Brown Wire Mod clarification

Connection,,, (Bob)

The brown wire had bubbled just before the connector near the ig. switch. I stripped it after the connector (between the connector and the ig. switch.) Wrapped the wire around the original(brown) and made a really good solder,and taped. The connector itself was good and I tightened it up a bit also, should be no problem there. Everything is working great , but as you suggested I will add another to the fuse box connector also. Thanks for the info. :D
 
I just noticed your request Jeff,,

It's answered in my above post to Bob. If it's not clear, let me know. If you connect on the ignition side of the connector you eliminate going through the connector and another potential problem. I don't know how to post Pic. yet :hrmph:
 
The original brown wire mod

was something that was common place back before I remember Bob Brown coming around here...when the board was hosted through Seattle X1/9. I think it originated through mirafiori.com in the mid to late 90's. The original BWM was from the battery to the brown wire at the ignition switch. The Bob Brown Wire Mode adds a brown wire from battery to the fuse panel.
 
Okay, not moving very fast here. Since the junction at the fuse block is taken and when I pull out the individual wires, they are all buttoned up nice and pretty in plastic connector jackets. Didn't really want to hack it up.
I went to look at the ignition switch side, the connector did NOT want to come apart, after pouring heat on it for a while, I got it. The big brown shows some heat damage on both sides of the connector. I wanted to free up the terminal inside the plastic, hoping to shove something up the little channel and release it, allowing me to solder my new feed right there but I can't get it. Plan B is to strip the insulation off big brown right there and solder on my feed.
http://gallery.me.com/jvandyke#100322/ignitionswitchside&bgcolor=black
http://gallery.me.com/jvandyke#100322/ignitionharnessside&bgcolor=black
 
You've got the right idea...

Insert a jeweler's screwdriver into the "release hole" in your pic and lever the inserted end toward the connector, careful not to break the plastic cover. This should press down the metal tab that holds it in, and is part of the metal connector.
 
Yes, release channel.

After you get them apart the connectors look like this:

DSC09759.JPG


Note the tab on each of them. This is the tab that you need to release to get them out of the housing.

You can get replacement housings from Classic Ricambi, Car side and switch side. They also sell the individual connectors.

If you want to replace the connectors, spring for the proper ratcheting crimp tool. Paladin 1306 is good and the right one for these terminals. Other manufacturers make equivalent tools.

Soldering is not all that good of an option, solder tends to wick up along the wire making it stiff. Then add a bit of vibration and strain and you eventually end up with a broken wire.
 
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I ended up pulling the male end out of the connector on the ignition switch side (the one I probably should have been after in the first place). Soldered my "brown" wire to it. Buttoned it up and drove to work. No idea if it made a difference but I got here so it didn't hurt at least. I soldered to the back side of the terminal, there was enough room for the the new wire in the connector so I went that route.
 
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Correction for the new Paladin tool numbers

Hi Bjorn,

Thanks for the great info. I ordered the connectors and terminals.

The wire size I will use for the BBWM is 10 AWG. The Paladin 1306 tool crimps from 22-14 awg. The 1305 crimps 22-10 awg and the 1322 crimps 22-8 awg. I ordered the 1305, but I wanted the "out of stock" 1322. I will buy the die for the 1322 when it comes in just to have a little better control of the crimp. The tool is about $56 at http://www.hmcelectronics.com
 
The 1305 tool won't work for these connectors, the 1305 is for insulated terminals only.

You need a tool for "Open Barrel Non-Insulated Terminals", e.g. the 1306. The 1306 has three slots, one for 10 - 12 AWG, one for 14 - 16 AWG and one for 18 - 22 AWG. If you already have the tool, you can get the die set (2033) from DigiKey. I don't know if $25.99 is a good price or not, but this is where I bought the dies.

The 1322 tool is also for a different type of connector, like these:

MU10-8RK%20(BULK).jpg
 
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