Problem with Ikelite TTL converter DL5 not working underwater with Canon R5

Hi, my name is Ryan Miller from Vancouver Island.  I recently purchased a new Aquatica housing for my Canon R5 and also purchased the Ikelite DL5 TTL converter from my Ikelite DS-161 strobes.  I also purchased a new dual sync cable #45152.  I programmed the DL5 to #4 from the Canon R5.   Everything seems to work perfectly on the surface but as soon as I go underwater and take a couple images the TTL converter stops working properly.  I can't switch from TTL mode to manual and the strobes don't fire or will start firing randomly on there own.  I've tried trouble shooting everything and nothing seems to work.  The housing is vacuumed sealed so I can't see there being a pressure issue inside the housing.  I also ended up trying my friends Retra strobes via  fiber optic and everything worked perfectly underwater.  I sent the DL5 to Ikelite and they don't see any issues with the converter?  Has anyone else had issues with the DL5 TTL converter?

Thanks in advance.

4 hours ago, millermarine said:

Hi, my name is Ryan Miller from Vancouver Island.  I recently purchased a new Aquatica housing for my Canon R5 and also purchased the Ikelite DL5 TTL converter from my Ikelite DS-161 strobes.  I also purchased a new dual sync cable #45152.  I programmed the DL5 to #4 from the Canon R5.   Everything seems to work perfectly on the surface but as soon as I go underwater and take a couple images the TTL converter stops working properly.  I can't switch from TTL mode to manual and the strobes don't fire or will start firing randomly on there own.  I've tried trouble shooting everything and nothing seems to work.  The housing is vacuumed sealed so I can't see there being a pressure issue inside the housing.  I also ended up trying my friends Retra strobes via  fiber optic and everything worked perfectly underwater.  I sent the DL5 to Ikelite and they don't see any issues with the converter?  Has anyone else had issues with the DL5 TTL converter?

Thanks in advance.

Someone else had a similar problem a while back and also had Ikelite telling them there was no problem.  First thing to confirm is that you don't have a leak in any of your sync cables, this wouldn't necessarily show up in the vacuum test, you would have at least 3 joints each with an o-ring to check.   If you were diving in salt water there should be corrosion evident in the connectors by now.  There is a good page on troubleshooting sync cords here:  https://reefphoto.com/blogs/lighting/troubleshooting-strobes-with-electrical-sync

If this doesn't show any problems, next thing to try is see if you can duplicate the problem in a bucket, I see you found the thread I'm referring to.  If you can duplicate it in a bucket then I'd take it back to your dealer to demonstrate the problem.  In this case I expect you request they exchange the converter over if you are able demonstrate the problem.

I had a problem with my dual DS-161 and TTL converter recently (mine is Sony).

On the dive TTL was not working correctly and the TTL converter would not switch between manual and TTL correctly, I did not get this to work on the dive.

Troubleshooting afterwards I noticed the TTL/Manual switch on the secondary strobe (not the one that provides power) had been nudged over to manual. Switching back to TTL on the second strobe fixed everything.