# DSC-H50 Sony got wet. Help



## KRicster (Jun 27, 2013)

I went on a fishing trip in the Ocean recently. Had the camera put away in a cloth bag and inside a compartment on the boat. We hit a large wave which came over the boat and soaked all of us. Dried my camera off and place it in a bag of rice after removing the battery. All it will do is try and turn on for one second then goes dead. I remove the battery and reinstall it after ten minutes and it tries to turn on again. Seems like I'm making progress but it won't turn on yet. Any ideas ? :sad:


----------



## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

Hi KRicster and welcome to TSF :wave:

This can be a tricksy one :sigh: - Did the camera get submerged in salt-water? If it's still under warranty, check the terms and conditions for a factory repair.

If it did get submerged, you'll need to remove the salt from the insides before they start to corrode the metalwork/electronics - Remove the battery, memory-card and any other removable bits and open all the little covers and panels.

The drastic part







.... Fill a bucket/bowl with plain water (distilled water if possible) then place the camera in the water and swish it around, to remove the salt from the insides. Repeat this several times, changing the water each time.

After it's been washed out, gently shake out as much water as possible, then place the camera in a warm dry place for at least 24-48 hours (an airing cupboard is ideal, or above but not on a hot-water radiator). If you have any little bags of 'Silica-Gel' (usually found in electronic gadget boxes to absorb moisture), place the camera on them but leave space for air to circulate.

If you can get hold of a large amount of 'Isopropyl Alcohol' (mostly sold in tiny 5cc-10cc bottles, used for cleaning electronics), submerge the camera in that, before placing it in the drying area. Do *NOT* use 'Surgical -spirit', rubbing-alcohol, vodka etc., they all leave residues after evaporating.

There's no guarantee this will work, as the salt might have already started corroding the circuitry, but there's a fair chance of success. (I've done it with old 'transistor' radios and mobile (cell)-phones).

Good luck and let us know how it goes :thumb:


----------



## KRicster (Jun 27, 2013)

Thanks for the reply. The camera did not get submerged. The camera tried to turn on when it became wet. 
If I submerged it in distilled water, will it not destroy the circuitry ? Is there a away to break the camera down and clean it without submerging ?

Thanks


----------



## yustr (Sep 27, 2004)

Can you take it apart and wash? Doubtful...those are pretty tiny screws and even smaller interconnects.

While we normally think that water and electronics do not mix - rest assured all the circuit boards in all of our many devices have been washed at some point in the mfg'ing process. 

Now water on active circuits? That's another thing altogether.


----------



## sinclair_tm (Mar 11, 2005)

yustr said:


> While we normally think that water and electronics do not mix - rest assured all the circuit boards in all of our many devices have been washed at some point in the mfg'ing process.


There is science behind the mix of water and electronics. You can actually place electronics in water and they will work fine, in that water, as long as it is pure deionized water. "Normal" water that we drink, or find in lakes and rivers, or puddles, and such have stuff dissolved in them. These are called ions. When electricity present in ionized water, the ions will carry the charge, and electronics will short out and not work or get ruined. In deionized water, there are no ions to carry the charge, so electricity doesn't flow through it. In fact, water by itself is an excellent insulator. But since it's so rare to find real pure water since everything dissolves in it, you normally need to avoid it. This is why WereBo says to use distilled water to dunk it in. Distillation is a process where most ions are removed from the water. Because it has next to no ions in it, any contaminants on the PCBA and connectors of the camera will readily dissolve into the water. After a few dunkings of swapped water most will be gone, and letting it dry out has the chance of allowing the camera come back to life. Isn't science great! Yesh, I'm a geek and nerd. But that's why I'm an engineer...


----------



## WereBo (Apr 5, 2008)

As well as preventing damage to the electronics, distilled water won't leave any residue on the inside of the lenses, as it dries out - Just notice how dirty cars/windows get, after the rain has stopped outside :laugh:

Anyway, if it only powers up for a second or 2, have you tried recharging the battery? Also, if the camera only got salty water on the outsides, there's a good chance none has got anywhere dangerous inside. Using the Isopropyl alcohol and cotton-buds (Q-Tips?), try cleaning the battery contacts in the camera, assuming there's enough space to actually get a Q-tip in the narrow space.

Otherwise, give it 24 hours in a warm environment, there might still be traces of damp deep inside the camera. If you can get the air blowing in it using a fan, so much the better, you need to get the air inside moving around.

If that doesn't cure it, then I'm afraid it's either a repair-shop (likely to be expensive) or time for a replacement :sigh:


----------



## yustr (Sep 27, 2004)

sinclair_tm said:


> There is science behind the mix of water and electronics. You can actually place electronics in water and they will work fine, in that water, as long as it is pure deionized water. "Normal" water that we drink, or find in lakes and rivers, or puddles, and such have stuff dissolved in them. These are called ions. When electricity present in ionized water, the ions will carry the charge, and electronics will short out and not work or get ruined. In deionized water, there are no ions to carry the charge, so electricity doesn't flow through it. In fact, water by itself is an excellent insulator. But since it's so rare to find real pure water since everything dissolves in it, you normally need to avoid it. This is why WereBo says to use distilled water to dunk it in. Distillation is a process where most ions are removed from the water. Because it has next to no ions in it, any contaminants on the PCBA and connectors of the camera will readily dissolve into the water. After a few dunkings of swapped water most will be gone, and letting it dry out has the chance of allowing the camera come back to life. Isn't science great! Yesh, I'm a geek and nerd. But that's why I'm an engineer...


What he said... :iagree:


----------

