4 replies to this topic

[picca00]

the boat was submerged for a day and i want to know about the corrosion on some of the connectors like the one in the photo below. can this be clean? this connector plugs into nothing and there are many throught the boat some are fine and some corroded. the other plug male and female style connectors all look clean and have the grease still around then and insides looked clean as well. i want to know is there going to be major problems or can this be fix with some time and effort. thanks jay

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[Bob86ZZ4]

the boat was submerged for a day and i want to know about the corrosion on some of the connectors like the one in the photo below. can this be clean? this connector plugs into nothing and there are many throught the boat some are fine and some corroded. the other plug male and female style connectors all look clean and have the grease still around then and insides looked clean as well. i want to know is there going to be major problems or can this be fix with some time and effort. thanks jay

It certainly can't hurt to try to clean it up and save it. I'd start with some emery cloth and sand it down as best you can and then use some dielectric grease when you plug it back in. If it works, great. If not you'll need to cut it off and install a new one.

[gofast]

Just thought i would share a tip. I am a master auto mechanic . I realize this does not make me a boat mechanic. However some things are common to both. I have run across corroded connectors in autos that looked like those in the picture . I use a low press portable sand blaster. I use either crushed walnut shells or glass bead medium . It removes corrosion without damage to connector and gets into those really tight spots. Use goggles please

[tda3]

My 2 cents worth...........

Make up a solution of baking soda and water and use an old toothbrush to scrub the connectors. Additionally, go to Rat Shack and buy some electrical contact cleaner and shoot them with that.

gofast makes an excellent suggestion, but I suspect it might be difficult to not just obtain the equipment, but since you'd have to clean the connectors on the boat, there could be quite a mess to cleanup from the blasting medium. Nonetheless, if you have access to what he suggests, it would definitely make fast work of the chore.

Once you do get them clean, go to the electrical section of Lowes or Home Depot and buy some GB OX-100 Ox-Gard. It's a dielectric grease and provides corrosion protection. I don't have a trailer wiring connector that doesn't have this goop. It works. USE IT LIBERALLY!!!!

Good luck. I cleaned up some connections last year on my boat that has NEVER been under water and that was enough of a PITA. So I can't imagine what you have to contend with. Oh - and regardless of whether the connector looks like there was no water intrusion, you might as well pull all of them apart. Might take longer, but you know Murphy's Law. The one connector you don't clean will be the one that fails.

Tom

[gofast]

The sand blaster can be had at Harbor Freight ,Sears, or a auto paint supply outlet. A shop vac makes clean up a snap. You do make a good point. An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.