Better Electrical Connections

[Hodakaguy]

If you are installing wiring on your bike consider these connectors. They are made for RC aircraft and are extremely reliable, easy to connect and disconnect, can take high loads and they are very solid. WAY better than the cheap automotive style connectors that you buy at napa, shucks, ect. I just installed my 200W Ricky Stator and used these connectors to replace the ones that came on the stator assy, wires going to the lights, switches, ect ect. When you are in the middle of know where it pays to have solid electrical connections.



These are the connectors, available at any Hobby Shop.




Here they are out of the bag. They are solder on connections.




Here is a 14 guage wire soldered onto the male connector.




Add the heat shrink tubing to prevent shorts.




Connect the two halves and your done. Nice solid connection that you won't have to worry about.




Here's a shot of my Ricky Stator harness with the new connectors installed on my XR650R.


Hodakaguy

[Bruce Caldwell]

Those look pretty nice! I also like posi-lock connectors. Especially the posi-tap ones. So easy to tap into a wire.

[Twilight Error]

Originally Posted by Hodakaguy

If you are installing wiring on your bike consider these connectors. They are made for RC aircraft and are extremely reliable, easy to connect and disconnect, can take high loads and they are very solid. WAY better than the cheap automotive style connectors that you buy at napa, shucks, ect. I just installed my 200W Ricky Stator and used these connectors to replace the ones that came on the stator assy, wires going to the lights, switches, ect ect. When you are in the middle of know where it pays to have solid electrical connections.



These are the connectors, available at any Hobby Shop.




Here they are out of the bag. They are solder on connections.




Here is a 14 guage wire soldered onto the male connector.




Add the heat shrink tubing to prevent shorts.




Connect the two halves and your done. Nice solid connection that you won't have to worry about.




Here's a shot of my Ricky Stator harness with the new connectors installed on my XR650R.


Hodakaguy

FYI, when soldering to gold plated components, it is critical to remove the gold from the solder area prior to soldering in your wire. This is typically done by tinning and wicking away the solder three times. Gold plating solders up nicely, but can will stress cracking in the solder joint under high vibration conditions. This is SOP for soldering in both MIL and NASA applications.

[Hodakaguy]

Originally Posted by Twilight Error

FYI, when soldering to gold plated components, it is critical to remove the gold from the solder area prior to soldering in your wire. This is typically done by tinning and wicking away the solder three times. Gold plating solders up nicely, but can will stress cracking in the solder joint under high vibration conditions. This is SOP for soldering in both MIL and NASA applications.

Good Info. I always tin the wire and the connector, never wicked it away though. No failures in RC flying so far.

Thanks

Hodakaguy

[the_gr8t_waldo]

they look like a joy to work with, and the finished connection looks very professional too. but i wouldn't think that it would pass too much in the way of amps thru it. does the manf. state what loads it will handle?

[Hodakaguy]

Originally Posted by the_gr8t_waldo

they look like a joy to work with, and the finished connection looks very professional too. but i wouldn't think that it would pass too much in the way of amps thru it. does the manf. state what loads it will handle?

I'm not sure what they are actually rated for, but they carry high amp loads in RC aircraft. My 48" wing will do 115mph in level flight and is pulling 45 amps at full load, using these same connections. There isn't any thing on my BRP that will pull even close to that, my 100W headlight is about 8.4amps at 12 volts.

Hodakaguy

[Boon Booni]

Nice find, I like those much more than crap automotive connections.

[datol]

Those are good looking connectors, I like how compact they are.

I am in the middle of redoing a DSK install on my BRP, I wanted to stay with the standard bullet style connectors, found out that Aerostich sells a kit for $17 that has these in a open barrel style crimp, even comes with the little clear plastic covers to make everything tiddy.

http://www.aerostich.com/catalog/US/...t-p-20274.html

Another type of connector I have used a bunch on cars is from these folks:

http://www.weatherpack.com/

These are the same as the fuel injection connections on all late model cars, and end up being pretty trick. I have used them on a complete car rewire, and they are a bit more work, and maybe a bit bulky for bike applications, but you end up with a water tight, factory quality connection.

Dane

[Frank Warner]

Any connection will last longer if you put a little grease on it to keep air/moisture away from the connection area.

[RandyB]

Originally Posted by Frank Warner

Any connection will last longer if you put a little grease on it to keep air/moisture away from the connection area.

Put the NoAlOx to it. Available at the big box hardware stores. Great stuff.

[Sonex522]

Very cool stuff. I'm always interested in finding out about better connectors.

I've heard from experts (whatever that means) in the aviation world that soldering can be a problem due to solder wicking up the wire under the insulation, making the end of the wire into a brittle stick that can break. I just don't like soldering - it's a pain, and I've had good luck with my connections so I haven't been motivated to do it yet. When I wired up the heated grips for my v-strom, I used generous amounts of shrink tubing and careful routing and I feel that I have a reliable set up, except I used the frame for a ground and I hear that's a no-no with Al frames.

The Autozone where I live has some better crimp connectors with integrated shrink tubing. I've found that if I use channel locks to do the crimp instead of a crimping tool, I don't tear the connector's covering and I get a more controlled crimp. Maybe I need to find a better crimping tool.

With Posilocs, I squirt silicone inside to seal them up.

I used plain old automotive connectors and posilocs when I buried the wire for my dog's invisible fence, and it still worked fine even after 4 years, winter, frost heaving etc. buried only 3" deep under the sod. My 20 year old utility trailer is still working fine, too, even with the most hacked together wiring - blue crimp connectors and electrical tape.

[Surfer]

I love Anderson powerpoles http://www.andersonpower.com/product...onnectors.html

They stay together, you can gang them into as many conductors as you need, and they are genderless.

[Guzz]

If you want another alternative connector (again from the RC community) try DEANS Ultra plugs.

The industry standard in high performance connectors. Rated number one by R/C Car Action, The Ultra Plug actually has less resistance, including the solder joints, than an equivalent length piece of 12 gauge wire.

We use them on LiPo batteries to the Electronic Speed Controlers/Battery Elimination Circuits (ESC/BEC). It's amazing how many AMP's these guys can handle, also how well they stay connected.

True Deans, can be a bit expensive. So I order them from China (called T-Connectors) 10 pair T Connectors $6.95 HobbyKing/HobbyCity

It takes a bit of skill/work to solder up, but well worth it

[Tukata]

Yea my Dad runs 6.5KW through them
But he's not normal in the RC world


Sermos are also pretty good and relatively cheap and easy to solder

[bassguitar]

Originally Posted by Guzz

If you want another alternative connector (again from the RC community) try DEANS Ultra plugs.

True Deans, can be a bit expensive. So I order them from China (called T-Connectors) 10 pair T Connectors $6.95 HobbyKing/HobbyCity

It takes a bit of skill/work to solder up, but well worth it

Yep. Nothing buy deans (or the cheaper versions) on all my RC Connections. Haven't had a use for them on the bike yet, but I've got it in the back of my mind to use them for sure.