We periodically receive questions re: the ability of our gauges to withstand water, mud, dirt and other natural elements and regarding it’s use in boats or other open vehicles, or in other harsh environments. Let’s address those here.

Liquids, mud, snow and other elements:

By default, our gauges are NOT IP rated, nor designed to withstand the elements. However, they can be modified to be so.  Let's first discuss why.

Water and moisture in mud or snow can short out electronics, and salt water can corrode electronics quickly. For these purposes, we do a few things: (1) we remove the switch on the front face of the gauge to eliminate the hole that would allow the elements to enter the gauge housing and come in contact with sensitive electronics; (2) we provide an additional wire out of the back of the gauge so an external switch can be used to setup/configure the gauge; and (3) we coat the PC-board and electronics with a special coating to help seal it.
There are other holes at the back of the gauge that can allow access to these elements, but in any typical installation, these are covered, and are not a problem. We do not have the gauges IP tested for it’s level of sealing, but these modifications have proven to work great in motorcycles, boats, snowmobiles and other open vehicles.

Please contact us if you intend to use our products in these conditions, as we can perform these modifications rapidly in-house for you, at a nominal charge.

Harsh environments:

Harsh environments can refer to two things in this context: contamination by elements described above; and vibration, shock, or extreme temperature conditions. By default and by design, our gauges ARE able to withstand these conditions to some extent. With no mechanical moving parts, solid-state electronic components, and solid aluminum housings, our gauges are far better at withstanding these conditions than analog gauges. We periodically test our gauges for this.  If you have a reason to use our gauges in conditions that are not normal vehicle operating conditions, contact us to ensure the gauge will be able to handle it.