Replacing electrical connectors
 

Hi, I have some electrical issues and the first thing I found was a bunch of heavily corroded connectors on the front left hand side by the headstock. These connectors have no protection from the weather when I am riding so I want to replace them with these waterproof ones.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Econoseal-...DZx9asi-hgD_kw

However some of the cables use different connectors, some are square and some are rounded. Is it ok to replace all of the square and rounded connectors with the same waterproof ones I linked above?

You can substitute all the connectors round or square.

The reason there are different types of connector used is normally to prevent cross-connection of different circuits during assembly. If changing over all to the same type you will need to be careful when connecting everything up. A good tip is to get a few pots of Airfix paint and spot the male and female connectors of different circuits with a unique colour.

A couple of other things:

These type of connectors are fiddly to fit especially if you haven't got much free-length in the cable or the groups of cables are bundled tightly together. You will need to strip back some of the harness sleeving to get the access you need.

The connectors shown in your ebay link are not genuine Tyco Econoseal ones. The ones supplied with blue end seals are generally Chinese copies. Genuine Tyco AMP Econoseal connectors have green seals for up 1mm sq. cable and yellow for 1-1.5mm sq. cable and are rated at 10A per pin.

For anything greater than 10A you need '250' series Econoseal connector which will take up to 2mm sq. cable and 19A per pin. These have orange end seals.

If you're going to all the bother of doing this I would recommend getting genuine connectors. It is often cheaper to buy the genuine product rather than a Chinese copy on ebay too.

https://www.mobilecentre.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=30_275

I agree having used the econoseal connectors they are tricky to fit, more so it you are doing it on the bike and not on the bench. I used these people

http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/

As they sell the original Jap bullet connectors used on many bikes, they are far better than the pre insulated connectors.

Thanks for the replies, I've had a browse around and don't seem to be able to find anywhere that reliably describes the rating for the connectors or that sell econoseal connectors with different coloured seals. The wiring leading up to the headlight and handlebars is all <10A isn't it? How about these superseal connectors are they any good for this? They don't seem to sell a 10 way plug however and are double the price of the ebay ones �60 instead of �30.

http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.e...oof-connectors

Try here for the different seal options for Econoseal connectors (the connectors are cheaper than the ebay ones too).

http://www.polevolt.co.uk/acatalog/Econoseal_Connectors.html

Superseal connectors are good. In fact they are more waterproof than the Econoseal. The downside is they are bulkier, so many used in one place can create space issues on a bike (especially round the headstock/under the tank). The other issues, as you have noted, is they are expensive and there aren't as many multi-way options (which makes the space issue worse).

Thanks Pleiades I didn't notice they have the different seals at the bottom of that page. The price is actually slightly more than ebay as you have to buy both male and female plugs separately but the difference isn't huge and definitely worth it for a better quality part. :thumbsup: