Defender TD5 - Sealing the ECU/Battery Compartment

Hey,

After looking into making my TD5 'wading ready' theres a fair bit to be done though the most expensive seemed to be ECU Relocation at £250 there must be a cheaper way.

Looking in my 90 today would be be possible just to seal the ECU box under the seat with silicone/bathroom sealant? Same on the battery side or am I just being a ****.

Other thing was I was reading that the accelerator is not water proof, being the lowest thing is there a way to waterproof it?

Josh.

bankz5152 said:

Hey,

After looking into making my TD5 'wading ready' theres a fair bit to be done though the most expensive seemed to be ECU Relocation at £250 there must be a cheaper way.

Looking in my 90 today would be be possible just to seal the ECU box under the seat with silicone/bathroom sealant? Same on the battery side or am I just being a ****.

Other thing was I was reading that the accelerator is not water proof, being the lowest thing is there a way to waterproof it?

Josh.

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you would be better making a watertight box that the ECU can be sat in in its current location but openable because thats where your fuses are so if a fuse goes you would be buggared and i cant see why you could not silicone the throttle to waterproof it providing none of the working parts are affected

Cheers mate. Box does sound better, Ive seen old ammo tins used to make water proof cameras got a few hanging about could use one of them. Would easily fit both too.

How about the battery side? That need sealing?

bankz5152 said:

How about the battery side? That need sealing?

Click to expand...

No

bankz5152 said:

Hey,

After looking into making my TD5 'wading ready' theres a fair bit to be done though the most expensive seemed to be ECU Relocation at £250 there must be a cheaper way.

Looking in my 90 today would be be possible just to seal the ECU box under the seat with silicone/bathroom sealant? Same on the battery side or am I just being a ****.

Other thing was I was reading that the accelerator is not water proof, being the lowest thing is there a way to waterproof it?

Josh.

Click to expand...

Not battery box because of the fumes need to escape, can't seal ecu in box they work part on atmospheric pressure I,ve been told. Got an extension lead on order as we speak from MHM £220 delivered well worth it for piece of mind.

bankz5152 said:

Cheers mate. Box does sound better, Ive seen old ammo tins used to make water proof cameras got a few hanging about could use one of them. Would easily fit both too.

How about the battery side? That need sealing?

Click to expand...

make sure ya get some pics up once you,ve done would like too see what uve come up with , been thinking about doing something similar

Researching it further Im going to use Tigerseal to seal the box which should keep water out from the most obvious places though the box will still be 'breathable' through the top hatch. Though will replace the rubber seals.

However if it is true that the ECU needs atmos to function then the box cant be air tight so I was thinking of making a waterproof box for it to sit in with 'breather holes' at the top made some treated waterproof clothing (in theory the water should run off and not penetrate the material) therefore should keep the box 95% waterproof yet breathable.

Without spending £250 for some wire..

If my box idea fails then a friend mine thinks he can make an extension pretty easy for the cost of the wire.

Once thats done should be ok, should be ok as I dont plan on wading deeper than that.

bankz5152 said:

Without spending £250 for some wire..

If my box idea fails then a friend mine thinks he can make an extension pretty easy for the cost of the wire.

Once thats done should be ok, should be ok as I dont plan on wading deeper than that.

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Its very very hard to get hold of the connectors to make your own loom. At least it was a year ago when i last looked. I found the female i think but could only find the males in PCB form.

MHM's loom is colour coded to the correct wiring colours for your model i believe and is very good value considering the terrafirma or Allmakes as they are replacement. At something nearer £400.

If your mate can make you one then i hope he knows what he is doing as i read on another forum that if you dont get the wire guage right then it has effects on the signal to and from the ECU. :scratching_chin:

Why don't you move it? You may stretch the cables long enough to place the ecu on the backside of a cubby box between the seats.... I did and now I also have a tool box under the passengers seat ;o)

Make a defender water proof! That's one hell of a project think I'd start with making the doors fit!


DD

To save making a new thread -

Finally bought a snorkel & fitted all the breathers now time to sort the ECU.


Whats the best way? Ice cream tub trick/waterpoof box and keep it under the seat.

Or

Move it inside/back of the cubby/bulk head. If so how do I actually move it there without a £250 extension loom? Do I have to cut and re-connect the wireing? Or can it be pulled through to be long enough?

Have a read of this:

Devon 4x4 Forum :: Topic: Td5 ecu - waterproofing?? (1/1)

was just looking for that page after reading this topic

bankz5152 said:

Researching it further Im going to use Tigerseal to seal the box which should keep water out from the most obvious places though the box will still be 'breathable' through the top hatch. Though will replace the rubber seals.

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I know its an old thread but just for the record NEVER use tigerseal, sikaflex or any other bonder as a sealant as you will never get anything apart again, it stick crazy strong and will break stuff if you try to force apart, always use RTV sealant or similar...

Haha thanks for that chap. Was just planning on using some bathroom sealant.

wickford90 said:

Not battery box because of the fumes need to escape, can't seal ecu in box they work part on atmospheric pressure I,ve been told. Got an extension lead on order as we speak from MHM £220 delivered well worth it for piece of mind.

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can u post a link to the wire please I cant even find the website lol

Don't forget the relays aren't waterproof, nor is the alarm ecu (if you go deeper).

Best to avoid deep water if possible.

choppen said:

can u post a link to the wire please I cant even find the website lol

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message "the mad hat man" his company do them, thats where i got mine from. They come in two lengths the shorter is fine, its enough to easily mount on top of rear bulkhead, if waters any higher than that the ecu is the last of your worries.

If you really can't keep away from the deep end, why not just buy an earlier Land Rover with less electronics? I'd be a bit wary of sealing my seat box up as I need to get in there to check relays, fuses, that the ECU plug's making good contact and isn't oil contaminated, and all that sort of stuff. The best solution would be to do some serious rewiring and get everything up higher.

Because I bought a TD5.

Relays must be waterproof/resisant they got soaked a while back probably submerged for at least a few hours. (Water came in and didnt come out!)

Sealed up the ECU box inside and out, its water resistant now i suppose. Never go above headlight depth at maximum.