Wiring loom

[Lobo]

Thanks Clive; I have a nice ratcheting tool and so 1/2 way there. Still pondering cable types, the choice in colour fidelity may prove the decider.

Any comments on installing a 15’ of thin wall vs conventional wire loom the length of my old Splitscreen Kombi - given I’ll be on my back on the floor and passing it through various frames? (I’ll admit - something I’m not looking forward to 😂)

Simon

[BigAl (Alan)]

Thin-wall insulated cable is a better alternative to the traditional pvc insulated cable, which had a very low temperature/melting point. Crimping of terminals can be an  issue as the thin-wall insulation is thinner and harder, so finding the right crimp tool for your chosen terminals can be a problem...practice and sample 'pull-off' terminal checks are essential before you start assembling the new loom.
Image attach of my current selection of crimp tools.

[bruxby-clive]

Simon, good luck with the rewire of your camper, take your time and I am sure it will work out fine. Alan thanks for your input.

[Matt_Harrington]

Nice job Simon, I have used the self amalgamating tape to 'seal' connectors on my Guzzi to great effect but prefer the PVC harness tape on the loom itself. Having recently stripped back a new loom on my Alfa (to modify the loom) I notice that the loom is held in place using insulating tape prior to being wrapped.
Matt

[bruxby-clive]

Final part of the loom replacement, I have refitted it to the bike and am very pleased as everything works apart from the reg / rec, but replacing the loom was not going to fix that. I have retaken the voltage readings again and the results are shown below.

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 12.61 volts with the ignition switched off.

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11.87 with the ignition on, but it dawned on me that both coils would be live and all of the warning lights are also on. Removing the 9 pin connector to the warning lights and disconnecting the 2 coils gave me a reading shown below.

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12.60 volts, if you factor in the voltage drop of  0.74 of a volt, this is from a battery that needs recharging after running the bike for approximately 20 to 30 minutes without any charging that seems quite good to me. if we subtract 0.74 of the first reading I got at the beginning 12.72 volts, I should have had a reading of around 11.98 volts, so the new loom has reduced the volt drop by 1.36 volts or around 10%, there is a formula to work out the resistance in the old loom but I can't remember it. All in all I believe thee work was worthwhile and I hope this may encourage someone else to have a go at creating or repairing their own wiring looms.

[Lobo]

Alan, Clive…. would stripping (eg) 25 mm of thin wall, and then winding this down around the insulation work effectively for crimping?

How do the manufacturers achieve quality thin wall crimps?

At the mo, given the size of (eg) the spade terminals involved, I’m shying away from Thin wall tbh - there’s no point if connections are in any doubt?

[bruxby-clive]

Simon, I have never had any issues with a successful crimp on the cable where the insulation is, it is the stripped end that causes me the issue, only on the 1mm cable, 2mm crimps just fine, that's why I decided to bend mine over before crimping, doesn't look quite so tidy as   just the straight bit of cable being joined to the connector, but mechanically stronger. Also as Alan mentioned I always give each joint a pull, before I make the crimp to the insulated part of the cable. Would probably be easier with ratchet crimper but I haven't got one. As for how the manufacturers do it I have no idea, but guess they may have an individual tool for each individual type of connector. Hope this helps.

[BigAl (Alan)]

Simon,  as mentioned, providing that you do some trial/error work before hand, you should be able to satisfy yourself as to what crimp tool/terminals work best for you. Cable sizes would also be a factor, Clive mentioned that doubling over 1.00mm wire within the terminals helps to provide a satisfactory crimped connection, of which I agree. I mainly use 2.00mm thin-wall insulated cable on most of my looms, it helps to minimise volt-drop and the overall thickness of the harness is no different to the OE harness.  Recently replaced the OE loom on my XL500s (6 volt system) due to poor indicator & brake lighting to one of my replica looms with 2.00mm thin-wall...it made a big difference to the lighting brightness,

[Lobo]

Thanks Al, Clive - I guess that’s the answer, ie choosing a thin wall diameter to suit the terminals rather than the (low required) current rating.

I noticed a bootlace crimped in your kit Al (I have one too), have you experimented with crimping a small ferrule onto the thin wall, and then crimping this ferrule into the spade / bullet / etc connector with the quality ratchet crimper? Or is this all too ‘clunky’?

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Is old fashioned solder not a good idea?

[BigAl (Alan)]

Simon, The bootlace crimp tool (black Handles) are normally used for stator work (as image, Kawasaki S2 new sub-loom) Handy to keep the wires in place, then apply solder to complete the connection, glass fibre sleeve fitted thereafter.

[SteveD CB500K0]

I will ask for all those who are too embarrassed.

Bootlace?

Can it crimp a bootlace?


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[Matt_Harrington]

I will ask for all those who are too embarrassed.

Bootlace?

Can it crimp a bootlace?


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My bootlace ferrule crimper looks identical
Matt

[taysidedragon]

I will ask for all those who are too embarrassed.

Bootlace?

Can it crimp a bootlace?


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I think it's that little metal tag you see on some wires, looks like the hard bit on the end of a bootlace.

[mike the bike]

Otherwise known as an aglet