Good enough water management of in-casing controller

[Victor Dupont]

Hi there!


There are already many discussions about waterproofing connectors, etc.

Do not worry, I read all of them.

I am starting this thread, because while the previous discussions share ideas of things that one can do, or shouldn't do, some optimizations, what is at stake, etc, I have not found that they clearly state what is good enough, as opposed to optimal, and in the specific case of controller being lodged in the battery's casing.

Thus some precisions about the question:​

• I am NOT asking what is optimal, but rather what is good enough. By "good enough", I mean at least as good as the initial state when we bought the bike, before I removed the sealing around the wires entering the controller
• I am asking about the specific situations of controller being installed in the casing of the battery. I am supposing that this makes it a very different situation than if controller was mounted on the frame.

My question:​

Initially the controller had some kind of sealant around the wires where they exit from it :





I had to remove most of it in order to slide the wires through the cover, to repair the controller.

I am now wondering whether I should:

A) Find a sophisticated way to seal it back
B) Just wrap the exits with electrical tape
C) Leave it as is

Pictures of the casing​

​

My thoughts​

After reading everything I could, it seems to me that:

1. controller is in casing, with wires entering casing from below, so the only water that could flow into the controller would be water creeping into the casing from the slit at the top. That water would then have to choose to flow along the ceiling rather than the wall of the casing. And then that water would have to drip right where the cables enter the controller. It thus seems to me pretty unlikely
2. since it was mentioned time and again that the controller should be ventilated, for moisture to be able to leak out, or even evaporate out, it seems to me that the opening I made by removing part of that sealing could provide such ventilation

As such I would tend to rule out option A, prefer option C meaning leave controller as is, without sealing it back, or at most go with option B, meaning wrap cables with electrical tape.

Is my reasoning correct? What are your thoughts?

Again as a reminder, the question is NOT what is the optimal strategy. The question is what would be good enough, meaning at least as good as initial state of bike.

Thanks a lot in advance for the help!

 

[fechter]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. It seems pretty well protected inside the case. Having the wires exit downward will prevent water from following the wires into the controller. Tape won't help much, as water can get between the wires. The stuff they used originally looks like self-leveling silicone glue. You might consider tape over the top of the crack where the end cap attaches to the outer box, but it might be tight enough the way it is.

 

[Victor Dupont]

Thanks a lot for the swift and helpful reply!

It's good to know that this looks good to you the way it is.

Thanks a lot also for the idea of the tape on the outer case. I had not thought about it at all, it's a very good one!