On: Tesla's Screen Saga Shows Why Automotive Grade Matters

[posterboy]

Sound like those temperature differences could cause condensation to short the device. How is that usually prevented?

Asking probably because my desktop pc went out with a bang last night, waking me up. It's probably the accumulated dust that killed it. You'd need all terminals and wires with potential isolated from air, no?

[ddingus → posterboy]

Conformal coatings are your friend.

That desktop, had it been coated, would probably still be working, assuming the dust did not trigger thermal trouble.

[Animats → ddingus]

Yes. I've used Fine-L-Kote, which will keep moisture out. You mask the connectors and spray. It's transparent, but glows in UV so you can examine it for missed areas.

That's a thin coating. Automotive tends to dip in a heavier resin-type coating. At the other extreme, there are ultra-thin coatings used on some mobile devices.

[londons_explore → posterboy]

Temperature differences cause materials to crack, which is the main failure cause.

It's amazingly hard to design electronics to survive thousands of cycles of 100C thermal cycles.

[consp → londons_explore]

We used to fill the electronics in the case with "potty" (resin) up to the top, even milspec and automotive grade. They get warmer but way more gradual, don't move, and if you can keep the heat within the normal range the thermal stress gets less by avoiding sudden temperature changes.

Though the main failure mode was due to EMI as coil and spark plugs generate all kinds of crap.

[crististm → posterboy]

A loud "bang" is probably from main supply capacitors. Dust matters but unless it is very conductive it won't affect low voltage circuits very much.

[dillonmckay → crististm]

The dust will become conductive if the humidity is high enough.

I saw a video card short out that way.