NICE automatic gate controller and ants

[jtu]

My automatic gate stopped working after ~10 years of the service. I opened the controller, mains were present, but no signs of life. There was too much dirt kind of stuff present inside I decided to tear it down for cleaning anyway. There was no actual repair needed. The root cause was just ants trying to make a nest inside. My guess is that one of the anties made a small brown splash I cleaned off. After cleaning and changing the fuse it is working again. This was easy. Maybe should be published under teardown instead of repair

Ants tried to make their nest, laid eggs mostly against / around the the high side of the power supply. Interesting choice.

Strange that this nice NICE Italian device is actually open from the downside... Not just ants, any worm and even mice could get inside. And it is supposed for outdoors use by design, but it is just IP44.

Few pics for those with mostly visual perception.

[Zucca]

 
In Italy ants go in the kitchen

[jtu]

In Italy ants go in the kitchen

[Arek_R]

If I would be doing this I would spray paint entire PCB in some dedicated lacquer.

[jtu]

If I would be doing this I would spray paint entire PCB in some dedicated lacquer.

This is a good idea, thanks. I'll add it to my to-do-some-day list.

[teresahuff]

Yes, this is a common problem that happens to those who don't protect their gate opener. I had one once that was really old, and it stopped working on the day. I couldn't get it out because it was full of rust. I tried using different tools to get it out, but I ended up making it worse. I had to contact [removed] and have them get it out and repair it, and it has been working very nicely since. They said that the problem was caused by water entering inside the gate opener and making it full of rust. Since then, I have always put something on it to protect it while it's raining.

Edited by Moderator to remove possible spam link.

[shakalnokturn]

If I would be doing this I would spray paint entire PCB in some dedicated lacquer.

I have an air con. PCB in for repair, it's mostly lacquered but there are some power components (in isolated packages) mounted to a large heatsink, a slug got in and earth leaked itself between a TO220 diode and the heatsink.
You can't win against water and beasts unless you pot the electronics, then for some reason it becomes less reliable by itself and can't be repaired when fails...

[fordem]

Hermetically sealed boxes are readily available.