charlie_pank Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 I've managed to get all the electrical components installed and I've got a plan for fixing them, but they're not going to be in the same places as they were on the bike. This means that I can considerably shorten the ECU loom and there's lots of tidying up to be done. There's not an obvious way to get the pins out of the ECU plug, so in order to disentangle and re-organize I think I'm going to have to cut each one near the ECU and use a big lump of chocolate block to attach. Is there any reason why I shouldn't and is there anything else I could do apart from leave the loom as a big tangled up mess that I just wrap up so it looks tidy? Thanks C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Fox Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 I would twist the cores together then solder and use heat shrink insulation. Will be reliable and invisible when loomed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pikey Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 When I did my bike loom I removed a good 50% of it. I'd strip all the loom tape off and lay it all out on a 8x4 sheet. I managed to shorten most of the wires at the other end to the loom plug. As Nigel says, use heat shrink and solder joints and then get some non adhesive loom tape to wrap it all together again. Spent over 40 hours on mine so the best of luck! Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LesG Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Can't do fancy links I'm afraid, but if you search for a company called Polevolt, they sell a heatshrink tube butt connector that has a ring of solder in the middle, so all you have to do is have your two wires with bared ends interlocking, slide the tube over, and heat with solder pencil so that the heatshrink holds the outer protective layer, and the solder melts into the conjoined wires. Sounds more difficult than it is, but they work a treat, and once you've re-wrapped with loom tape, noone will be any the wiser! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pikey Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Fancy link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbird Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 even fancier link to jointing terminals 😬 Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molecular--Bob Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 If you use heatshrink solder connectors, it is a good idea to stagger the joints a bit as they can be quite bulky if you put them all at the same point. They are a good solution as you get the security of solder with mechanical support of the joint provided by the outer, getting around the vibration fatigue issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vine Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 a heatshrink tube butt connector that has a ring of solder in the middleWe used a low-tech version of this at school in the CCF Signals Section. Stick the ends of the field-phone cable into the tube, rub the "fuse" with the striker-board of a matchbox, and stand well back from the firework display. Worked well. JV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LesG Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Jason, tbird, cheers! Those are exactly the ones I used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonboylaw Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Charlie, I would not solder the wires, this makes the wires inflexible and likely to fatigue and fail with age/vibration. Also using a chocolate block will be a lot less reliable than a specially designed automotive connector. I would look at Polevolt or other automotive component supplies and get a male/female connector combo. I have a good quality crimping tool you are welcome to borrow. How many wires is it ? Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Molecular--Bob Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Raychem solder-shrinks are designed to give mechanical support beyond the solder penetraton zone, so there is no unsupported soldered area than can vibration fatigue. They have an adhesive which bonds to the insulation and gives a mechanically solid joint. They are also really good for terminating screened cables. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative bluenose Posted December 19, 2011 Area Representative Share Posted December 19, 2011 I strip both wires back about 10mm to be joined, push some heat shrink on one wire, twist them together and then solder, trim if necessary and then pull over the heat shrink and shrink it onto the joined wires. Nothing wrong in using solder if correctly done and supported by heat shrink. If you are joining together lots of wires in a loom then it is best to stagger the joins so they do not all end up in the same place. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david nelson Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 When BMW took over in Oxford there was much discussion about solder or crimp. The result was that BMW Oxford now do it as per the rest of BMW and solder. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drumster Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 Another alternative to loom tape is convoluted tubing with the slit. Very strong, neat and tidy and very easy to get to any part of the wiring in an instant. Comes in a varity of diameters. See here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Fox Posted December 19, 2011 Share Posted December 19, 2011 I do it exactly as described by Nick. I must have done hundreds on cars and motorcycles and am not aware of a failure. On many occasions I have been replacing crimp/plug connections that have failed due to water ingress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now