Exo SONDE User manual

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YSI REV A 8/18
PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE [MAINTAINING EXO SONDE & SENSOR WETMATE CONNECTORS]
GENERAL: Developed by YSI Repair Center using “Best Known Methods” to prevent Sonde WETMATE and SENSOR pin
damage caused by galvanic corrosion. Users in Brackish/high salinity/turbidity water seem to be the most prone to this.
BE SURE TO WEAR PROPER EYE PROTECTION WHEN CLEANING AN EXO SONDE!
TOOLS
BRUSH –UTILITY OR TOOTHBRUSH
Q-TIPS SMALL/MEDIUM TIPs
VINEGAR FOR CLEANING –SQUIRT BOTTLE VERY HANDY
ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL FOR CLEANING

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YSI REV A 8/18
1. Cleaning residual lubricant and water contamination from the connectors each and every pre-deployment is as
important as applying lubricant! This can be accomplished using a toothbrush with vinegar [corrosion] & alcohol [old
lubricant]. We recommend flushing all SONDE bulkhead ports out using vinegar between deployments to remove
any contaminates before reinstalling sensors.
The image on the left shows an attempt at lubricating, but just applying a big glob of Kyrtox and shoving the connector
in the port does not always cover the rubber around the pin in keeping water off the pin. The image on the right shows
what happens when the SONDE WETMATES are not properly serviced.
BEFORE AFTER
CLEANING! -- Battery cap after cleaning -- all contaminates removed before lubricating.

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BEFORE AFTER
Battery compartment threads and WETMATE connectors before and after clean and lubricated. All cleaning done with a
toothbrush and isopropyl alcohol.

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Here are properly lubricated WETMATE connectors [all surfaces are covered].
2. Both connectors male/female must be lubricated using Kyrtox and a small brush –your fingers can not reach
between WETMATE pins [refer to page 123 in EXO User’s Manual]
3. Keeping WETMATE port connectors clean is very important. Putting a sensor back in a contaminated port could
likely lead to a port failure.

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EXO Bulkhead with Typical Contaminates

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Vinegar soak fill ports for ~10-min, this will help in removing old Kyrtox and any contaminates that got past the
sediment O-ring on the sensor.

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A small pointed tipped Q-Tip can help in cleaning contamination out of port pins. DO NOT FORCE THE Q-TIP
INTO THE PIN HOLE JUST LIGHTLY ROTATE IT AROUND AND THE CONTAMINATES SHOULD COME OUT!

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Nice and clean after vinegar treatment. Properly Kyrtox’ed sensor WETMATES will apply a small amount into the
pin cavities.

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REMOVAL OF ALL SENSORS AND PORT PLUGS! This Port Pin looked normal at first glance and then caused a
Sensor Fault error 0020 on the SONDE when a sensor was installed for functional check. After looking through a
Borescope we discovered this corroded pin where an unremoved Port plug had been left in for multiple
deployments. The plug had just been installed and never removed over time. Water eventually was able to get
past the dry rubber pins.

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4. Wiped CT configurations must use proper port selection and binding procedure [refer to page 69 in EXO User’s
Manual] [THIS WILL ALSO MINIMIZE MOVEMENT OF THE SENSORS WHICH COULD ALLOW WATER SEEPAGE
INTO NON-PROPERLY MAINTAINED WETMATE CONNECTORS]

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EXO field cable connectors need to be properly maintained in order to prevent expensive
repairs to Sonde or cable connector failure! Clean off all previous lubricants and water
contaminates then lubricate using same procedure as SONDE WETMATES at EVERY
deployment!

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YSI REV A 8/18
EXO CABLE MAINTENANCE CHECK
The following is an easy check for testing your EXO cables. This can prevent damage to the SONDES wet-mate connector
should a cable have an internal short. CHECK PIN 3 TO ALL PINS USING THE FEMALE SIDE AS SHOWN BELOW. THERE
SHOULD BE NO READINGS! MAKE SURE THE CABLE IS FULLY DISCONNECTED AT BOTH ENDS.
NO PINS SHOULD HAVE READINGS TO EACH OTHER [SEE PICTURE 1 BELOW!] PICTURE 2 SHOWS LEAKAGE BETWEEN
PINS.
Tools need:
-Digital Volt Ohm Meter
EXO CABLE CONNECTOR PIN OUT

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GOOD CABLE READING
BAD CABLE READING

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Leaking cables cause galvanic corrosion [an electrochemical process in
which one metal corrodes preferentially when it is in electrical contact
with another, in the presence of an electrolyte/water] on power pin 3
and leads to an expensive Sonde repair –battery compartment
replacement and down time.
SUMMARY: EXO WETMATE connectors do a wonderful job in protecting the connections of EXO SONDES if properly
maintained. Cleaning them prior to lubricating is a must and this must be done before every deployment.

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ANTIFOULING: if your site has bio-fouling issues YSI has developed heat shrinkable sleeves P/N 599663 for the SONDE,
sensors and wiper. These can then be covered by copper tape P/N 616189 on the sensors and Duct Tape on the SONDE
body per lower right picture.