I am involved in the Electronic Industry as a Rep for companies that sell Connectors. Water and Salt Spray in Aircraft or marine applications can be a real issue if the connector is not a sealed design. To protect these parts is not that cut and dry ( punt) as the design of the C5 BCM connectors were not even thought of as being near moisture so they picked out these typical "open" design we love to hate. As far as a seal there is several sources of conformal coating including epoxy based. The problems are that when the connector is sealed up working on them now can create another problem down the road. Maybe using a drip deflector from the above water source might help but I think the main way of keeping moisture out is constant maintence. Pull off the cover if your around rain or other water sources like washings. One thing does come to mind, using a material used in Air hydraulic cylinders to keep moisture out. Check with Industrial Distributors that sell Air Cylinders like Bimba or similar. It would need to be changed out but might pull out the moisture. Since I am also new to the C5 I need to study these areas to see what things can be done to protect our investments.

 

I am glad this thread is not that old. What about epoxy coating the board itself? That way it is sealed and you dont need to worry so much about the open connectors or condensating metal case.

 

Its not that the board contacts the case. It about water directly on the circuit board its self. When the water dries/evaporates it leaves minerals and the electrical current also etches and makes alternate electrical paths.. A MAJORITY of the board carries DIGITAL INFORMATION AND TIMING SIGNALS. If that info/signals are corrupt, you can guess what that will do..

Water proofing the circuit board is called CONFORMAL COATING. It is widely used in wet damp environments. GM Delphi didn't find it necessary.

I DO NOT know if it can be successfully applied to our BCM. There are PLENTY of smarter people on here that can chime in on that topic. Your best bet is to SOLVE the water intrusion issues.

IF,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, your drivers side foot well is wet,, CHECK YOUR Cowl UDDER DRAINS!!!!!!!! Do your wipers work properly??

Other places where water can get in are:

Door hinges
Rubber door seals
Window seals
Window Adjustment issues
Targa top seals front
Targa Top seals rear
A Pillar to window seal issue
Cowl well to body seal..

Strip out the drivers side seats & carpet and systematically wet down the car in sections starting LOW and see where the water gets in. You will need a helper to watch for leaks inside while you wet it down.


You "should" remove the drivers side carpets and get them properly clean and dry. While they are out, wet down the car and see where the water is coming in. FIX that issue!

Ive been down this road and felt the pain. TRUST ME,, it can get expensive the longer it exists.

BC

 

This is a very unsophisticated 'fix' but what about a permanently soft sealer like Mortite, sold in HD? It can be peeled away if work is needed but can conform to irregular areas. No way is it going to make a Vette a submarine but maybe it can deflect enough to prevent damage?

 

Bill, If moisture gets on the board and it is an issue the answer is yes you can get a Spray Conformal coating of many varieties from Silicon Sprays, Urethane, Acrylic with each type having advantages so for my perspective the simple Silicon materials would serve just fine here. Google Tech Spray and you will see a great mix of materials for use for the Corvettes Electronics. The connectors would be more difficult to seal properly as these were never designed to be near moisture. Maybe a coating of the Higher Viscosity Conformal Materials such as a Urethane might work but the next issue comes with any issues with the pins and any rework. Several great places to find these items is MCM Electronics or DigiKey