the coil wire either. Beyond that, find all the plug in style connection on the jeep. Dielectric is your friend here too (better get a big tube). pull them apart and grease all of the contacts. here though we can do one better. Pick up some friction tape while you're in the electrical aisle. For those of you who don't know, friction tape is the cousin to electrical tape, but it's closer to a rubber material and it sticks only to itself for the most part. The main advantage it has over electrical tape is that it forms a solid rubber case in a short amount of time (a few weeks) and it will remain that way long after electric tape has lost its stickiness. Take the tape and cut off a piece about 2/3 of the length you think you need. stretch out part of the length and begin wrapping the connection, being sure to get as good a seal around the wires as possible. continue to stretch the tape as needed. stretching activated the tape's adhesive properties and causes it to stick to itself. it also makes for a tighter seal. once you've completely wrapped the connection (overlap each wrap as you go of course) you can finish the ends with some liquid electrical tape to create an even tighter seal around the wires. One good addition to each connection is a piece of solid wire (say 16 ga or so) to create a ridge to cut along should you ever need to unplug the connection later on. Simply lay the wire along the connector and wrap it along with the rest of the assembly. To remove the tape, simply cut along the ridge with a sharp knife or razor.

[SirGCal]

BuffaloYJ had a good point. I'll elaborate.

If you're buying new and water is you're #1 concern, marine grade should be what you focus on. Marine grade hardware is basically the same as everything else accept internal circuit boards have been built with salt and corrosion resistant materials and the boards are coated in a water-proof epoxy to form a hard shell. The only real downside is this shell can cause additional heat buildup which is why some marine amps are larger than non-marine options of the same brand.

These help protect the inside of the units but the wiring still needs to be done with weather-proof shrink-tubing and solder to be sure there is no problem there. All harnesses need to be protected (many for marine will have a rubber boot, I silicone those on for added protection) and all equipment needs to be correctly fused (#1 thing to make sure of...).

The other thing not protected are mechanical mechanisms. Like CD drive motors and mechanisms... though usually not an issue, accessive water/salt will cause failure over time (most equipment will go a year or so). Also, water on the laser can cause all kinds of issues, the least of being that you're CD won't play right while it's wet inside. (worst being it focuses the light enough to cause it to burn out... basically overheating the laser's eye... very very rare though, but possible on older models... Newer equipment in many cases now is protected against this type of failure.)

As for water-proofing non-marine equipment, the only real protection, as NnF said is to not put it in there... But you can get modest protection overall and really good, if not excelent rain and mild splash type protection by simply thinking about placement.

For example, my amp under my drivers seat is actually very protected against splashes from water (this weekend, I proved that...) with the top off. However, with the doors off where horozontal water can get directly to it, there is a threat. But with top off, doors on, only submersion can get to it. Rain and water splashes didn't. (thank god though I had some plastic over the radio...)

Down-firing subs again are only going to be affected by submersion. Splashes and rain will be of little effect to them...

So a marine head unit and speakers (yea, sound bar get's wet too in top-off rain driving from kick-up of the front wheels...) are a great start. Marine subs and amp and you're the best you can get with a radio (assuming they are installed well...)

Some other options include, as mentioned, the marine radio housing and vented amp-boxes. But again, submersion will get everything... Short of really awesome marine grade stuff, nothing will survive submersion.

[drunksmurf]

Well as far as waterproofing, I herculined my Sub box so I can basically hose it off as well just about, Main thing I can figure to help deter water is HST and excellent connections. Solder and heat shrink tubing are worth their weight in gold.