A few weeks ago when we had a huge downpour and the subsequent river that can run down the side of my house...our basement window blew in and we took on 10" of water...most of my stash was high and dry but my two old AC tachs weren't so lucky. One of them is a 4k read, 6v pos ground since I still run 6v for now...the matching tach is a 12v neg ground with the needed 4k read- I run a '52 265 flathead with the typical 3600rpm cap. The 6v pos ground tach face is now bubbled...the 12v version is fine, face wise. Here's my question; these were water logged, 6v worse than the 12v, so do I have to worry about internal corrosion or anything? I got the water out as fast as I could but it still got in there and I know electrical things don't like water...and neither do I lately! I plan on taking the lemon here and making lemonade by repainting the 6v face, once apart, to match the OEM speedo assembly color...my worry is are they now shot because of the water soaking....what can I do aside from researching for some old tachs...these were from/for the old White semis. Your input is greatly appreciated......
I have found that if I am able to get electrical things out of the water & dry with compressed air before they get corroded & then put them next to a heater or radiator for a few hours to 'cook' any remaining water out that usually I've been lucky & saved them. After that about all you can do is to 'test' the item by seeing if it works : I've saved at least two out of three items this way, varying from gauges to starters, but the faster they've been removed from the water & dried, the better the result.
Put them in a jar filled with rice [dry]. The rice will absorb what ever moisture is left in them. I wouldn't hook any electrical to them until I was sure they were completely dry. I have had this recommended for cell phones that got wet, if it works for that, it should work on the tachs.
Let em dry. Just make sure you don't try to test until they are thoroughly dry. Old electrical is pretty forgiving. We sold lots of radios and dash clusters out of cars that didn't have windshields for years. But if plugged in while still damp it may cause damage.
sorry to hear....had about a foot outside my shop....and the shit spread out over the floor...got lucky there....
we used to put them in the oven set at 220 -250 ( lowest temp above boiling ) and cook them for a hour or so after we got them up to temp . we used them tachs outside on barges and tugboats for unloading and see all sorts of moisture . the high to us heat ussually doesn't hurt the springs and electrics as most are rated for 500*+ in assembly , and drys them out good
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