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Recommended Products for Preparing Electrical Connenctions

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    Recommended Products for Preparing Electrical Connenctions

    EDIT quick summary 2/10/2019
    Many times these bikes have been sitting for years if not for decades. It worth stripping off the harness of the bike if doing a major refurb, or just the key connectors.

    For charging all connections between the battery and the R/R are paramount (this includes the fusebox) and these connections must be maintained very clear or else you will get reduced charging.

    A headlamp connector can reduce the voltage to your headlamp but it will not affect charging. No reason not to make sure those major current load connections are also clean.

    You should clean all the contacts prior to applying grease. DeOxit is an excellent prep and then to apply the dielectric grease.

    If the contacts are green then you need something like the naval jelly for a few minutes then flush with water. Don't let it sit too long it will be messy to clean up (1/2 hour is getting too long and there is a danger of it drying up).

    Most of the problem corrosion is actually inside of the crimps and not the exposed contact blades. This is why the DeOxit that is a very thin liquid can penetrate into the crimps. Slathering grease on a wire crimp will do nothing to get at the corrosion inside.

    If you have dirty crimp contacts for charging then you clean and use liquid flux to flow small amounts of solder into the crimp to block any further corrosion build up. If they are really old this may still be difficult and you might have to just cut them off and relay. This is really not necessary for anything else unless it is the headlamp.

    You can take a lot of strain off the wiring by going to LED headlamp and signal lamps.

    If it is old, I always go naval jelly, DeOxit then so grease.
    EDIT: 3/21/2016: LINK for learning how to solder: Probably more than you ever wanted to know.




    I wanted to just list the products I use to clean electrical connections. There are probably substitutes for each. The point to remember is that you need to chemically clean your connections. I wire brush or sandpaper will NOT do it.

    The main connections to worry about for charging are all connections between the R/R and the battery.

    Go here to read up on the specifics for Charging System Health.

    GS Charging Health

    All of these items are readily available on amazon or equivalent things at your local stores.

    1.) Aggressive Chemical Clean UP
    For usual connector corrosion, green gunk I use this applied for about 10-15 minutes and then wash with water. Usually all brass/copper is clean and stripped bare after application.

    Loctite 553472 16 Fluid Ounce Naval Jelly Rust Dissolver


    Product Description

    Removes rust from metal surfaces and removes bluing from surfaces such as guns, reels, etc. Remove loose scale with coarse sandpaper or wire brush. Apply Naval Jelly liberally to rusty surface that is free of dirt, oil and grease. Wipe off immediately from painted surfaces. Allow to work for 15 to 30 minutes and rinse off. Repeat application on heavily corroded surfaces. Limit application time to 5 minutes when used on chrome or other plated surfaces.






    2.) Flux to solder into dirty contacts.

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...rch_detailpage

    MG Chemicals 835 Liquid Rosin Flux, Non Corrosive and Non Conductive residue, 125 ml Bottle


    When you need to flow solder into a crimp or contact and the solder just balled up, it is because the surface is probably corroded. You will be amazed at how well the solder will flow with just a couple of drops on this in a barrel crimp.

    3.) Flux Cleaner to get rid of residual Flux
    I do a lot of circuit boards and use this stuff to clean residual flux. The flux above claims it doesn't need to be cleaned but I feel better getting rid of the stuff. A little spray and a old tooth brush will cut through teh flux. Use a little alcohol to flush off the residuals.

    MG Chemicals 4140 Flux Remover for PC Boards, 400g (14 Oz) Aerosol Can



    Product Features


    • Use when a general-purpose flux remover is required
    • Suitable for use with rosin, non-rosin, and no clean fluxes
    • Safe on plastic components
    • A special blend of ethyl alcohol, isopropanol and ethyl acetate
    • Moderate evaporation; highly flammable



    4.) Contact Cleaner to clean and protect all connections

    After you have everything cleaned solder and down to bare metal it is best to protect it with a conductive coating from a contact cleaner.

    Hosa Cable D5S6 Deoxit Contact Cleaner Spray




    DeoxIT® is a fast-acting deoxidizing solution designed for use as a general treatment for connectors, contacts, and other metal surfaces. More than a contact cleaner, DeoxIT chemically improves electrical connections.

    • Cleans, protects, lubricates, and improves conductivity
    • Reduces intermittent connections, arcing, and RFI as well as wear and abrasion
    • Safe for use on all metal connectors and contacts and will not harm plastics

    5.) Dielectric grease
    is a good protectant in most areas as well, it is just sloppier to work with than a spray. The spray probably gets deeper into teh contacts that grease alone. Doing both is belts and braces and comes in various sizes

    Permatex 81150 Dielectric Tune-Up Grease, .33 oz Tube
    Permatex 22058 Dielectric Tune-Up Grease, 3 oz. Tube




    • Protects electrical connections and wiring from salt, dirt and corrosion
    • Prevents voltage leaks around any electrical connection
    • Extends the life of bulb sockets
    • Required for modern high energy ignition systems
    • Suggested Applications: Marine and automotive electrical connections, spark plug boots, trailer hitches, battery terminals

    356919][/QUOTE]


    That is a great picture; I'll supplement it with this link that is pretty descriptive of how a crimp can go wrong and what is good. There is also a section that I extracted below about soldering wire/contact crimps. The issue is, if you are not very good at crimping (e.g. incorrect tools/wire/crimp combination), then the "gas tight crimp" will leak, letting air/moisture in, and allowing corrosion to form(especially after several years in some environments) raising resistance in the electrcial circuits.

    For most things this doesn't matter to much of you just spray your electrical contact every couple of years with something like DeOxit.
    HOWEVER ON CHARGING SYSTEMS CONNECTIONS this is a whole other thing. Voltage drops can cause low charging voltages at the battery. Here even small 0.01 ohms resistance can cause a 0.1V drop when carrying 10 amps.

    Last edited by posplayr; 02-10-2019, 02:28 PM.

    #2
    If I might add, FaderLube is Deoxit with additional lubricating pixies in it, nice for switches and moving parts....
    1983 GS 1100 ESD :D

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by greg78gs750 View Post
      If I might add, FaderLube is Deoxit with additional lubricating pixies in it, nice for switches and moving parts....
      I'm sure there will be many posts to add other products and recommendations. It might be useful to describe what you do with the product and why you use it. For example, just looking at the description I don't know what the difference is between DeOxit D5 and FaderLube?

      So this is an alternative to dielectric grease in switches?

      5. Should Connector Terminal Pins be Soldered?Some field repair people feel that after a 'good crimp' is performed on a new connector, the terminal pin should be soldered to the attaching wire. Maybe they are used to dealing with 'bad crimps' or feel they need the additional piece of mind. But is this the right thing to do?
      The most common aspect of connector replacement in pinball is the GI (General Illumination) connectors. These fail the most, and require replacement most often. The generally accepted crimp-on .156" terminal pin to use for GI circuits is the trifurcon style terminal pin (i.e. Molex part# 08-52-0113, Digikey part# WM2313-ND). This terminal pin grabs the circuit board's header pin on three sides instead of just one. Though the current handling capability is not increased, the vibration resistance and durability of the pin goes up dramatically.
      If a trifurcon pin is properly crimped, there is NO need to solder the connecting wire to the terminal pin. The only positive aspect of soldering a properly crimped terminal pin is the "wire pull out force" goes up. Current ratings do not go up with a soldered pin compared to a properly crimped-only pin (that information is directly from a Molex technical advisor who I talked with on the phone).

      Properly Soldering a Terminal Pin (if you must!)
      With the potential problems of soldering a terminal pin known, some users may still want that additional "insurance".Or if a good crimp can not be performed (wrong tool or wire gauge?), soldering may be necessary to overcome the bad crimp. Molex reconizes that some user may not following their crimping directions, and may solder a terminal pin anyway. If this is the case, here is the ONLY terminal pin soldering technique Molex (relucantly) recommends. This information came from John Luthy, Molex's connector product division manager:
      • Before crimping the terminal pin, tin the end of the bare wire with some solder (best method is to dip the wire end into a hot solder pot).
      • Crimp the terminal properly (see the notes above!) using a good quality hand crimper (Molex WHT-1921 part# 11-01-0015, Molex part# 63811-1000, or Amp 725).
      • After the wire is properly crimped, using a temperature controlled soldering station (750 degree maximum), heat the terminal pin momentarily, right where the tinned wire is crimped in the terminal pin. The tinned wire's solder should heat and reflow, spreading to the terminal pin. Do NOT add any additional solder!
      Talking to Molex representatives, they really discourage any terminal pin soldering (a good crimp does not require soldering!) But if it is done, the above steps are the technique to use.
      Last edited by posplayr; 02-10-2019, 02:28 PM.

      Comment


        #4
        my understanding is that it has less solvents and more lube. guitar/stereo guys swear by the stuff. And it lets you lube switches without disassembly, which is a plus.
        1983 GS 1100 ESD :D

        Comment


          #5
          I always use die-electric grease on almost all of the connectors I unplug whether it be car / bike / truck etc. Just a good practice to do,

          Comment


            #6
            I use ACF50 on all my electrical connections, including salt water marine environment. 10 years so far on my Boston Whaler with zero corrosion.
            1978 Gs1085 compliments of Popy Yosh, Bandit 1200 wheels and front end, VM33 Smoothbores, Yosh exhaust, braced frame, ported polished head :cool:
            1983 Gs1100ESD, rebuild finished! Body paintwork happening winter 2017:D

            I would rather trust my bike to a technician that reads the service manual than some backyardigan that THINKS HE KNOWS how to fix things.

            Comment


              #7
              A stainless steel wire brush or scotchbrite pad to physically clean visible corrosion is critical to achieving a properly clean connection. Chemicals can be used to supplement the cleaning, particularly where you can not reach the corrosion, but chemicals alone are not nearly as effective as physically cleaning in my experience.

              Also, pinching closed any female terminals so they bite into the male counterpart is recommended.

              As a side note, where I work we make a lot of stainless steel parts and the standard process after any parts are fabricated is to physically remove any visible corrosion (such as the heat affected zone around welds) before chemically treating the part. Common methods include a stainless steel wire brush, scotchbrite, or bead blasting. Remove all the visible corrosion before moving to chemicals. The process used for stainless steel is called passivation, and involves dipping the parts in nitric acid. But it is not allowed to dip parts until they are properly physically cleaned first.
              Last edited by Nessism; 02-04-2016, 06:52 PM.
              Ed

              To measure is to know.

              Mikuni O-ring Kits For Sale...https://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...ts#post1703182

              Top Newbie Mistakes thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...d.php?t=171846

              Carb rebuild tutorial...https://gsarchive.bwringer.com/mtsac...d_Tutorial.pdf

              KZ750E Rebuild Thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...0-Resurrection

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Nessism View Post
                A stainless steel wire brush or scotchbrite pad to physically clean visible corrosion is critical to achieving a properly clean connection. Chemicals can be used to supplement the cleaning, particularly where you can not reach the corrosion, but chemicals alone are not nearly as effective as physically cleaning in my experience.
                I think you are overstating the case just to make a point about an ill conceived idea. I might use a brush with naval jelly, but it could just as easily be a toothbrush or infact is usually a paint brush.

                Trying to clean electrical contacts inside of an electrcial connector shell using a scotch bright has certainly got to be a challenge. Perhaps the stainless steel brush would help, but then again it can't even come close to cleaning the crimps where the contact is actually connected to the wires.

                Suggesting that a chemical alone can't clean a connector, when it is impossible to clean a crimp with brush or scotch bright to the height of a misleading statement. Then again, there is no law against posting anything you want.

                Comment


                  #9
                  Soaking plastic connector shells in acid for half an hour is not what I would recommend if given an option. I prefer to pull the terminals out of the plastic shell before cleaning if possible.
                  Ed

                  To measure is to know.

                  Mikuni O-ring Kits For Sale...https://www.thegsresources.com/_foru...ts#post1703182

                  Top Newbie Mistakes thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...d.php?t=171846

                  Carb rebuild tutorial...https://gsarchive.bwringer.com/mtsac...d_Tutorial.pdf

                  KZ750E Rebuild Thread...http://www.thegsresources.com/_forum...0-Resurrection

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Naval jelly is quite mild and I only recommend 15min because if the stuff dries it is hard to get off.

                    1.) Aggressive Chemical Clean UP
                    For usual connector corrosion, green gunk I use this applied for about 10-15 minutes and then wash with water. Usually all brass/copper is clean and stripped bare after application.

                    Comment

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