Troubleshooting Tips #14 Sealing openings to prevent damage from insects
One of the unlikely problems that you might face with the electronics in pumps, is insects.They manage to get into pump heads through the tiniest places, unsealed doors or loose panels, through ventilation vents, etc. Once inside the pump head they are attracted to the heat generated by the IC's. These are usually found on Regulator or Power Supply boards, and if there is enough voltage such as in Gilbarco Modular Pumps and to a lesser extent Tokheim Pumps the insect gets zapped and in the process usually causes enough of a short to take out the circuit board.
The only solution to this problem, if you find them on a blown board, is to prevent them getting in. Ensure all openings are sealed. This does present a problem with vents in that they are designed to cool the housing. Most of these vents have a screen or very small openings. If you put in a fine mesh screen you will restrict air flow.
If the vent opening is less than 3 inch diameter and you have enough room inside the housing, one trick we have learned is to take wire mesh drip coffee filter and glue it in place inside over the vent opening. It's cup shape gives more screen area and even with its very fine mesh screen will allow close to the same air flow and yet prevent these insects from getting in. Use this with caution on a dark painted head or one that is in direct hot sunlight, as there can be airflow problems.
Page Last Updated: Tue, 19 Jun 2018
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