Moisture in gauges

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More or Less
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Moisture in gauges

#1 Post by More or Less » Tue Sep 20, 2016 4:53 am

2014 Bennington RCW
I had moisture problems in my gauges 2 years ago and Bennington replaced them. Now my problem is back and the dealer states this is normal and to turn your lights on to clear up the problem. I tried this and it still takes over an hour to clear up the moisture. Does anyone have a cure for this problem? Does Bennington have a new design to eliminate this issue?
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JerEazy
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Re: Moisture in gauges

#2 Post by JerEazy » Tue Sep 20, 2016 5:17 am

i get the same issues on my gauges as well. Never really heard of a fix. Normally the sun/heat/lamp clears them up after a bit.

Curious if anyone has a fix!
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teecro
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Re: Moisture in gauges

#3 Post by teecro » Tue Sep 20, 2016 5:27 am

Not a true cure but... Check to make sure that the bulbs are NOT LED bulbs and if they are switch back to incandescents then rewire the dash lights to their own switch and turn them anytime you use the boat. The heat from the bulbs burning will quickly burn out the moisture...

I found that is how some boat manf try to beat this issue by turning the dash lights ON/OFF with the ignition switch; otherwise it takes special and costly hermetic sealing methods to seal up these gauges...
Last edited by teecro on Tue Sep 20, 2016 5:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
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More or Less
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Re: Moisture in gauges

#4 Post by More or Less » Tue Sep 20, 2016 5:38 am

Additional information - The gauge is a vented design - see small holes at the 3 and 6 o'clock position.
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More or Less
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Re: Moisture in gauges

#5 Post by More or Less » Tue Sep 20, 2016 5:47 am

The gauge has 4 incandescent bulbs and these lights are on a separate switch, but it still takes over an hour to clear up the moisture.

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teecro
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Re: Moisture in gauges

#6 Post by teecro » Tue Sep 20, 2016 8:05 am

More or Less wrote:The gauge has 4 incandescent bulbs and these lights are on a separate switch, but it still takes over an hour to clear up the moisture.
Like I said it is not a cure, it only treats the symptoms...

Only true solution would be for the boat manf to install much higher cost hermetically sealed gauges.

One other treatment while is sounds backwards would be to enlarge the vent holes so that the moisture is "less" likely to become trapped behind the lenses....
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Bamaman
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Re: Moisture in gauges

#7 Post by Bamaman » Tue Sep 20, 2016 8:14 am

I've just accepted the fogged gauges as "it's just the way it is."

My boat never gets any rain or moisture and the gauges fog up every time the boats's used.
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Re: Moisture in gauges

#8 Post by Gearbanger » Tue Sep 20, 2016 8:33 am

I guess the only way to avoid fogged gauges is to upgrade to an electronic gauge package.
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More or Less
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Re: Moisture in gauges

#9 Post by More or Less » Tue Sep 20, 2016 3:00 pm

You would think that electronic gauges/controls would solve the problem, but even these are not immune to the problem. My Sony radio control has moisture problems.
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teecro
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Re: Moisture in gauges

#10 Post by teecro » Tue Sep 20, 2016 3:59 pm

Yep my Milennia Waterproof Stereo is the worst of all my gauges... lol
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MH Hawker
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Re: Moisture in gauges

#11 Post by MH Hawker » Thu Sep 22, 2016 2:49 am

i had a similar problem with my fish finder, the screen cracked and lost the seal, and when i got a new case i had to flood it with nitrogen gas to fix it, that was 6 years ago and no problems since
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BobL
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Re: Moisture in gauges

#12 Post by BobL » Thu Sep 22, 2016 11:58 am

Live with it....I can easily see your volts are fine, trim is almost all the way down, and it is time for some gas. :biggrin2
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Drago
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Re: Moisture in gauges

#13 Post by Drago » Thu Sep 22, 2016 2:11 pm

My Bennington gauges all fog up a bit on leaving a dock late at night and cruising back across the lake. Usually, by the time I'm at the ramp, they have cleared up. Yours looks much worse than mine ever gets even though my helm sometimes gets rained on. If I had your issue, I might try completely sealing it or just the reverse - opening it up more under the helm. Under our helm is always much warmer than the ambient temperature due to audio and amp equipment stashed there.
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Re: Moisture in gauges

#14 Post by curtiscapk » Fri Sep 23, 2016 7:39 am

BobL wrote:Live with it....I can easily see your volts are fine, trim is almost all the way down, and it is time for some gas. :biggrin2
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