I hava an Aprilia motorbike, that has a wiring issue. The lead from the rectifier/regulator to the fuse/Battery is a bit thin, and over time the battery isn't charged properly anymore. There are two solutions, one is replacing the lead by a bigger lead (or adding a second parallel lead), the other is changing out the rectifier/regulator to a more efficient model. The simplest (read: cheapest) solution is adding a lead. I'd like to do that, and the prettiest way of doing it would be to deconnect the old lead, and crimp on new connectors together with a second lead. However, these connectors appearently arent standart, needing a special crimping tool, at least I havent found a garage capable of doing so. What is done commonly is soldering in a second lead. I'm a bit wary of that, as I dont want to cut/kill the original lead. So how do I solder a secondary lead onto an existing one, and how do I get it watertight afterwards? Any suggestions?
A photo or two would be very helpful here. I would suggest using something like in the video if you have a heat gun
AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH Please remove that filth from this forum!! What are the connectors required? I know some motorbikes use 'jap bullets' as when I bougth them for our TVR alot were listed as motorbike bits. If you need a good ratchet crimper I can highly recommend these. I've got a Jago set but they're exactly the same. Made my life so much easier when re-wiring the TVR, proper crimps with proper connectors. Those solder splices are supposed to be pretty good too, my Dads cousin used them on his TVR to extend the wiring to relocate the fusebox. *EDIT* If my googling is correct, it looks like the rectifier/regulator has a multiplug connector on it, which I presume is the "non-standard" connector? If so, they just have spades in them, can't tell from the pics if they're 6.3mm or 4.8mm, but either way they both just use a latch on the connector, like PC PSU connector pins, which just need pushing down and then the pin can be removed, and a new one reinserted.
The solder splice I used were used in military/aviation applications. They are water proof, if you are looking for anything better best of luck as I doubt you will find it
Thank you, the "heat Gun Solder" thingies look great. We it's "some" standard, but it's unclear which one, and replacement spades would need latches/notches to clip into place, which again means the normal spade ones wouldn't fit the connector. I've considered replacing the connector by a different one entirely (for instance the "AMP superseals" that are factory standard on my Ducati / FIAT / Alfa), but the crimpingtool is just too expensive. Also, the Aprilia has a 480W generator, so per wire (and per connector) we're talking about max. ~17-18A. Most connectors are only rated to 15A. The original wiring is 2x2,5mm² and does not suffice. We have worse ones, the ones that "pierce" the wire. I have some in my "emergency-field-repairs-kit" but never used them yet.
If you want, if you can find out if they are 6.3mm spades in the standard connector and the length of wire you need and the gauge you'd like, I could probably whip one up for you. I've still got plenty of spades left over from the last restoration, pretty sure they've got latches on, might have some smaller ones with latches too. I've also got a ton of wire left over too, all the way from thinwall 16.5A to some silly 42A stuff. I'd only really want postage covered at £2.45.
Thank you for the offer. It may take a bit though, taking off the fairing from the Aprilias is not a nice task, and I won't get to it next weekend. I'll post back here with some fresh pics and details!
So I managed to take some pictures. Sorry for thr wait After the removal of only two panels, for which three tools are needed: Hmmm, thats about twice the amount of the entire Ducati fairing bolts, an its just two panels! You reach this: I wonder where all that lives on the naked bike version of this bike? And here's the lower culprit: Ah! locking tabs visible! And the upper one: Locking tabs barely visible As I could actually SEE the lockingtabs, removing the latches was rather easy How unexpected. Lower....yes they're the wrong ones, I need the female ones BEFORE the connector to circumvent the connector, my bad, only saw this afterwards. And upper...only ONE of these goes to the regulator, it splices into two somewhere in the bowels according to the wire-diagram.
The really weird part is in the wire diagram. The two black/red cables that leave the regulator, go through two connectors, then splice together somewhere this (same dimension!) cable then goes through ANOTHER connector, and then ends up on the picture in the previous post, which is the fuse holder (1x 30A). The second wire above (white/red) then goes from the batters to the main switch (key) through another 30A fuse. I needn't have taken that one out. Now I'd either have to replace them by the same spade connectors which I then need to crimp on (so that it locks into the fuse holder again, or I need to solder onto the existing spade connector, and hope it'l still fit into the connector, also it needs to bend sharply right at the exit of the connector, due to where the fuseholder lives. Oh, also, all of this has no measurable (well I can only measure down to 0.01 Ohm) resistance, maybe under load it's different.
