Preventing corrosion in your fuseboxes/ECMs - Land Rovers Only

CoachDitka · 03-10-2005, 06:10 AM

It seems that the majority of the electrical problems in our RRs can be attributed to corrosion in the fuseboxes/relays/ECMs. In looking at a way to prevent this happening in mine, I have decided to go with a variety of VCI products from Cortec. VCI products slowly emit gases that prevent corrosion in metals for up to two years, and they come in a variety of forms. There are bags (I use for fishing tackle and they are awesome, especially considering I fish saltwater), plastic wrap, foam tapes, pieces of foam, dome-like emitters, it goes on and on. What I am basically going to do is stuff a bunch of the emitters inside my fuse boxes and ECMs, and them use some of the foam tape to help seal them up a little more than stock. The result should be a totally corrosion-proof heart of my electrical system. I am also thinking of using the plastic wrap and wrapping all my connectors.

Anywho, just wanted to see if anyone had done anything like this before...

-Coach

troverman · 03-10-2005, 10:13 AM

I wouldn't mess with the big computers like the BeCM and the engine mgt. Everything else, maybe worth a try!

CoachDitka · 03-10-2005, 11:42 AM

Thats funny, the BECM was going to be my first target. Should be easy enough to pop the top and get a few VCI emitters in there. This stuff is really amazing, at least with my fishing tackle. I can take a handful of lures that I have just used in saltwater, give them a quick rinse/dry and drop them in a VCI bag and they have yet to show any corrosion. In comparison, ones I just leave in my tackle box after the rinse/dry end up rusting to hell. I figure if I can give that protection to my RR electronics I might save myself a ton of headaches.

-Coach

troverman · 03-22-2005, 03:23 PM

OK-your call. But if the BeCM is working fine now, why break the seal and fix what isn't broken. You might be right though. Just remember that the BeCM has CMOS static-electricity sensitive electronics in it. What wears out are the power-handling circuits on the top PC board of the BeCM. These are either in the form of relays or transistors. The bottom logic circuits apparently rarely fail. Go to www.rangerovers.net and check the "Demystifying the BeCM" page. Its incredibly interesting.

skippy3k · 03-22-2005, 04:06 PM

Troverman is correct, not only is that page interesting, but it's mostly the relays or resistors that fail. I was getting multiple "Fuse Error" messages on my message display, yet all the fuses check out fine. I eventually traced it to some internal BeCM problem. I decided to take it apart and see what there was to see. Thanks to the information on rangerovers.net, as well as my own stupidi--I mean, fearlessness, I was able to repair the BeCM with the help of an electronics tech. Couple of open traces were detected, and once repaired, the BeCM worked great.

I'm not recommending this for everyone, but I do know it is repairable. In my case, I found evidence of a brown substance that smelled suspiciously of coffee...I wonder what genius decided to put the BeCM under the passenger seat and directly below the cupholder.

Scott

03-10-2005, 06:10 AM	#1 (permalink)
CoachDitka Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 79 Gallery: 0	Preventing corrosion in your fuseboxes/ECMs It seems that the majority of the electrical problems in our RRs can be attributed to corrosion in the fuseboxes/relays/ECMs. In looking at a way to prevent this happening in mine, I have decided to go with a variety of VCI products from Cortec. VCI products slowly emit gases that prevent corrosion in metals for up to two years, and they come in a variety of forms. There are bags (I use for fishing tackle and they are awesome, especially considering I fish saltwater), plastic wrap, foam tapes, pieces of foam, dome-like emitters, it goes on and on. What I am basically going to do is stuff a bunch of the emitters inside my fuse boxes and ECMs, and them use some of the foam tape to help seal them up a little more than stock. The result should be a totally corrosion-proof heart of my electrical system. I am also thinking of using the plastic wrap and wrapping all my connectors. Anywho, just wanted to see if anyone had done anything like this before... -Coach

03-10-2005, 10:13 AM	#2 (permalink)
troverman Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: New Hampshire, USA Posts: 293 Gallery: 0	I wouldn't mess with the big computers like the BeCM and the engine mgt. Everything else, maybe worth a try! __________________ Current: 2005 Land Rover LR3 V8 SE w/ factory winch 1992 Land Rover Range Rover County Also current: 1995 Mercedes-Benz E320 Wagon 2002 Volkswagen Eurovan GLS 1996 Ford Explorer LTD 2WD 1982 Volvo 240 GL Diesel Previous Rovers: 2000 Land Rover Discovery II SD 1995 Range Rover 4.0SE

03-22-2005, 03:23 PM	#4 (permalink)
troverman Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: New Hampshire, USA Posts: 293 Gallery: 0	OK-your call. But if the BeCM is working fine now, why break the seal and fix what isn't broken. You might be right though. Just remember that the BeCM has CMOS static-electricity sensitive electronics in it. What wears out are the power-handling circuits on the top PC board of the BeCM. These are either in the form of relays or transistors. The bottom logic circuits apparently rarely fail. Go to www.rangerovers.net and check the "Demystifying the BeCM" page. Its incredibly interesting. __________________ Current: 2005 Land Rover LR3 V8 SE w/ factory winch 1992 Land Rover Range Rover County Also current: 1995 Mercedes-Benz E320 Wagon 2002 Volkswagen Eurovan GLS 1996 Ford Explorer LTD 2WD 1982 Volvo 240 GL Diesel Previous Rovers: 2000 Land Rover Discovery II SD 1995 Range Rover 4.0SE

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03-10-2005, 11:42 AM	#3 (permalink)
CoachDitka Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 79 Gallery: 0	Thats funny, the BECM was going to be my first target. Should be easy enough to pop the top and get a few VCI emitters in there. This stuff is really amazing, at least with my fishing tackle. I can take a handful of lures that I have just used in saltwater, give them a quick rinse/dry and drop them in a VCI bag and they have yet to show any corrosion. In comparison, ones I just leave in my tackle box after the rinse/dry end up rusting to hell. I figure if I can give that protection to my RR electronics I might save myself a ton of headaches. -Coach

03-22-2005, 04:06 PM	#5 (permalink)
skippy3k Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Northern California Posts: 46 Gallery: 0	Troverman is correct, not only is that page interesting, but it's mostly the relays or resistors that fail. I was getting multiple "Fuse Error" messages on my message display, yet all the fuses check out fine. I eventually traced it to some internal BeCM problem. I decided to take it apart and see what there was to see. Thanks to the information on rangerovers.net, as well as my own stupidi--I mean, fearlessness, I was able to repair the BeCM with the help of an electronics tech. Couple of open traces were detected, and once repaired, the BeCM worked great. I'm not recommending this for everyone, but I do know it is repairable. In my case, I found evidence of a brown substance that smelled suspiciously of coffee...I wonder what genius decided to put the BeCM under the passenger seat and directly below the cupholder. Scott

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