The International CBX Owners Association

I am not sure, if I remember this correctly, but I thought somewhere, somebody had posted something about dipping the electrical connectors into a medium to remove the corrosion on the blades Anybody knows? The connectors on the regulator of the '80 I am trying to revive will need it. And as I am going to use the stock alternator it will have to work...

I remember the post Mike but the chemical doesn't come to mind. The best for me is rubbing with fine steel wool...Comes up a treat with little effort without removing the good base...

alimey4u2 wrote:I remember the post Mike but the chemical doesn't come to mind. The best for me is rubbing with fine steel wool...Comes up a treat with little effort without removing the good base...

Mike, I remember the post you refer to - might've been on CBX World. Another friend suggested lemon juice - the reconstituted stuff in bottles: He said something along the lines of 'dip it overnight, then dip it in alcohol, to aid drying it out, then dry it out thoroughly with compressed air.'

This friend has three CBXen and just joined the club, but I haven't seen him post.

Lemme query him again and report back.

(Mr. Bill, are you lurking here?)

N.

Mike, most of the corrosion is actually on the crimp of the wire and the pin at the backside of the connector. The best way to inspect and clean them is to use a dental pick and release the pins from the connector one at a time and inspect them.

If the crimp is badly corroded and has caused resistance and heated up the connection it can also be necessary to cut back the affected area of wire and use a new pin, this is in extreme instances where you can see the connector has actually melted.

Jeff Bennetts wrote:Mike, most of the corrosion is actually on the crimp of the wire and the pin at the backside of the connector. The best way to inspect and clean them is to use a dental pick and release the pins from the connector one at a time and inspect them.

If the crimp is badly corroded and has caused resistance and heated up the connection it can also be necessary to cut back the affected area of wire and use a new pin, this is in extreme instances where you can see the connector has actually melted.

My friend reported back that the lemon juice trick works well on copper, and he did indeed suggest a distilled water rinse or isopropol alcohol to help get rid of the water and lemon juice. Sounds fiddly, and not all that helpful for the connectors that are not copper, eg most all of the ones on the CBX. That might be useful though for what Jeff is talking about.

Jeff, I had to redo one of my taillight wires and ended up reusing the 'pin', Do you know what can be swapped into those OEM connectors?

Is it one of these 'Berner' connectors on this page?

http://www.belmetric.com/html/catalog36.htm

BTW, that company in the link has a decent selection of metric fasteners, other odd bits, Timeserts, and really hustles. I placed an order at 4 o'clock, had it the next day.

I saved that tip.
It's Copper Bright.

http://www.copperbrite.com/copperb.html

Have not found any to try yet.

NilsMenten wrote: Jeff, I had to redo one of my taillight wires and ended up reusing the 'pin', Do you know what can be swapped into those OEM connectors?

Is it one of these 'Berner' connectors on this page?

http://www.belmetric.com/html/catalog36.htm

BTW, that company in the link has a decent selection of metric fasteners, other odd bits, Timeserts, and really hustles. I placed an order at 4 o'clock, had it the next day.

Nils, the ones in the link look very similar but I can't say they are a 100% match. The important thing are the dimensions and where the locking tabs are located.

I guess you could buy a couple and make a comparison, just make sure you buy the male and corresponding female connectors and even if they are different but have the right dimensions with the tabs in the correct position they would work.

Here is the K&L kit I bought years ago through Dennis (CBXMAN) with the correct pins and connectors, available through any K&L dealer.

My hardware store pro says "Baking Soda" will do the trick! I will give this a try.

Baking soda will only remove the surface crud. They'll still need some rubbing to come really clean.

These folks have a great selection of electrical connectors for older Japanese bikes, including the parts that fit inside the multiple-conductor blocks.

http://www.crc2onlinecatalog.com/connectors.htm

TerryL wrote:Baking soda will only remove the surface crud. They'll still need some rubbing to come really clean.

...back to the drawing board

Paul Musser wrote:These folks have a great selection of electrical connectors for older Japanese bikes, including the parts that fit inside the multiple-conductor blocks.

http://www.crc2onlinecatalog.com/connectors.htm

NICE Paul, thank you.

N.

More connector/OEM stuff sources:

http://www.easternbeaver.com/


Del Gundlach at Vintage Connections here in Calif has tons of great OEM style stuff.

http://www.vintageconnections.com/