Connector Maintenance

Another option is corrosion x which is functionally equivalent to acf 50. Both available on amazon.

Both are used religiously on small aircraft.

If you have a small airport with a service center near your area, they may sell cans.

But, Amazon is usually the best easiest choice.

dcarver said:

.... Somehow, applying a grease that DECREASES conductivity seems counter intuitive. ...

Click to expand...

The grease does not decrease conductivity. The grease will not be between the touching parts of the contacts.

I'll re-quote a bit of what I wrote here -

...All (relevant) connectors rely on a gas-tight interface between the contacts, achieved by spring pressure and a sliding connection that squeezed out any debris and pushes through minor oxidation/corrosion.

...

Click to expand...

There is no grease between the contacts where the electricity actually flows, it has been pushed out of the way as the connection is made. The surrounding grease is there to reduce the likelihood of corrosion and takes no part in conduction between the connectors.

Even if it was so-called conductive grease, the minuscule current through the grease would be completely irrelevant compared with the flow through the metal-to-metal contact connection. Ohms Law rules.

Great pics. Goes to show you should always lube the connectoers when you have the bike apart as maintenance.

2015-08-20 Nose back on

Permalink Submitted by dcarver on Fri, 08/21/2015 - 09:24.

2015-08-20 Windshield Drive Maintenance and Nose Back On

But first a few pix from the cheering section, miss Molly!





She has soulful eyes





Cleaned up wiring, RHS.



LHS wiring re-org in progress. Finally, wires cut to correct length with no 'looping'..

Cleaned and lubed the windshield drive mechanism.



Here is where stuff is located.. for future reference.



This wiring had to move.. the big black bundle for the Clearwater lights.. The headlight nacelle fits VERY tight in this area..

On the other side, made room to get my paw into the headlight connector area for future headlight replacement work.

My fairing is broken up at the nose....both sides.



I used Gorilla tape to keep it together until adequate fasteners keep it bundled up..

Windshield drive mechanism. The grooved block... I wonder if there are replacement parts for it? This rides in the outer 'rails' allowing vertical windshield movement. I think these are worn.



Here's a problem.. the vertical steel piece is part of the batter holder. It's supposed to be on the other side of the tab with a bolt to secure it. Evidently, my tech didn't do such a good job. ...and for this one time, I'm not the tech!



Close up.



All fixed. Had to loosen both the battery box and the front stay to gain clearance...

A front nose install tip - be sure that the mirror 'spacers' are glued to the subframe prior mounting the nose. DAMHIK.



I used this stuff to glue the rubber to the aluminum.



I had to install and remove the nose at least a dozen times.. I had re-routed wiring to 'clean it up' and too bad too sad the wiring interfered with things like the headlight nacelle, headlight adjustment mechanism, etc.



It felt good to get the nose back on..

It

She's almost ready....



The front forks are awaiting parts, sigh. Recall the original reason for starting this job was a slow cranking speed then no crank at all. Then discovered the leaky right fork seal.. Then decided to visit all the connectors.. Then label all the connectors. Then clean up wiring. What the hell is wrong with me?

...more to come

Here's the power distribution panel I use, which is marine grade. I ran one line to the positive battery
terminal (HD line), which is UNDER the fuel tank and another to ground.

Obviously all lines wired to the block are hot all the time, BMW outlet, Stebel horn, etc. The GPS is wired to the front running signal(switched). Each fuse is an adjustable (wire length adjustable)is from
Posi-Tap.

Everything is Velcroed, labeled and easily accessible W/O pulling any panels...

The circular roll of wires (in the upper left of the pic) are the Zumo's 590's "octopus" wiring harness



BTW, any/all electrical connector, relay, bulb, etc, I pull off, gets a dab of dielectric grease. As noted above, it won't carry current but prevents water entry and all corrosion. Anywhere I've used it, NEVER another issue...

Been using it since my 04 FJR, main under tank connector corroded out, which the dealer couldn't find. I found the issue after searching here, cleaning and applying dielectric grease.........

Fantastic post.

Thanks for taking the time.

TownsendsFJR1300 said:

BTW, any/all electrical connector, relay, bulb, etc, I pull off, gets a dab of dielectric grease. As noted above, it won't carry current but prevents water entry and all corrosion. Anywhere I've used it, NEVER another issue...
Been using it since my 04 FJR, main under tank connector corroded out, which the dealer couldn't find. I found the issue after searching here, cleaning and applying dielectric grease.........

Click to expand...

You mean like this?





I had them apart a few years prior but couldn't remember if I treated them before reconnecting. What I did do though was wrap the connector in electrical tape and then put a square of heat tape on one side where I thought it could possibly come in contact with the frame. In retrospect I wonder if sealing it up that way did more harm than good.

BigOgre said:

TownsendsFJR1300 said:

BTW, any/all electrical connector, relay, bulb, etc, I pull off, gets a dab of dielectric grease. As noted above, it won't carry current but prevents water entry and all corrosion. Anywhere I've used it, NEVER another issue...

Been using it since my 04 FJR, main under tank connector corroded out, which the dealer couldn't find. I found the issue after searching here, cleaning and applying dielectric grease.........

Click to expand...

You mean like this?

I had them apart a few years prior but couldn't remember if I treated them before reconnecting. What I did do though was wrap the connector in electrical tape and then put a square of heat tape on one side where I thought it could possibly come in contact with the frame. In retrospect I wonder if sealing it up that way did more harm than good.

Click to expand...

Mine wasn't ANYTHING like that. Mine was simply green with corrosion.

Dielectric grease would NOT have prevented the overheating of those connectors, ESPECIALLY the large gauge RED wire.

A bad connection or issue elsewhere caused that, not water intrusion...

Great write up Don. I had forgot what really hides right under our nose. Lol. I've been thinking about a ground/connector service but time is scarce for much of anything around here lately. Good to see old Crazy8 again. Many more miles left.

Good stuff, Don, this should help track down my no-start problem on the 08.

How did I miss this? Deja Vu !!! For some reason there's a lot of familiar looking bits and pieces in those pics........

dcarver said:

It

Click to expand...

I had to do a double-take, wondering WTF all that **** was hanging from the nose of the bike, before I realized I was looking at the crap on your wall in the background.....