is water in the idm a common problem?
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is water in the idm a common problem?
my friend has an 01 excursion an 02 excursion and a 01 350 all 7.3, he has gone through 3 idm's on the 01 excursion, last week the one on the 350 went. a friend and very knowledgeable ps mech. says its because the get wet and sure enough they all have about a 1/2 cup of water in them when they quit, he says if you plug the vent hole they overheat and burn up, ford says its just a problem in 97 -03.has anybody ever found a solution to the problem? this gets expensive even using aftermarket stuff and makes the vehicle seem a little undependable.
Post Fiend
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 6,096
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From: Mesa AZ
Never experienced water in the IDM on my personal or fleet vehicles but I have read of 5 or 6 cases here on this forum where it's happened. So, I wouldn't say it's common but it does happen from time to time. 
I would look into why the IDM is getting wet...it looks pretty sheltered in it's location on 99-03 models.
I would look into why the IDM is getting wet...it looks pretty sheltered in it's location on 99-03 models.
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almost seems like condensation the idm must generate a lot of heat our local ps man said he built a nice box around it and it failed in a couple weeks no water he figured it was heat. im going to get one of his old ones and see if i can drill the bottom and put a 1/4 in rubber drain tube out the bottom 6in long and stop his problem. the 350 that just failed had been setting for 9 mo so i'd have thought condensation would have dried out over the summer he only drove it 50 mi before it blew.
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the only place it can come in is 1 small vent hole in the back and if you seal that it over heats, the unit is very well protected, we thought presure washing was the problem at first but he stoped that and still lost 2 more idms. the units themself sems to have a good factory seal
Hotshot
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 17,988
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From: La La Land
If you have the IDM apart enough to remove the PC board, a good coating of "conformal coating" of some sort might be a good investment.
Maybe a few coats of spray lacquer would do the trick.
Waterproofing electronics is a real science, and not many manufacturers are really good at it.
Pop
Maybe a few coats of spray lacquer would do the trick.
Waterproofing electronics is a real science, and not many manufacturers are really good at it.
Pop
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never thought of that it would have to be nonconductive so it diidnt change any resister values but that should work iguess i need to do some experments with lacquer and see if it is conductive enough to change the resister values by shorting them together or not.
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Elder User
Joined: Jul 2010
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From: Sequim. WA
IDM
I had the IDM in my E99 out to upgrade it and did not find any water. This one was 13 years old.
Make sure the replacement unit is sealed and use some dielectric compound on the connection to keep it sealed.
Maybe have it sealed by an electric shop.
Never heard of the IDM having this problem but learn something new every day.
Make sure the replacement unit is sealed and use some dielectric compound on the connection to keep it sealed.
Maybe have it sealed by an electric shop.
Never heard of the IDM having this problem but learn something new every day.
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i guess what id really like to know is how maney just replaced them how maney shook them to see if they had water in them and also how maney miles they had on them when they failed. our tec says its a constant problem, hes 2nd largest diesel shop in the county, our ford dealer says some yrs he sells 40 to 50 of them a year mostly water related, i just dont understand why i dont hear more about it on this forum unless your all running newer low mileage trks
Postmaster
Joined: Jul 2006
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From: Bend, OR
i guess what id really like to know is how maney just replaced them how maney shook them to see if they had water in them and also how maney miles they had on them when they failed. our tec says its a constant problem, hes 2nd largest diesel shop in the county, our ford dealer says some yrs he sells 40 to 50 of them a year mostly water related, i just dont understand why i dont hear more about it on this forum unless your all running newer low mileage trks
Someone is not installing them properly, or not buying good units.
They are in an extreamly well protected area, almost as much as the PCM. So long as you dont have a leaking cowl or tore up inner fender liner there just not going to get wet.
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i guess this is like the recession/ depression thing, if its your neighbor laid off its a recession if its you its a depression! some of the comments have been very flrustrating, if you search idm's with water theres a boat load of posts and fix's some by fmc, to the guy that says "they dont go bad" the only thing i can say to that is look around for replacement and count how maney reman's are for sale do you really believe these dealers are buying new and selling as reman or do you think just maybe these could have been bad and turned in as core's. and just for the record the vehicles are only driven on the road and the last one to go out had set in the barn for 9 months and was only driven 25 mi on a sunny day when it went out aqnd i can tell you for a fact there is at least a half cup of water in it. that enough of that, sorry about the rant, thanks for the good ideas and things to try from all the rest.
Mountain Pass
Joined: Mar 2015
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The problem isn't the IDM itself(most of the time)...IF you have that ends up grounding out then each subsequent will have issues. These things are known mainly from the engine vibration. TEST YOUR for before replacing the ...yes, you can the same cause that made go out now and replacing all my with factory parts. cheapo UVCHs...if it don't say FORD or INTERNATIONAL you are wasting your time...20,000 miles on cheap ones and the insulation is pulling away from the plug ends, especially the glow plug ends.