erock13

i relocated mine to the glovebox for that reason, wasnt that hard really.. though i do wonder about the fusebox, if that could be a possible problem being so low too?

combatcarl

That was lucky that it dried out and ran fine. You can't use the top gear hilux as an ECU example, tho. Diesels won't have the same water issues an EFI gas engine will.

scope103

Does anyone really think you can waterproof something with --- duct tape? Maybe for a few seconds, at least until the tape gets to be a month or two old.

Triple-distilled water doesn't conduct electricity, but anything you will find in the tap will conduct just fine. And in a mud hole? Not only will it conduct, but once you "dry" it out it will leave behind lots of water soluble electrolytes. On a humid day those electrolytes can absorb enough water to form a conductive path.

Toyota built these boxes as robustly as possible. Lots of people get away with getting water on all sorts of electrical parts. But the boxes are not rated for immersion, not even for splash. If you get them wet, no matter how much plastic and duct tape you've used, you're asking for trouble.

Just one man's opinion.

stanprophet

Just an FYI, if you ever have a problem with electronics and water, the trick is to disconnect power from the unit as fast a possible. If you want to get it dry,ambient air and heaters do not always work, put it in a bag of rice overnight. You need to open the covers and make sure the rice makes contact with the board. Rice is very hygroscopic and will absorb any moisture. Hit is with compressed air and then give it a try. If you are lucky and did not fry anything then you will be good to go.

Electronics are often cleaned with mild detergents and water, but you must make sure the power is removed, and all the capacitors are discharged. Water will only kill electronics if it causes a short.

RAD4Runner

Agree with CombatCarl, and Scope103 and others. Best to place ECU and other electrical/electronics parts as far from water as possible. I had an earlier Nissan XTerra. An issue with that was the alternator is low in the engine compartment. It's good that first-gen 4Runners/trucks have their ECU's higher.
Adding water-resistance, with duct tape, etc. would help by delaying water entry, so some could get lucky, but key is quickly removing power when flooded.

YotaX

Oh yeah i forgot to add that as soon as my truck was flooded... I disconnected the battery. I'm probably the only person the firefighter assisted that said hold on and popped the hood to disconnect his battery. Thank goodness I installed that quick disconnect. But it still sat underwater overnight.

I agree with Stan... I use a bag of rice to fix water damaged iPhones. Exposé it and place in a bag of rice for a day to a week. But once something is fried there is no reversing that.

erock13

I agree, and theres really no 'good' way to fully waterproof it, unless you made a completel custom inclosure and tested it in a pool and everything and everything.. Hence why I think moving it up and out is the only logical way to do it.. Now if you sink it or go deep enough that your cab is flooded to the glovebox, then youre prolly gonna be havin alot more problems then just your ecu, esp if you dont have a snorkel..

YotaX

What about creating an ECU enclosure??? Like a water proof box with grouments and seals. we use simaliar boxes at work for tactical operations. Just a thought.