Will my radar detector die later--or was I lucky?

Wuzn2late

Joined
Jan 16, 2006
Messages
4
Location
Greensboro, NC
On Sunday, while I was enjoying a sandwich at a nice little place near the Blue Ridge Parkway, a sudden shower drenched my ST and the Escort 8500 X50 radar detector mounted on it. I shook the water out of the radar detector, remounted it, and continued riding. It worked fine. It worked fine today too. But, I wonder if there are bad things going on inside that unit that will eventually cause it to die.

Anybody ever get their 8500 X50 soaked and have it survive for longer than a few days?

Gary

2004 ST1300A
 
I looked at the 360-degree picture on Escort's web site, and it doesn't look like there are many avenues for water to enter. Rain water doesn't contain very much salt or other corrosive crud, so if you got most or all of the water out and it works, odds are pretty good that it will continue to work.

--Mark
 
My current and previous Escort 8500 has survived getting wet a couple of times but my previous 8500 (non X50) started to act erratically a few months after being flung off the dash shelf and down the road after a get off. I eventually traded it in with Escort ($50 credit) for a new X50 version.
 
Both the 8500 and X50 are sensitive to water, if your unit is apparently dry and working properly it is OK. I have had mine completely soaked where they quit working and I let them dry out for a day without power and they were fine.
 
You were lucky, but all should be fine now.

If ANY electronic device gets wet, NEVER power it up until it's completely dry.

I wash circuit boards in the sink almost everyday here at work.
Water won't hurt them, but water + power will kill them.

Next time just unplug it, get the water off of it and out of it.
Hairdryers work well, I used compressed air but I have things all taken apart.

Give it a day or two to dry and you should be good to go.
Would hurt to bury it in kitty litter(the crystal kind) for a couple of days either, it absorbs moisture also.
 
Thanks for all replies.

Seems I was wrong when I said I got lucky. I use a Visual Alert, and that still works, but the display on the radar detector does not work.

Andrew, I'm sure you're right. Wish I hadn't powered it up while it was still wet. Also wish I hadn't paid the extra $40 for the blue display since a non-working red display looks the same!

Oh well, I rarely looked at the radar detector display anyway.

Gary
 
The 8500 is pretty easy to open up, just three screws underneath. Try taking the housing off and letting the PC board sit out for a day or so to dry. Maybe there's still some moisture in there? One of those cans of clean air available at most electronics or camera stores you can puff at it might be handy too. Also see if any dirt got washed into the unit that may be causing some issues. A Q-tip and a little alcohol is a good way to GENTLY clean any deposits you might find. Good luck.
 
That's one of the reasons I don't have my rardar detector mounted out in the open. Mine is in the fairing pocket with the antenna behind the front fairing plastic. Not only out of the weather but out of sight for theft as well and always hooked up.

Ray
 
wjbertrand said:
The 8500 is pretty easy to open up, just three screws underneath. Try taking the housing off and letting the PC board sit out for a day or so to dry. Maybe there's still some moisture in there? One of those cans of clean air available at most electronics or camera stores you can puff at it might be handy too. Also see if any dirt got washed into the unit that may be causing some issues. A Q-tip and a little alcohol is a good way to GENTLY clean any deposits you might find. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Jeff, thanks for the suggestions. I followed your advice and opened it up today to find it completely dry and with no deposits. So, I think that, as Andrew suggested, the damage was a result of applying power while the detector was wet.

Gary
'04 ST1300 ABS
 
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Wuzn2late said:
Jeff, thanks for the suggestions. I followed your advice and opened it up today to find it completely dry and with no deposits. So, I think that, as Andrew suggested, the damage was a result of applying power while the detector was wet.

Gary
'04 ST1300 ABS
Click to expand...

Being right sure isn't always good. :shrug2:
 
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