Protecting ECU from Water Damage?

[LRNAD90]

So for those out there that still take NAS Defenders out and do what they were meant to do, how concerned are you about, or what have you done to protect, the ECU from water? I know the ’94 trucks had the ECU in the passenger footwell area, but not clear exactly where. My '95 has it under the passenger seat, and the ’97 has it high up in the engine bay (perhaps the best of the three choices). The under seat location in particular seems a rather vulnerable position in a water crossing, the seat boxes aren’t exactly sealed up..

I’ve heard of people putting ECU’s in Tupperware before and leaving the lid off for ventilation under normal circumstances, curious what experience people have had with its vulnerability, and what if anything people have done (besides converting to a 300 Tdi, or carburetor) to protect it..

 

[rocky]

So far so good. I had to replace my ecu a while back. So I got two. Ultimately they’ll get rarer and rarer. That’s worrying

 

[D901560]

I have a 94 with the ECU on the inside of the bulkhead. When I bought the truck years ago it had A/C so the ECU was relocated to the inside passenger footwell against the outside wall and it was protected by a plastic bag. This may be NAS folklore but the story I heard was that Land Rover issued a TSB about protecting the ECU from water ingress and the plastic bag actually had its own LR part number. After I removed the A/C I wanted to put everything back to the stock location and on the bulkhead there were existing rivnuts for mounting the ECU and spot welded tabs for securing the fuel pump and EFI relays. So far it seems to stay dry here and I like having easy access to the relays and to hook up a Rovergauge when needed. When the ECU was mounted on the side of the bulkhead next to the A/C (mounting screws and washers are visible in photo to show previous location) there were always drops of water on the plastic ECU bag after a good rain. X2 on having a spare ECU and it seems any 14cux will work. My spare is from a 4.2 RRC and runs the truck just fine.

 

[LRNAD90]

Thanks for the clarification on the '94 ECU placement. My '95 has the AC unit, so that wouldn't be an option, even if my ECU harness was in that area. I guess the focus on protecting the ECU from water should be (in the '95) waterproofing the under seat compartment, as it also houses the critical relays for fuel pump and EFI as well as the stereo amp, so lots of electrically vulnerable parts in there..

I guess LR moved the ECU because of problems with keeping the relocated ECU dry on '94s with AC? Some year to year changes make perfect sense (adding the door straps to keep them open and the rear door lock cylinder), others like the change to the less water resistant taillamp style make less..

So where are people sourcing known good 14cux ECUs, and what should you expect to pay for one? Just calling auto dismantlers? Assuming '94-'95 D1 as well as early RR ECUs would all be viable spares?