33 Express Electric Panel problem

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Bayhouse

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Got caught in some snotty weather this weekend and some sea water got into the helm area and am pretty sure some ran down on the electric panel through the wire opening.

At the time the Genny was running and it continued to run, but i noticed the AC volts digital meter was flashing dim EEE and the circuit breaker lights were dim. the AC Amps digital meter was blank (other than the "AC AMPS" indicator).

Now, back on shore power I get a solid EE on the AC Volts meter and, new this morning a flashing EEE on the AC Amps meter. Again, all devices, both AC and DC seem to be working fine.

Does the 'E' display mean anything on these meters?
Are the meters shot or could there be a different problem?

I certainly hope I don't find seas like that again, but want to fabricate something that will cover up most of that opening - anyone do this already?
 
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SmokyMtnGrady

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I have been on a couple of 33s before but I am not certian of a few things. One, with your handheld meter are you setting it to VAC and if so where are you testing the circuit? Are you pulling the panel and putting the meter on specific circuits? Or are you testing the output of the genny at the unit itself?

If you pulled the panel it seems to me if you had a corrosion issue of kind you would have seen it and been able to clean it up. My cheap meter will flash that kind of error if the circuit is open when it is in vac mode. I dont know what the onboard error code means for the boat though. The first thing i would do is insoect behind the panel. If seawater ran down the rigging tube and flooded the backside of the panel it could cause a short of somekind while it is energized. Then when it dried up things be fine. Then again having sea water make contact with all the connections will lead to corrrosion. I would get some electrical contact cleaner and clean it and then get electrical contact corrosion blocker and spray the contacts points on the terminals. You could also use a 10 parts fresh water to one part vinegar and gently spray using a spray bottle the contacts to wash and neutralize the salts deposited and then put the corrosion block on as well.
 
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