I was recently performing a series of dives with my BlueROV2 to depths from 200 to 310 feet. After a few dives I started getting errors associated with the pressure sensor. It’s been over a month now so I don’t recall the exact error. Associated with the error the depth readings became erratic. Depth was all over the place.
The bigger issue is that after a couple more dives the ROV started leaking. I’m wondering if the pressure sensor can be the source of the leak?
Things I did relative to leak testing and repair:
- ROV holds 18" of Hg no problem for over an hour.
- Noted that it appeared water was getting past potting or coming through jacket of the power lead from the battery. I needed a field fix to keep the project alive so I used heat shrink around the outside of the fitting, filled with 3M 5200, shrank a little more, put in hotel bathroom with shower running because 5200 sets up fast in humid environment.
- Still leaked so changed out the front camera dome for fear the bonding to the flange had failed.
- Changed o-ring for the penetrator associated with the power lead
- Changed the large housing O-rings for the end caps.
At the end of the day I had to give up and not get all the data required by my client. After various dives with leaks I had burned one thruster board and camera. I had spares for those but all my leak detectors had become compromised by being shorted due to leaks. At the end of the day I’m guessing it’s the penetrator for the power line and the 5200 just didn’t solve the problem or it’s the pressure sensor.
Any ideas to better pressure test without doing dives or ideas on the pressure sensor appreciated.