ok, i know i'm not the only one to do this

[Ridefree]

So today i was trying to crimp the low tension coil leads to make them a little tighter, as preventative maintenance, and broke the female connector while trying to push it back on. those things sure are flimsy. I was working on the coil up in the neck. wires are so short and space is so hard to work in. I was thinking of removing the coil and soldering a six inch wire to each mail spade with heat shrink and soldering a connector to the end of each of those to plug in to the original coil wires. this would bring the connection out of that corner and easier to work with. I could solder on a length of wire to the existing wire with a new female also but i was thinking of trying to improve the situation. I don't want to use crimp connectors to add the wire as they have a habit of loosening up over time. Has anyone come up with a quality fix for this that might be better than what i'm thinking

Thanks, Ridefree

 

[sonny]

At my 10,000 mile tune up I replaced most of the connectors with heavy duty solder type. Did not think of adding more wire to existing wire. I can say that using better quality connectors made the reassembling of the bike a lot easier with less headaches.

 

[Ridefree]

I think the blade on the coil is aluminum and the new connector would steel, two different metals. A friend of mine says that would be hard to solder and bond but I'm thinking it will work just fine with a standard rosin core solder. From that now permanent connection would be 4 inches of wire with to more connectors that would plug into the original coil primary wires. This would get the connection out of that corner by the head stock for easy servicing. Does anyone see any flaws in my thinking.

 

[Joesmoe]

@sonny What connectors did you use ? I'm likin' where this thread is going. @DEcosse Suggestions ?

I'm a huge proponent in 30 years of tech development of the J. Edward Deming constant improvement.

The McCruise cruise control I installed uses as one of its inputs a pulse from the front coil and I noted what y'all have, with trepidation.

 

[EasTexRIII]

I think the blade on the coil is aluminum and the new connector would steel, two different metals. A friend of mine says that would be hard to solder and bond but I'm thinking it will work just fine with a standard rosin core solder. From that now permanent connection would be 4 inches of wire with to more connectors that would plug into the original coil primary wires. This would get the connection out of that corner by the head stock for easy servicing. Does anyone see any flaws in my thinking.

You are getting ready to create galvanic corrosion.....

Copied from an article re: joining aluminum & steel:
A: Surprisingly, yours is a very common question that I feel should be addressed. It pays to review a lesson from your high school chemistry class. Try to recall the electromagnetic field (EMF) chart, which showed the electrochemical potential of each of the metallic elements. When you put two dissimilar metals in electrical contact in the presence of a conductor, a voltage is produced and the metal that is higher in the EMF chart is preferentially corroded. This is called galvanic corrosion. When you join aluminum and steel together, the aluminum will be preferentially corroded. Surprising, isn’t it, since we think of aluminum as being more corrosion-resistant than steel? In fact, aluminum is more resistant to general corrosion than steel. What I am describing here is a preferential corrosion that occurs locally at an aluminum/steel joint.

So how do you avoid galvanic corrosion? You electrically insulate the aluminum from the steel. The best way to do this is to use bolts and nuts to make the joint. Use an isolating coating or paint on the aluminum and the steel to isolate them electrically. However, all of your effort will go for nothing if you just bolt the joint together. You must isolate the bolt and nut from the aluminum and steel. You do this by putting a nonconducting plastic washer between the bolt head and one side of the joint and another nonconducting washer between the nut and the other side of the joint. If the pieces being bolted are thick enough, you should also buy a nonconducting sleeve to fit on the shaft of the bolt to keep it from making contact with the steel or aluminum.

Obviously, that would defeat your purpose of making good contact.

 

[Joesmoe]

My 1971 Jaguar Series III E-Type V-12 was a real problem with its iron block and aluminum heads.

And the older folks here might remember some horrific fires with much loss of life from crowded buildings (night clubs) with aluminum wiring -- the wiring wasn't so much the issue as the dissimilar metal terminations -- I have a mix of aluminum wiring in my house and did a top-to-bottom check when I moved in to ensure the anti-ox was renewed, and outlets and fixtures where aluminum wire was run are AL-rated.

You can go to an electrical supply place, and even some box stores carry the anti-ox -- an electrically conductive paste to prevent corrosion, particularly in dissimilar metals.

 

[EasTexRIII]

Hmmm. didn't know that. Good info - I guess I would still question it on ignition system.... but then again, I don't know jack about elec/ign/computer stuff

 

[DEcosse]

I think the blade on the coil is aluminum and the new connector would steel..

I would be hard pressed to find a connector with terminals made of STEEL.
Most connector terminals are going to be Brass or Phospor Bronze (copper/tin alloy) and quite often would then be tin plated (or even Gold for optimum contact resistance)
Steel? Highly unlikely!

p.s. Aluminum not commonly used is small scale terminals either, although are used in many high current applications. Smaller connector-terminals might 'look' aluminum but that is predominantly because of the tin plating.

 

[alpental]

Here's a simple galvanic corrosive table which should help you in deciding your materials selection:

 

[Ridefree]

I would be hard pressed to find a connector with terminals made of STEEL.
Most connector terminals are going to be Brass or Phospor Bronze (copper/tin alloy) and quite often would then be tin plated (or even Gold for optimum contact resistance)
Steel? Highly unlikely!

p.s. Aluminum not commonly used is small scale terminals either, although are used in many high current applications. Smaller connector-terminals might 'look' aluminum but that is predominantly because of the tin plating.

Ok this sounds great. Coil posts looked like aluminum but now that I think of it off they were, they would be soft and would be gouged by the factory terminals. And the connectors I bought looked more like stainless steel but I never thought of them being a tinned bronze. So it seems that my idea would work off I'm understanding correctly