Repairs/Maintenance to ECG-P2

BundyRoy

BundyRoy

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I have a ECG-P2 that was thrown in when I bought some second hand lights. I was told that there had been some water get into the enclosure and it may not work, but it will be a bonus if it does. If not I still have the meanwell PSU and the enclosure so still happy. I have tested the PSU (disconnected the P2 first) and it seems fine. Have not powered up the P2 yet. There seems to be a bit of dirt/rust in one section of the board near the Ethernet connection as you can see in the photo. Is there anything I can use to clean the pcb before I try and fire it up or any other things I should do to give it the best chance of operating again. As I said it is a bonus if it works, I won't be heart broken if it doesn't. It doesn't owe me anything

[smfattach]1[/smfattach]

Thanks

Roy
 

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The underside of the pcb looks perfect. No stains.

Fingers are crossed.
 
Thanks David. Figured it could be. I'll power it up and see what happens.
 
I haven't tried it yet but am assuming it's stuffed. Is there anything on the board that is worth keeping/salvaging as spares or do I just send it over the left shoulder.
 
Probably not. I'm guessing that the corrosion has eaten away at the traces and maybe some of the vias (layer connections).
 
Soak (submerge ) it in alcohol for a while and then take a soft toothbrush and try to clean it with just alcohol and the soft toothbrush. Use gentle strokes. Rinse with purified water and then rinse again with alcohol. Let dry completely and retest. At this point you have nothing to lose. It will either work or it wont. Good luck

--Greg--
 
Thanks Greg. I did what you suggested and IT WORKS! Well it communicates by usb and Ethernet and I've changed the ip address but I haven't actually connected any lights yet, so I still a little cautious in my expectations, but it's looking okay so far.

As you can see there is some circuitry exposed near the usb port and there is a little residual corrosion stains but it looks a lot better than I expected. Any idea what the long term prognosis is? I'm guessing the corrosion will continue slowly over time and it could fail prematurely but was wondering what others thought. Is there any options for protecting the exposed circuitry?

p2b.jpg

I have more controller channels (I've gone from 2 controllers to 5) than light channels so at least I'm not dependent on it working to keep my show running but it would be nice to have. Gives me flexibility in light location and wiring requirements.

So, at this stage, it's you beauty, thanks for your advice.
 
Well, I'll be. It must be in better condition than the photo suggests. Great result. :)

If you want to stop (well, slow) the corrosion, get yourself some spray PCB lacquer. Just don't get it on the jumpers or other connector mating surfaces.
 
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