I've handy enough with this and that around the house. I'm technically proficient enough to replace the duc's clutch basket, hub, plates, and pressure plate. I also did the lightweight flywheel myself. I think carburettors are filled with voodoo magik.
What I want to learn now is basic wiring skills, so I can clean up the nonsense that is going on under my seat and around my motor. I also have an HID headlight kit that I wouldn't mind using, but it came with a nonsense amount of extra wire that I have nowhere to hide.
So I am looking to mark and cut the wires and where they go, and 'splice' in new wires routed along the routes I prefer (like inside the frame, etc). My motivation is to generally clean up the look of what is going on in there.
I've hung ceiling fans and I don't think "wire nuts" are appropriate for motorcycle applications. Here's my guess, I cut the wires, solder in the new length, and use heat shrink wrap to seal it off from the elements.
What do I need to be using for the heat shrink wrap? Torch or heat gun?
What type of solder is to be used and what is the appropriate tool for the job?
Educate me, wise ones.
pretty much if you are okay with cutting. Persionally, im kind of anal about it, and i use a little sticker tab to mark them, color coded.
Just dont forget to slip the heat shrink on the wire before u solder it, otherwise youll need to desolder it and redo the joint. Dont forget when turning tight corners, youll want to make sure the wire is not rubbing on anything that can cut the insulation.
You should use stranded wire because its softer and more flexiable, also make sure its oil and gas resistant. other then that, theres not much to it. the carbed bikes dont have many wires, so it shouldnt take you that long.
another thing, its ALWAYS better to have a little to much wire than too little wire. so dont be shy by giving it an extra few inches, because you might decide in the end, hey this is a better route, or just end up having a 3-4 inch extra section u can throw away. beats having to wire in a whole new one and loose a few feet.
Some people prefer "Butt" connectors (seriously [roll]) to soldering, because they are vibration resistant, and a little simpler to install. In most cases there are already insulated. I myself like to solder in my connections. When I do use Butt connectors I will usually heat-shrink over the connector. Mainly just because I think it looks cleaner and adds an extra bit of structure to the splice.
As far as using the heat-shrink I usually use a lighter to get it to shrink. So there is no need to buy a heat gun or a torch if you don't already have one. If you wanna be real anal they sell heat-shrink with an adhesive inside that melts down around the connection. This makes an incredibly strong connection, and makes it totally weather proof.
I use a very general lead-free silver bearing solder. I prefer the .32 inch diameter stuff cause it will melt faster. At home I use either a little 40watt iron, or a little butane powered soldering torch. (read: cordless) You don't need the fancier adjustable ones for simple wire splicing. The more expensive electrical, temperature adjusting soldering stations are awesome, don't get me wrong, but I think those are really only needed when soldering electrical components on pc boards and such. I did manage to solder on surface mount LED's usuing my little 40watt iron. So YMMV.
Damn I can ramble on. Hope this helps. [beer]
If you use butt connectors or crimp connectors you WILL have problems down the road. Solder all your splices. Do you know how to properly use a soldering iron? By that I mean do you know how to get the solder to wick into the wire? Not trying to be a smart ass.
Quote from: ato memphis on August 16, 2009, 11:36:06 AM
...
I also have an HID headlight kit that I wouldn't mind using, but it came with a nonsense amount of extra wire that I have nowhere to hide.
...
I wouldn't cut the wires that lead from the HID ignitor to the bulb.
Seems like those wires are not "run of the mill" wires. I've also seen those wire arc through the insulation when the insulation is just slightly compromised. (this is from the few kits that I've observed)
The wires that lead from the ignitor to the ballast, I don't really know.
The wires that lead from the bike to the ignitor...hack away!
If you take your time, you should be able to hide most of the wires without too much, or any cutting.
Here's mine:
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/hundredpercentkill/dmf/DSC00020.jpg)
(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/hundredpercentkill/dmf/DSC00003.jpg)
There are some soldering tutorials online. Here is one I found by Googling:
http://w6rec.com/duane/bmw/solder/ (http://w6rec.com/duane/bmw/solder/)
I'm not endorsing it, I just found it and it seems OK, there are lots of others. One thing the guy does that I do is shrink the heat shrink with the soldering iron. That way you don't have to mess with heat guns or other devices. Somewhere I remember seeing a recommendation to use two layers of heat shrink, the second one slightly longer so that it covers the first. Heat shrink is pretty tough stuff, but still that sounds like a good idea on a bike. Heat shrink is "cool" stuff and if you haven't used it before it would be a good idea to practice with a short section or two on a scrap of wire first, just to get a feel for it. For that matter it's a good idea to practice some solder joints too, before soldering on your bike. But it's easy once you get it figured out.
About the butt connectors, I've used them a lot and the critical part is getting a good crimp. Some crimping tools crimp pretty well and some don't and if you don't have one of the more positive crimping tools the joint can be iffy. I agree that it's better to solder.
Quote from: Ducaholic on August 16, 2009, 06:55:58 PM
If you use butt connectors or crimp connectors you WILL have problems down the road. Solder all your splices. Do you know how to properly use a soldering iron? By that I mean do you know how to get the solder to wick into the wire? Not trying to be a smart ass.
Not a clue. I plan to practice a bunch before hand, and watch a good number of videos, or perhaps 'borrow' an electrician for some pointers.
Quote from: DarkStaR on August 16, 2009, 08:38:37 PM
The wires that lead from the bike to the ignitor...hack away!
Those are the ones I'm after. They gave me yards of wire, as though I was wiring up a single headlight system for a car that had the battery in the trunk.
I build my own wiring harnesses and McMasters Carr should have everything you need. I generally solder, but you can buy crimp-ons that are tin coated and have built in shrink wrap - they are used in the marine industry. You can also buy wires that are heat and abrasion resistant. None of this stuff is very expensive.
A heat gun will give you better control with shrink wrap than a flame, but in the end, use what you have available.
If you want a nice clean wiring set up, throw the Duc harness in the trash and start from scratch.
Good luck. [beer]
Quote...but you can buy crimp-ons that are tin coated and have built in shrink wrap - they are used in the marine industry.
Never seen those, Thanks.
Don`t forget to put the shrink tubing on first and far enough away that the soldering iron won`t shrink it. [bang]
I like to make two hooks with the wire by bending them. Then hook them together, squeeze and solder. Don`t forget to let the solder flow through and around the wire.
Just since no one else mentioned it, always use soldering paste. You cant use too much, I dip the end of the wire in the paste, warm it up to melt the paste, then solder away. Makes for a better electrical joint.
in that regard, gel flux is better than liquid flux here. also a high wattage gun would be ideal because you can heat up wire quickly, feed the solder and get out.
^^
Well, just to show that we can't seem to have the simplest discussion around here without things getting controversial ;) I have a counterpoint considering flux.
I use flux for brazing and for soldering non-electrical stuff. But flux by definition is corrosive and you should make sure all of it's cleaned off when you're done soldering, hard to do on electrical connections on a bike and you don't want corrosive stuff in your wiring connections.
For electrical wiring I've only used the rosin core solder intended for electrical wiring connections and never had the slightest bit of problems getting a good joint. without a separate flux treatment. I'm sure the core on rosin core solder is corrosive also but there's only a very small amount of it. I sure don't know everything and it's possible I'm off base here, just relating my experiences.
As He Man mentioned, more watts is better and I have had trouble waiting for a low wattage soldering iron to heat up and then when you put the solder to it, it draws off the heat and you have to wait again.
Never use acid core flux for electrical work.
Quote from: howie on August 17, 2009, 01:25:47 PM
Never use acid core flux for electrical work.
Just to clarify, I suggested using rosin core solder, not acid core. They are different and rosin core is intended for electrical soldering.
Quote from: Langanobob on August 17, 2009, 01:38:47 PM
Just to clarify, I suggested using rosin core solder, not acid core. They are different and rosin core is intended for electrical soldering.
Noted, I just wanted to reinforce not using acid flux.
+1 to the crimps with heat shrink. I use a good crimp tool and have had no problems. If I'm worried that there may be some tension on the wire, I'll use a bare crimp, then solder and heat shrink.
Most solder is flux core. I don`t see the need for extra flux, but since we are in this discussion. No-Clean flux is the best hands down.