Plug connections

Rust a problem? No! Electricity is a problem. Plug connections. Solder connections. Crown stones. Crown stones? NO! Never use crown stones!

The most classic connections are those with eyelets. And then they have to be soldered to the wire too. Clamping with AMP plugs is, however practical, seen as somewhat of a hobby. For example, the voltage regulator, the ignition coil (s) and instruments have wire ends of usually a millimeter or 4. Just a finger of acid-free Vaseline along it. The relevant plug eye over it. Eating ring on it. Nut on it. Tighten carefully. Ready. But not for thirty or forty years.

From the XNUMXs, the industry began to work with sliding plugs. The best idea came from AMP Incorperated, now part of the Tyco group. The now famous 'males' and 'females' with their color codes for the wire sizes plus amperages and in a variety of designs became the norm until wiring became so complicated that the manufacturers switched to using multi connector blocks. Now they are mainly used by 'us' hobby riders. And in the meantime, those multi-connector blocks are starting to become our most hated torturers.

The AMP plugs worked fine. But the longer they were in a moist environment, the more oxide got between the connections. That oxide provides transition resistances, for heat development instead of contact. The visible results are greenish-colored joints and possibly hardening, or melting of the insulation, due to heating due to the transition resistance. You often see the consequences of this on the outside.

In lighter cases, it is sufficient to shower the connection with a spray can contact spray or WD40 and release the connection a few times and then re-light it. A little stroking with a fine piece of sandpaper is also possible when things are accessible. If the matter is really oxidized, then we have to go a step further. Because often the problems are in the connection between the wire and the plug. By oxidation of the solder connection or the terminal connection. Then it really only helps to short the plug to replace it with a new one. Also useful to know: with the rising copper prices, the plug quality of the specimens that you get at the Praxis and so on decreases.

It is best to switch on a new plug by soldering it. Do that with a soldering iron that delivers so much power that the soldering action is as short as possible. In this way, heating of too large a part of the cable - and thus the thermal load on the insulation - is avoided as much as possible. Use acid-free soldering fluid for soldering. Grease the new compound with acid-free Vaseline.

The second best way is therefore used the most. That is a choice from responsible laziness. The AMP slide plugs are offered at all fairs and at every hardware store. We will leave the specimens from the famous 'buckets'. They are made of inferior material. When clamping, make sure that the bare wire or wires protrude properly through their clamping part into the plug. It happens all too often that the thread just seems to be stuck. And that doesn't work.

The plugs are clamped around the stripped wire end with the professional pliers supplied in a 'beginners set' or purchased later. This may have been done somewhere in the past of our vehicle by squeezing the plug over the stripped copper core with a pipe wrench. Maybe even about a copper core that was not sufficiently brightened. And that is why we are now in trouble. The loose copper wires that make up a cable have been unprotected for years. For self-protection, each individual thread has put on a greenish oxide coat. And all that oxide has an insulating effect. Does not transmit power. Generates heat.

AMP plugs can form a good connection, but then a few preconditions are needed. First, the wire must be stripped over a sufficient length. The AMP plugs with a red indication must be made free of insulation over a length of 5 mm. The blue AMP plugs that are more common with us must be stripped over 6 mm.

Give the newly stripped copper cores a lick of acid-free Vaseline and slide the AMP plug over the bare wire. Tulip the pierced end a bit with an awl and give it an extra lick of acid-free Vaseline.

Then squeeze the connection with the correspondingly colored jaws of the AMP forceps. Then squeeze the plastic overlap of the red or yellow insulation sleeve around the insulation of the wire.

Also make sure that such connections are 'draining', that descending (condensed) water flows through the female to the male and then back to the wiring.

However, many of our problems are due to a blocked drain, rather than a faltering supply. And that is not only the case with Italian classics! We are talking about mass problems. They can cause a multitude of unexplained malfunctions. Because that return line is important for the cycle.

The problems are the places where there are metal to metal connections. Or should sit. Between instrument holders and their confirmation. Between engine and chassis parts. Problems like that are nice to solve. They can often be found by drawing an external ground connection with a long piece of wire between, for example, a non-functioning rear light and the ground of the battery. That eliminates all further possibilities or difficulties. There is woven mass wire for sale at the automotive parts trade. Often complete to length with soldered eyes. If such a cable is laid to earth from the refusing part, make sure that there is a clear metallic connection and also use the jar of acid-free Vaseline. For the motorcyclists among us: it is very important that the steering head and front fork make mass. The connection between them is formed by a bed of grease-bearing ball bearings plus the counter cables. It is surprising how many inexplicable problems disappear when a ground connection is made between the fork and the frame.

But sometimes we continue to have inexplicable failures. Then only one thing helps: measuring by cable in the wire harness. Because even the neatly taped-in or shrink-wrapped part of that cable harness can have malheur. For example, there may be wire breaks in seemingly perfect pieces of wiring. And what has happened more than once: over the years soldered connections in the wiring harness can harden or even decompose chemically. That is why it is useful to do soldering work with an acid-free soldering liquid.

Because even the most perfect restoration can come to a halt due to a loose connection in 'the electrical system'.

Some cable diameters and their maximum allowable amperage
0,65mm2, max. 5 Amp., For, for example, relay control
2 mm2, max. 17-18 Amp. For, for example, headlights
6 mm2 - 7 mm2, 40-50 Amp. For the dynamo, for example
23mm2, 60 Amp, for the starter motor

Oh yeah; NEVER use quick-release fittings. And look at a car or motorcycle on which they were used with the utmost suspicion and behind the scenes