[crake]

Keeping the electronics clean is critical. If you hit a bump and suddenly things stop working, chances are that sheet metal your team member drilled through in the pits left a little extra behind.

Cleaning and applying the gasket is a great warranty against this risk - as is keeping your electronics clean, keeping a separate electronics box, and using a shop vac when drilling. At a recent regional I visited, only 15% of teams had applied the "easy" part of the gasket on the outside of the chassis. Less than that had actually applied the internal gasket as well. This gasket has been well tested and dramatically decreases the likelihood of contamination, and the cleaning will remove anything that may have accumulated over time.

In the meantime, to get you back up and running, contact NI through ni.com/first

+Chris