preventing corrosion on FF wiring

Anyone have any tips on keeping your FF power cable from corroding? I lost the protective cap for my wiring so that doesn't help, but even in dry storage with a generous amount of dielectric gel my terminal seems to corrode enough to prevent the system from working.

I lube them up well with dielectric grease and put a plastic bag over them and seal it with a zip tie as tight as possible.  Seems to work.

Maybe slip over a rubber connector boot

I just spray all of my electrical connections with Corrosion-X every couple of months. It stays on the connections for quite awhile.

I just spray all of my electrical connections with Corrosion-X every couple of months. It stays on the connections for quite awhile.

In my limited experience with Corrosion-X (just started using it last year) it seems to work better on electrical connections than dielectric grease.  When I go out in the salt, I use compressed air to blow the plugs and sockets dry, then spray them.

Thanks all! I've never tried corrosion-x but I just ordered a bottle and will give it a go. I feel like a part of the problem with dielectric grease is its really hard to get it inside the tiny female 4-pin connector so maybe the aerosol spray just gets better coverage.

Followup question: When you do get enough corrosion to mess up the connection so your FF stops working, how do you clean it off those tiny connectors?

So far the grease is working for me, but my buddy didn't find out about that trick in time. He can't figure out how to get at the tiny pins without messing them up. I suspect the sockets could be carefully scraped with welding-tip cleaner wires - although that's tricky too, if they get sprung and don't grip the pins tightly enough.

So have any of you managed to fix this problem once it happens?

Followup question: When you do get enough corrosion to mess up the connection so your FF stops working, how do you clean it off those tiny connectors?

So far the grease is working for me, but my buddy didn't find out about that trick in time. He can't figure out how to get at the tiny pins without messing them up. I suspect the sockets could be carefully scraped with welding-tip cleaner wires - although that's tricky too, if they get sprung and don't grip the pins tightly enough.

So have any of you managed to fix this problem once it happens?

Use either citric acid or hydrochloric acid and rinse with distilled water immediately.  Citric acid can be found in some specialty grocery stores in the canning supplies area.  Hydrochloric acid can be found at your local hardware store as "muriatic acid."  Wear gloves and protect your face holes as you see fit.  Soak up some acid on a q-tip and press it into the female sockets a bit to wring some out.  Give that a few seconds, then immediately immerse and agitate in (or flood with) an excess of distilled water.  Similar for the pins.  Shake and blow dry and then apply dielectric grease -- super thin coating on o-rings and terminals.

I'm on my 3rd wiring harness in 2 years... I keep my battery and all terminals *fuse, connectors, etc) rolled up in a small dry bag now. The power cable gets rolled up with the bag opening as you seal it so its not submersion-proof, but absolutely good enough for inside the hull. I haven't figured out a solution for the exterior wires that connect to the unit iteself other than DE grease, but a freshwater rinse and air dry has been fine for the life of the unit thus far (2 years) used exclusively in saltwater.

Followup question: When you do get enough corrosion to mess up the connection so your FF stops working, how do you clean it off those tiny connectors?

So far the grease is working for me, but my buddy didn't find out about that trick in time. He can't figure out how to get at the tiny pins without messing them up. I suspect the sockets could be carefully scraped with welding-tip cleaner wires - although that's tricky too, if they get sprung and don't grip the pins tightly enough.

So have any of you managed to fix this problem once it happens?

I’ve had very good luck using CLR (Calcium Lime Rust) remover. Soak it with that for a bit and then use a stiff toothbrush or similar. A small pick tool can also be used to scrape any tough spots.

Followup question: When you do get enough corrosion to mess up the connection so your FF stops working, how do you clean it off those tiny connectors?

So far the grease is working for me, but my buddy didn't find out about that trick in time. He can't figure out how to get at the tiny pins without messing them up. I suspect the sockets could be carefully scraped with welding-tip cleaner wires - although that's tricky too, if they get sprung and don't grip the pins tightly enough.

So have any of you managed to fix this problem once it happens?

I’ve had very good luck using CLR (Calcium Lime Rust) remover. Soak it with that for a bit and then use a stiff toothbrush or similar. A small pick tool can also be used to scrape any tough spots.

CLR is also a great choice.  Its main ingredient that's effective in this case is lactic acid.  Same kind of process as what I outlined with citric and hydrochloric.

+1 on dielectric grease as prevention, and corrosion-x as cure.

I also keep everything sealed up and bought cheapo weather-proof extension cord connector cover that keeps the splashes off and should float if I get any real water in my hull.

I rinse and apply dielectric grease the moment I get off the water.  1 year, so far so good.  My first transducer lasted 2 months before I learned this lesson.

Literally filling the cavity of the pins full and squishing the plug in and wiping off the excess has worked well for me.  However I don't unplug and replug very often since my setup isn't permanently mounted.  But this has lasted 7+ years on one FF, and I have seen people with ones that are 13-14 years old still kicking. I mainly use Lowrance, and have also filled the SD card slot with grease and then wrapped the outside in electrical tape to try and water proof it.  I like to spray corrosion-x on the headunit itself after each rinse and dry, and wipe off the excess.  Gives it a bit of a waterproofness and lets some of the splash run right off the screen.