MES30 Shut off problem

I discovered this forum because I am looking for a fix for the same problem. Mine is a 2 year old Elite Sportsman model 20071914 that has about a dozen smokes on it and suddenly yesterday shut itself off and did the click thing when I tried to turn it on again.

I phoned Masterbuilt, great gal on the phone, and ordered a replacement control unit (29.99 for the panel and 11.48 shipping). The customer support gal told me to take off the control unit each time and store it inside the house. Moisture and humidity is the culprit she said. My smoker sits on an outside deck under eaves and with a waterproof cover on it. Not good enough apparently. You'd think Masterbuilt would make the wiring a little more robust since a huge percentage of their units are used outside.

Anyway, good to find y'all and hope my new control panel fixes the problem. I am NOT an electrical fixer and though it is my loss, rewiring stuff ain’t gonna happen by me.

MES Shutoff problem solved?  Dry out the controller thoroughly, inside a house.

I disconnected and removed the defective controller from my Gen I Sportsman Elite. It looks like new.  I put it on an out-of-the-way place on a counter in our kitchen for three or four days just figuring to install the new one I ordered from MB when it arrives.  Out of curiosity yesterday I put the old controller back on.  Voila!  It  worked perfectly.  I smoked a medium sized venison roast for 3 hours and it turned out superb. 

Apparently the slightest humidity shorts out the controller and makes it shut off.  That's essentially what the CS gal at Masterbuilt told me last week.  The controller SHOULD be built to stand normal humidity when on a covered deck or porch, but obviously it doesn't. 

I think I'll keep the new controller and have a spare.