water damaged head unit

**heavy-chevy** · 06-10-2009, 10:22 AM

my boats head unit was completely submerged in salt water with power to it, it died and the speakers made a little bump. so i took it apart and rinsed everything with drinking water and wiped the circuit boards down and put it back together after a few days of drying out. it doesn't work... is there anything i can do to possibly save this head unit? what exactly breaks when something like this happens anyways?

the fuses didn't blow and the speakers still work by the way.

**Paradize** · 06-10-2009, 11:33 AM

salt = bye bye in my eyes. Water without salt is a salvagable unit but I don't think it is salvagable when salt has come in contact with the electrical (which obviously it has, hehe).

Have you tried it? does it turn on at all?? (doubtful...)

**heavy-chevy** · 06-10-2009, 02:35 PM

well the circuit boards and everything looks brand new after i cleaned it. i don't see what difference the salt makes as i didn't let it sit on the parts. it was rinsed and cleaned immediately.

no it doesn't turn on at all. when it died the only thing that worked was the led back lights, now not even that turns on.

**Paradize** · 06-10-2009, 02:43 PM

you said it sat in this salty water for some time no? the salt would eat away at your circuitboard, atleast thats what I would think. I'm not sure exactly if there is something you can clean it better with but first thing that comes to mind when I hear salt + water touching electrical it = ****ed but don't take my word for it. Hopefully someone has better knowledge with water damaged units than I do.

**heavy-chevy** · 06-10-2009, 04:23 PM

yea, saltwater and electronics normally does mean bad news. but it only sat in the stuff for about 4 hours before cleaned it up. i don't know wtf even goes wrong, its probably hopeless.

**Paradize** · 06-10-2009, 05:18 PM

well salt is basically acid I believe. Its chemical property, if alot of it, can really screw things up.

Leave the unit alone for a day or 2 once it has completely dried and try starting it up again. Hopefully the circuits are fine enough to boot up. If not, check to see if all the water is completely dried, if not repeat these steps and try again a few days later again to see if it boots up.

I dunno if this will truly help but I'm trying to help out as much as I can with whatever knowledge of water damage I know

I say if cell phones can start right back up when submerged in water, dried and then starts up, I don't see how your unit can't, except salt is now a factor.

Good luck!

**heavy-chevy** · 06-11-2009, 06:59 AM

yea, my key fob, the gauges, bilge and bait pumps, speakers, and all but one switch survived. i wish i would have gotten to the battery cut off switch before she went down...

**ATLz71** · 06-11-2009, 12:59 PM

Is it a marine head unit or just a regular ol automotive head unit? marine head units have the traces and most components on the circuit boards coated in a non conductive resin to seal out moisture which should have kept the salt water from causing a major short. If it was a standard automotive head unit then salt water could have caused a short and probably took out at least one if not more components. You may not be able to visually see any damage either as the water would help supress the typcially smoking of components that shorts cause.