Gauges and Condensation.......

[rnwright1969]

Despite searching on the forum I am struggling to get good advice regarding eradicating condensation in a couple of my gauges (tilt n trim plus tacho)

The gauges are 'reasonable 'quality OMC units and have only been fitted for two years but both have quite heavy condensation.

On motorbike forums the general consensus is to heat them up with a hair dryer to get rid of the moisture and then add a couple of small holes to allow the circulation of air, obviously holes on gauges used on a RIB my encourage the circulation of water as well as air. Oh another suggestion is to leave on the backlights, not sure if this would be the best idea as I don't know what method of illumination is used by the gauges.

Any thought or ideas?

Cheers

RichW

[Iron Dials]

I am far from an expert on this but when I had gauges replaced the backlighting was hard-wired on.
The installer's advice was that the backlight is a heat source inside your gauge, so whenever the engine runs they are helping to dry out the inside of the unit.
It worked, although not as quickly as the heated rear-window of your car.

Your gauges may not be wired up for lighting or have working bulbs but it's fairly easy to wire them and access the bulbs.

Motor-cycles generally live in dryer and less salty environments (relatively) than boats so adding holes might help circulation but some of that air is quite salty and will inevitably condense inside your gauges, possibly leading to corrosion problems.

[BigE]

I drilled a little hole in the base of my speedo, that helps it "breath". Just like car headlights which mist up, taking the cap off the back lets the air circulate and keeps the condensation down.

[jeffstevens763@g]

Silica gel capsules ? Not done it but would it be possible to get them in through the back light holes

[Orwell boy]

Had this problem myself with Honda gauges after 1st season , had them replaced under warranty ,have the old ones to experiment with but havnt had time yet ,did wonder if I heated them in oven and then tried some tolleys creeping crack remedy to seal them dry ,might work ??

[northstar 4.80]

this is a well known method.works well. i suggest !

Originally Posted by Iron Dials

I am far from an expert on this but when I had gauges replaced the backlighting was hard-wired on.
The installer's advice was that the backlight is a heat source inside your gauge, so whenever the engine runs they are helping to dry out the inside of the unit.
It worked, although not as quickly as the heated rear-window of your car.

Your gauges may not be wired up for lighting or have working bulbs but it's fairly easy to wire them and access the bulbs.

Motor-cycles generally live in dryer and less salty environments (relatively) than boats so adding holes might help circulation but some of that air is quite salty and will inevitably condense inside your gauges, possibly leading to corrosion problems.