Nauticam Vacuum Check Weirdness

[Scuba John]

Hi @Scuba John

Did you contact Nauticam? You can email them though their website. Did you also contact the dealer from who you bought the housing and vacuum system?

These are from the manual and show the light and alarm sequences:

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View attachment 862065

I have had a Nauticam housing and vacuum system for 9 years. The only time I have had a steady red light, without audio alarm, has been when the battery needs replacement.

On a few instances, I have gotten a little salt water into the housing by opening vacuum with water in the access hole on top of the knob or by opening up the housing carelessly when it was wet. This has caused moisture detection with flashing red light and audio alarm. I cleaned off the sensor electrodes with fresh water on a cotton swab and then made sure everything is dry by using a hair dryer, as suggested by @David Haas

Best of luck. I have never seen the continuous red light with audio alarm. Let us know how this works out.

I haven't yet, bought it from Bluewater, and have been on the Nauticam website. I'll try and clean the sensors. Interestingly, I have flooded the camera twice and both times were dramatic and instant as somehow I must have crossthreaded the cap on the airpump access. I got to 5 meters and boom, water was up to the top. Needless to say the cameras were ruined. I haven't had that happen in four years tho so I guess I learned how to screw the cap on correctly.

Thanks for your answer.

 

[Scuba John]

Try the hair dryer, it can't hurt.

Put in in the sun for four hours, changed nothing.

 

[Scuba John]

Two pins to an insulated wire at the very bottom might be the culprit. Even the least amount of salt water if migrated up the insulation might give false readings depending on humidity, where you sealed the housing up, where your housing is sitting on the way to the dive site, etc.

As others suggested put it in front an AC unit and see if it dries it out completely.

I've also solved similar problems with trip guests using the Sealife Sport DIver iPhone housing who constantly would get false readings using a hard dryer on low warm......

Some housings have a copper "strip" on the bottom which I think is a bit easier to wipe and dry if any errant drop or two gets on it.

Just some ideas and hope the dives are going well in Indo!

David Haas

Thanks, David. The other person put the housing in her air con room last night (it's early here) and still the same result. I have told her to clean the strip (if there is one, I haven't looked yet) and the contact and see if that works. I'll try and clean mine one more time and see but using it only in the tropics for the past six years and changing nothing in my cleaning/ changing the battery routine seems very strange and suggests to me there is a problem with the electronics.

But I'll try again and see what happens. Thanks again!

Diving in Komodo is awesome as usual. Love this place. Great vis in the north, not "too" cold in the south and lots of mantas at Manta Alley. Too bad today is the last day. On to Nusa Penida and then Timor Leste and Atauro. Yay.

 

[David Haas]

With what you're describing the electronics in the vacuum system monitoring could be funky especially after a flood / leak or in such a high humidity environment you describe.

I worked part of my life in industrial electronics and the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) products we manufactured had conformal coatings applied. This sealed the board from moisture, solvents, etc.

It made replacing any component a bitch !!! Many times PCBs if not passing functionality tests were simply discarded. We actually had whole giant rooms (heat bays) where we stress tested products for days / weeks before being approved as good to go.....

These were PLC (Programmable Logic Controllers) used in huge racks on automotive and other high end production paint and assembly lines, municipal processing facilities, etc. So they HAD to work......

In my 5 + decades of diving and 4 + decades with UW photo gear I've not seen PCBs sealed this way. Too expensive and as such not cost effective, etc.

Most companies I'm aware of producing UW gear follow a "plug and play" meaning throw it away and install a new part.

Just some insights and your system may have just enough corrosion somewhere on it to keep causing headaches

Just one old guy's opinion!

DH

 

[Scuba John]

With what you're describing the electronics in the vacuum system monitoring could be funky especially after a flood / leak or in such a high humidity environment you describe.

I worked part of my life in industrial electronics and the PCB (Printed Circuit Board) products we manufactured had conformal coatings applied. This sealed the board from moisture, solvents, etc.

It made replacing any component a bitch !!! Many times PCBs if not passing functionality tests were simply discarded. We actually had whole giant rooms (heat bays) where we stress tested products for days / weeks before being approved as good to go.....

These were PLC (Programmable Logic Controllers) used in huge racks on automotive and other high end production paint and assembly lines, municipal processing facilities, etc. So they HAD to work......

In my 5 + decades of diving and 4 + decades with UW photo gear I've not seen PCBs sealed this way. Too expensive and as such not cost effective, etc.

Most companies I'm aware of producing UW gear follow a "plug and play" meaning throw it away and install a new part.

Just some insights and your system may have just enough corrosion somewhere on it to keep causing headaches

Just one old guy's opinion!

DH

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Sure. Fair enough. But I did have all the internal electronics replaced after a flood some years ago. Worked great since then. Did not have a flood this time.

Plus that doesn’t explain why my boat mates’ brand new Nauticam did the exact same thing.

It’s back to Nauticam Bangkok when I get home.

 

[rmorgan]

If the housing holds a vacuum, which you can verify by pumping it down and then letting it sit overnight and then seeing if it takes in air when you release the valve, I would go ahead and dive the rig. To be double sure, you could pull a vacuum without the camera, and let the housing sit in the fresh water camera tank for awhile.

 

[Scuba John]

If the housing holds a vacuum, which you can verify by pumping it down and then letting it sit overnight and then seeing if it takes in air when you release the valve, I would go ahead and dive the rig. To be double sure, you could pull a vacuum without the camera, and let the housing sit in the fresh water camera tank for awhile.

True that. But we both decided not to risk it. Thanks.

 

[Nemrod]

I have not a clue, the circuitry must be contaminated or faulty. You flooded a Nauticam twice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????????????????!!! Okay, well, stop doing that. Okay, you mention in post #1 no "undue moisture" and so let me explain something, there should be no moisture inside your Nauticam housing, undue or otherwise, just saying! If you have moisture, well, there you go.

 

[TampaDiver68]

I am dealing with this issue now while on vacation. New battery. Housing in air conditioned room with vacuum pulled. Holds green for some time, then turns red with alarm. Very frustrating, as I lugged this and all the camera gear to the other side of the world. Was sitting next to 2 other nautical housings which are not doing this, so I am starting to think something has gone wrong with this circuit.