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Repair water damage


Dorf

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Hi everyone,

 

A few days ago, I tried to go through a thunderstorm on my INMOTION V10F. The rain was very heavy and it hailed a lot. After 15min of riding, my EUC emitted bips then tilted back for 5secs then stopped running. I haven't been able to start it again by now. I tried powering it up and it just doesn't work anymore.

I don't really know what I should do, what would you guys advise ?

Should I try to open it up and see if there's any damage to the battery ? Should I try to plug it ? Should I send it back to INMOTION (although I don't think they'd accept it) ?

Thanks :)

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RiceIt.png

Sorry couldnt resist! Put is somewhere safe, put a fan on it and run a dehumidifier if its wet where you live. No harm in letting it dry out for a day. You could also lay it in the sun  for small periods of time, just to help dry it. Definitely not a bad idea before having to open a wheel for the first time. If you're not handy with tools and plastics, perhaps find someone who is. Euc's arent complex, and people who are good at fixing stuff, may find it less than daunting.

 

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10 hours ago, Dorf said:

don't really know what I should do, what would you guys advise ?

One should definitely ensure that the battery is in good condition - which means more or less that there was _no_ water ingress.

10 hours ago, Scottie888 said:

if you've no experience doing elec diagnosis

Then one should not mess with the battery but let it repair or replace it!

(Sorry for the disruptive and unfair quoting, @Scottie888:ph34r:)

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UPDATE :

After a few days of drying, my wheel is starting again.

I'll still keep it inside for a few days before trying it again with caution. 

As @supercuriosaid, it was probably just a problem about the power button.

Thank you very much for your help guys ! See you on the road.

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Please be really really careful with potential water damage to the batteries. Store your wheel where the damage would be limited if it went up in flames suddenly, which can happen days or months later. Extremely rare, but it did happen.

99.99% likely it was just the power button. But there's no guarantee.

Personally, in such a case, I'd consider renting a dehumidifier and drying the wheel in bone dry air for a few days. Why not:) If only for peace of mind.

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4 hours ago, Dorf said:

UPDATE :

After a few days of drying, my wheel is starting again.

I'll still keep it inside for a few days before trying it again with caution. 

As @supercuriosaid, it was probably just a problem about the power button.

Thank you very much for your help guys ! See you on the road.

Happy to hear the good news.

@meepmeepmayer's advices are wise tho, if you can implement some of his suggestions.

By the way when water got in my V10F power button, the wheel turned on randomly, and then titled tilted itself back which lead to some unpredictable movement fortunately caught before the wheel would spin around indoor, around furniture.

After that I left the wheel on its side to prevent this. (I knew there was no water left to go to the wrong places at the time)
It might also happen you your wheel.

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It's probably worth opening up and having a very good look at the battery packs. I'd remove the heat shrink and check for any rust on the cell tabs or ends of any cells. If any of the cell tabs rust through and lose contact, you could have some expensive problems on your hands (even besides the risk of fire etc.). Just be careful and don't touch any terminals with anything metal, to be safe. Replacement heat-shrink is really cheap and easy to install; it's worth having a really close look inside. Trust me, you do not want any problems with battery cells.

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You can always blow compress air at the gas-station on switches with one of these, then flood with WD40.
Switches have hard time drying by them-self, moisture might corrode the contacts so better remove it quickly.


 

embout-de-gonflage-topeak-pour-ballon-ma

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8 hours ago, Mantraguy said:

I'd remove the heat shrink and check for any rust on the cell tabs or ends of any cells.


Exactly not.
 

On a 2020 MCM5 battery pack, you can see a lot of white silicone paste where the cable exit the heat shrink, to waterproof the pack.
Removing the waterproofing for what?

There is no warranty someone will rebuilt the waterproof protection as good as done in the factory.
At best it's not an advise for everyone, long term it's most-likely worst than a visual check.

And this is GOTWAY!!
I imagine Inmotion even more careful about it.

Edited by Camenbert
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2 hours ago, Camenbert said:

Exactly not.

Same opinion as @Camenbert: since the context, symptoms and outcome are consistent with water getting in the power button, opening the pack is an unnecessary, costly and possibly destructive process.

It's like if you had elevated heart rate for a few days because of a cold, and a few days after recovering a doctor was suggest to open your chest to check if everything looks normal inside your heart :D

That might be wise if the pack was submerged under water and showed signs of leakage, but not in this scenario.

Good point on pushing the water out quickly @Camenbert, I wish I thought of that when it happened to me.
Everything works well a few months later tho fortunately.

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5 hours ago, Camenbert said:


Exactly not.
 

On a 2020 MCM5 battery pack, you can see a lot of white silicone paste where the cable exit the heat shrink, to waterproof the pack.
Removing the waterproofing for what?

There is no warranty someone will rebuilt the waterproof protection as good as done in the factory.
At best it's not an advise for everyone, long term it's most-likely worst than a visual check.

And this is GOTWAY!!
I imagine Inmotion even more careful about it.

That's reasonable then - my battery packs had no sealant of any kind, so any moisture that made it past the heat shrink would be stuck there, corroding the terminals. It sounds like you have much better battery waterproofing than I did! 

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1 hour ago, Mantraguy said:

It sounds like you have much better battery waterproofing than I did! 

I did nothing about waterproofing, this is how the wheel come in 2020.
But I agree that moisture problems should be a good enough reason to take a look inside. At least it will dry faster that way.

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