Afternoon all,

just connecting up all the cables that had been butchered, i have come to the Fuel tank, where the connector seems to have evaporated and had been replaced with a couple of solder'd joints...... Time to correct it....

The tank has the following coloured cables
Green.... White.... Brown.... Yellow....

The wiring loom has
Green/White.... White.... Brown.... Yellow....

I can make an educated guess that the colours would line up the same way i have listed them above, however the other point is the cables on the loom are approx 1mm2 whereas the cables on the tank are almost double the size.... has someone at some stage possibly replaced the cables on the tank? or is this just a BM wiring anomoly?!

Thanks in advance...

without actually checking again ....... im thinking the outer insulation on the tank cabling is different to the loom ( petrol resistive insulation ) but it doesnt make it easier to guess the actuall guage of the copper conductors....

to me the fuel pump supply cables looked far to small to work reliably ....but they do .

also from memory there was some slight differences in the colours between the two .


like so many newer "efi" vehicles ...the original bmw connector was weatherised...with rubber type sealing stuff around the two halves of the connection , and would be a recommended to find something similar as it sits in all the heat, wet and vibrations that our bikes exhibit .

many of us here have observed the socket part of the tank connector ...becomming a loose fitt , in relation to the pins /plug side of the connection and have had to butcher up a squish to the socket part, to restore reliable connection . im guessing that is the reason for the bypassing of that connector .(it is a pain in the proverbial)

perhaps a connector cut out of a modern toyota engine bay would be a wise choice as many of those i have seen are definatly "protected" from ingress of nasties . and consevativly rated for current with flat pin and socket arrangement.

if your thinking of splicing ( read, soldering in ) a new connnector with wires already attached... can i suggest "double wall , glue lined" heatshrink tubing .
not only does it keep all the corrosion nasties out, it is more flexible over a longer period of time , the shrink ratio is better as the rubber compounds are far better than the mono type heatshrink commonly available ...which also "harden up" after the shrink process

Hi,

yeah i agree with you that the cables outer's are probably made of a petrol resistant material and are given a higher heat rating as well, I am using AMP connectors which are weatherproof and cause they are designed to be used in vehicles are easy to put together etc...

I am glad that you recall there being a colour differance, I am using slightly larger csa cable than was originally installed as a precaution....

Lucky i had a good look as have found one of the ABS connectors broken! hmmmmmm damn lol... never mind i have a spare connector...

Just a quick check that you are not using insulation displacement connectors but genuine AMP crimps which are the state of the art especially if you have one of their crimp tools. I know my pal who worked in avionics said they used to regularly demo to apprentices a crimped on AMP ring terminal and put it on a pulling machine and the wire would snap before it pulled out the crimp.
Regards,
K-BIKE

nods head ....idc's do have their place kbike ..but not on a vibrating, weather prone piece of machinery .....im sure that the instrument cluster problems relate more in part to that header design than to the materials used .

i commend the new technologies that have developed ...but unfortunatly we are stuck with science (oops read, manufacturing processes) that has passed its use by date....huh ? giggles

Just had to google Insulation displacement connector now i promise not to do any work until i have finished my coffee.... IDC lol i know what they are oops.... feel silly now for not being able to identify what you meant lol...

Didn't use IDC connectors, i hate the things well at least the ones that get used on vehicles!

I used there Econoseal range which have plenty of rubber in and around them to keep the nasties out, plus you can put use them with just a pair of pliers and still get a good joint, am keeping an eye out for the propper tool mind.....


I have used the AMP avionics spec crimps in work, they are really nice to use and you can only realistically use them with there tool as well, but that ensures a perfect crimp every time, I have got AMP crimper for networking plugs but not for the car or bike we don't have them where i work at the moment either

A helicopter technician cum BMW motorbike mechanic mate of mine refers to IDC connectors as 'come back connectors' because the so-called completed job will inevitably end up back on the work bench of the mechanic (at his/her expense) who attempted to use them in a shortcut.

I can fully appreciate that name, I am trained old school...the pin is soldered to the cable and then the cable is restrained in a connector that is ruggedised so it wont let fuel or oil let alone air into and can withstand the vibration that it is likely to encounter....
Also when you soldered there were no extraction devices you just controlled your breathing!
Then it brings me onto wire wrapping..... I hated it but did it!
And then when putting the loom together.... none of this new fangled tapes it was lacing and looming..... now that looked good hehehe

Ooops seem to have digressed lol!

Just found the correct tool for the connectors i found.... I am now starting a tool fund.... its £409.39
http://uk.farnell.com/jsp/displayProduct.jsp?sku=7784648&CMP=e-2072-00001000

Are you sure it's not for a pack of 10?

lol......... farnell do know how to charge for things ....hehe