Ariel.Club Forum

by **smokin** » Tue Aug 08, 2017 11:05 am

Took my dash out today and the bottom two screws were seriously corroded. Had to use my recovery bits to get them out.

Judging by the tide mark along the bottom of the dash backplate I suspect water pools in the dash surround and enters via the 4-pin socket when the level gets that high.

I've ordered some m3x5mm A2 screws to replace the oem's, taped over the 4-pin and drilled a drain hole in the dash surround. I have some 10g sachets of silica gel now, 2 of which sit nicely either side of the multi-pin socket.

by **911tom** » Mon Aug 07, 2017 9:24 pm

Well Smokin it is there in black and white lol. You'd think a British made car would cater for the climate but hey it's a minor grumble for an otherwise fantastically made thing.

John I was thinking the same this evening. I do not want it loose the ability to breathe. I think I'll just stick with the silicon bags to absorb the moisture and go from there.

by **John Scherrer** » Mon Aug 07, 2017 9:14 pm

Don't go too mad on trying to seal it - you'll never get rid of the fogging which I see sometimes just when it's cool but the sun is shining on the front cover.

by **smokin** » Mon Aug 07, 2017 7:37 pm

[quote="911tom"]
...no effort has been made to waterproof it at all...
[/quote]
Indeed, just read in the manual:

INSTALLATION, DO'S & DON'TS /b]
DO ensure that the front of the instrument and the exposed plug is protected if it is likely to get any water spray
on it.

by **Monza** » Mon Aug 07, 2017 6:07 pm

Good news

by **smokin** » Mon Aug 07, 2017 4:58 pm

Glad it's back working. Interested to hear how you get on with sealing and the silica gel. I get fogging which I'd like to eliminate

by **911tom** » Mon Aug 07, 2017 4:19 pm

A bit of a development today. I got home from work a little earlier so decided to get the cluster out. I removed the back and warmed the PCB with a heat gun on low temp. It now appears to be working. Have to say no effort has been made to waterproof it at all. As Smokin suggests the biggest point of entry is the 4 pin socket for the shift lights. Also there is no gasket on the back panel. That said it should not really get that wet, especially as I have a windscreen fitted to protect my sensitive face

I have ordered some bags of silicone cells, the type you get in packaging that absorb moisture. Will tape a few of them to the inside, look at how I can seal it better and go from there.

by **911tom** » Mon Aug 07, 2017 7:49 am

Any one swapped to the race technology digital dash? I see Hamid offers a full kit... Quite a lot of cash but looks to have some cool features, all be it features I will never really use! Alex I seem to remember you saying you found your dash difficult to read in day light? Have to say the analogue dash is easily seen, all except the lights (indicators and colour changing shift for gear shifts).

Will attempt to dry mine out but if money needs to be spent repairing I may as well explore the options!

by **911tom** » Sun Aug 06, 2017 6:42 pm

[quote="smokin"]
If you don't use the shift light wheel, once dried out slap a bit of gaffer tape over the connector socket - I suspect this is where the moisture is getting in
[/quote]

Excellent advise

by **smokin** » Sun Aug 06, 2017 6:23 pm

If you don't use the shift light wheel, once dried out slap a bit of gaffer tape over the connector socket - I suspect this is where the moisture is getting in

by **911tom** » Sun Aug 06, 2017 6:01 pm

This does fit! It has been doing it a while (as in the odd characters) but only today with the blank display. Last time I drove it was a couple weeks ago to MOT and it got completely soaked. Will pop out to the garage in a mo and put the AC on. Hopefully that will help take the humidity out of the air.

I just presumed it was water proof...

by **Monza** » Sun Aug 06, 2017 5:52 pm

I have experienced the same think after a big rain, dash displays disparate numbers or nothing. I have use some hair dryier on it with care not to go to high and see a first progress so i change technic : i use an old filament light and put ut under the dash and alternatively in front of it with about 15 cm distance ni to give to much heat and after several control during 3 hours the dash was working well and still working well.
This is for atom 3.5 LCD dash.

by **911tom** » Sun Aug 06, 2017 1:52 pm

Thanks Paul and Stu. I'll leave the car dismantled for now and give SPA a call tomorrow

by **wasp** » Sun Aug 06, 2017 12:30 pm

I had a similar issue with mine and it had to go back to spa.
It was due to water ingress apparently, although my car rarely sees rain.
I sent it back via the factory and it was sorted out in a few days.

Cheers,
Stu

by **autobackup** » Sun Aug 06, 2017 12:26 pm

Tom

Rather than 'fishing' in the forum it might be worth your while contacting SPA Systems directly as their technical support are very helpful and knowledgable as I discovered when I had occasion to contact them last year about a problem I was having with their shift-light steering wheel.

Link to KitDash Manual :

http://www.spa-uk.co.uk/spa/docs/SPA%20KITDASH2.3%20.3MANUAL.pdf

Address
SPA Design,
The Mill House,
Packington Hayes,
Packington nr. Lichfield,
Staffordshire,
WS14 9PN

t: +44 (0)1543 434 580
f: +44 (0)1543 434 581
http://www.spa-uk.co.uk/
e: sales@spa-uk.co.uk

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