Splicing into ignition harness/other

[fallguy]

I need to tap into my ignition harness for a Glendinning control system.

What is the cleanest way to do so?

I also need to break the ignition harness and make it two pieces further up. I was thinking about making a male/female deutsch connector for those. What is the grease used? Any brand recommendations?

Thanks in advance for any replies. Amazon and google haven't served me well just yet.

 

[Yobarnacle]

Krytox GPL-246 $86.95 2 oz. Electric Conducting Grease Tube Tan | Zoro.com https://www.zoro.com/krytox-grease-tube-2-oz-gpl-246/i/G0099158/?q=Electrically%20Conductive%20grease

 

[sdowney717]

cut the wires, and use a but splice, then seal the connection with heat shrink and you can put some of that grease in there too is the easiest way.
Or maybe if a screw lug connection is there, add another lug to the screw, that is what I would do.
If not I probably would cut the wire insulation away , wrap wire end around the bared wire, solder then heat shrink it, but that is just me. I know ABYC says solder should not be the only connection, but since the wires are all breaker protected, high amps could never run down the wire to make it hot enough to melt that solder. If it could then the wire insulation would melt off first and you would have much worse problems than a melting solder joint. I am a good solderer. ABYC is perhaps thinking more of solder only and not crimped lug screw ends getting hot due to high resistance and the wire falling out of the connector.

If you can not fit closed heat shrink, then get self vulcanizing rubber tape from Home Depot, stretch it on tight and it will seal just as good around the connection. Do not use black vinyl electric tape, it gets slimy and falls off. The vulcanizing tape is very thick with a plastic cover, you peel that off and stretch it thin and that activates it.

 

[Barry]

I need to tap into my ignition harness for a Glendinning control system.

What is the cleanest way to do so?

I also need to break the ignition harness and make it two pieces further up. I was thinking about making a male/female deutsch connector for those. What is the grease used? Any brand recommendations?

Thanks in advance for any replies. Amazon and google haven't served me well just yet.

35 odd years ago an Instrumentation Technologist introduced me to Dow Corning 4, Insulating Electrical Compound, which is a silicone almost transparent "grease" that they used in high value contact points on control instrumentation panels. The compound has a high dielectric constant, I have never seen it dry out. Applying it to even screwed on connectors, the product will inhibit corrosion. Battery posts get an application after the joint is made up as well
Even mil spec'd

Some more uses for this product are fishing reel grease, any joint that contains an
o-ring, screw in hatch access covers and any other place where you might normally use a grease which can cause staining.

• High dielectric strength. Highly water repellent.
• Moisture resistantv - Good thermal oxidation and chemical stability.
• Retains its grease like consistency from -55ºC(-67ºF) to +200ºC(392ºF).
• Adheres readily to dry metals, ceramics, rubber, plastics and insulating resins.
• Low volatility. Odorless. Meets MIL-S-8660C.

 

[sdowney717]

35 odd years ago an Instrumentation Technologist introduced me to Dow Corning 4, Insulating Electrical Compound, which is a silicone almost transparent "grease" that they used in high value contact points on control instrumentation panels. The compound has a high dielectric constant, I have never seen it dry out. Applying it to even screwed on connectors, the product will inhibit corrosion. Battery posts get an application after the joint is made up as well
Even mil spec'd

Some more uses for this product are fishing reel grease, any joint that contains an
o-ring, screw in hatch access covers and any other place where you might normally use a grease which can cause staining.

• High dielectric strength. Highly water repellent.
• Moisture resistantv - Good thermal oxidation and chemical stability.
• Retains its grease like consistency from -55ºC(-67ºF) to +200ºC(392ºF).
• Adheres readily to dry metals, ceramics, rubber, plastics and insulating resins.
• Low volatility. Odorless. Meets MIL-S-8660C.

I suppose Marine Grease would be ok as it is formulated to not wash off. Surprisingly, many greases are made with a water soluble soap base chemistry.

 

[fallguy]

35 odd years ago an Instrumentation Technologist introduced me to Dow Corning 4, Insulating Electrical Compound, which is a silicone almost transparent "grease" that they used in high value contact points on control instrumentation panels. The compound has a high dielectric constant, I have never seen it dry out. Applying it to even screwed on connectors, the product will inhibit corrosion. Battery posts get an application after the joint is made up as well
Even mil spec'd

Some more uses for this product are fishing reel grease, any joint that contains an
o-ring, screw in hatch access covers and any other place where you might normally use a grease which can cause staining.

• High dielectric strength. Highly water repellent.
• Moisture resistantv - Good thermal oxidation and chemical stability.
• Retains its grease like consistency from -55ºC(-67ºF) to +200ºC(392ºF).
• Adheres readily to dry metals, ceramics, rubber, plastics and insulating resins.
• Low volatility. Odorless. Meets MIL-S-8660C.

How do you make one wire into two, generally?

would you use open butt connectors or closed multis. ?

tia

 

[Barry]

I suppose Marine Grease would be ok as it is formulated to not wash off. Surprisingly, many greases are made with a water soluble soap base chemistry.

I think the key is a high dielectric constant. Especially if many connectors, ie hot pins etc are within the same plug, like the automotive OEM harnesses where the multipins are within close distances. You would want to just smear the
DC4 on the entire plug in. A grease that may have some electricity conductivity may cause current leakage. I have never checked to see if normal grease have printed dielectric specs

 

[fallguy]

I am going to use these for the splicing.

 

[Barry]

How do you make one wire into two, generally?

would you use open butt connectors or closed multis. ?

tia

I am not sure of your wire gauge but using say around 14, standard automotive sizing which normally takes a blue butt connector for sizing. Obviously 2 14 gauge wires will not fit parallel into the blue.
So use instead the yellow.
Say you need to normally strip the insulation back of 14 gauge wire 1/4 inch to insert it the proper amount into a connector.
So on the single feed wire, strip it back the 1/2 inch or whatever your yellow connector will allow, double it back so it is twice as thick, and insert it into one side of the yellow connector. crimp
The other side, strip back each about 5/16 and insert into the other side.

We did this on non-marine connectors for emergency vehicles, centcom units where reliability was imperative. Many of these connections were under vehicle exposed somewhat to the environment, ie calcium chloride/road salt and moisture

We purchased the connectors that were clear, similar but not exactly as above but the plastic insulator over the connector the connector was heat shrinkable. So after the joint was made up, a small tug to ensure proper crimping, a quick application of a flame, would shrink the tubing onto the wire. Of course the spot between the two parallel wires were not 100% water tight, so a quick dab of Liquid Electrical tape on the entire connector and wires, and you had a sealed unit

Note the crimp, Crimp pliers come in two types and often are part of a multi crimp tool. The one being the type that actually can drive a protrusion into the plastic sleeve and perforate the sleeve. The proper crimp is the
part of the pliers that just compresses/distorts both side, ie a smooth crimp.

Also note that you should use tinned marine wire not the standard automotive wire, a little more expensive but more corrosion resistance at the joint

 

[fallguy]

We are using only tinned wire.

I also bought some deutsch tools and ends.

 

[sdowney717]

My old 1970 boat was on the DC side wired from factory with non tinned wire, and honestly very little of it has failed. The few failures has been insulation on some rubber jacket wires used for the bilge pumps. That rubber like insulation hardened and cracked making it a short risk. The PVC jacketed wire is all in good shape. Other thing is properly crimped lugs have remained ok. Now some of this wiring if you cut into it, you may find some tarnishing, but no serious corrosion. And I attribute the relatively good condition of the wiring to the style of the boat, which is a sedan cruiser, and the wiring is mostly high and dry, kept from rain and sea water. An open boat will have much more exposure to moisture. There is a surprising amount of wire in my old boat 50 years old.

 

[fallguy]

My old 1970 boat was on the DC side wired from factory with non tinned wire, and honestly very little of it has failed. The few failures has been insulation on some rubber jacket wires used for the bilge pumps. That rubber like insulation hardened and cracked making it a short risk. The PVC jacketed wire is all in good shape. Other thing is properly crimped lugs have remained ok. Now some of this wiring if you cut into it, you may find some tarnishing, but no serious corrosion. And I attribute the relatively good condition of the wiring to the style of the boat, which is a sedan cruiser, and the wiring is mostly high and dry, kept from rain and sea water. An open boat will have much more exposure to moisture. There is a surprising amount of wire in my old boat 50 years old.

our wiring is very protected in this build

 

[Yobarnacle]

Conductive Greases vs. Corrosion - Practical Sailor https://www.practical-sailor.com/boat-maintenance/conductive-greases-vs-corrosion#:~:text=Dielectric%20Grease%20Dielectric%20means%20that%20it%20does%20not,and%20air%2C%20preventing%20both%20galvanic%20and%20general%20corrosion.

"
Dielectric Grease
Dielectric means that it does not conduct electricity, so it would seem counterintuitive for use in an electrical connection. In fact, a dielectric grease is perfectly acceptable for most electrical connections. You want something that will seal out water and air, preventing both galvanic and general corrosion""


"Conductive grease were originally developed for aluminum wiring connections, but most wires and connectors today use more corrosion-resistant alloys. Boats have few if any aluminum terminals or unions.

Another application of conductive greases for protecting high amperage switches, where they lubricate and-in theory-reduce damage from arcing. In fact, most switch vendors advise using dielectric grease. In reality even conductive greases and joint compounds behave to some degree as insulators, with resistance of more than a million of ohms per millimeter.

What We Tested
Both dielectric and conductive grease are recommended by equipment manufacturers and marine professionals, so we tested both.'

 

[fallguy]

Does anyone use non-conductive grease in a fitting such as the one I showed from youtube?

I read the article.

I thought you had copied it all, but then realized it couldn't be. I'm gonna get some green grease or dc4 Thanks!