Negative Ground Conversion on my Commando Mk3

Ditto no solder. Use a proper crimping tool. It's been long known on aircraft that soldered wires fail due to wicking and vibration. It's not a place for belt and suspenders.

bwolfie "I will be fixing that problem, I'm fitting a denso 400W alternator. It won't fit in the stock location, it's custom install. It's been done before... "

so how about sharing some more details like model and what bike it came off. pictures too> a divorce from lucas has to be an improvement all around...

No solder? You guys are funny!

No not funny, just correct. If you want to solder your connections on your motorcycle, go ahead. I just want those who are not informed that one should never solder any connection that is subject to vibration. Such as an auto, motorized boat, airplane, tractor and a NORTON, to name a few.

Have you read of the numerous Boyers misfiring intermittently? Most, if not all, have been traced back to a SOLDERED pickup wire fracturing near the point it connects to the pickup coil.

And so begins the great solder vs crimp vs solder & crimp debate.. will likely be right up there with "which oil is best", "how much tyre pressure", and " how long is piece of string"?

How about this, do whatever you feel works best for you and deal with/learn from any possible consequences that may result...

No debate. It’s been proven, long ago, soldered connections subjected to vibration WILL fail.

JimC said:

No debate. It been proven, long ago, soldered connections subjected to vibration WILL fail.

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Whatever you say... you win the daily "internet pissing contest" award, congratulations

And you win the, “I don’t know how to correctly wire vehicles”, award. Congrats to you, too.

I worked as a tech in the aerospace industry some fifty years ago. Even back then it was verboten to solder any connection in a production item. Never was it optional. In the R&D lab we did use solder for breadboard development. No production items had any soldered wires.

Solder is fabulous stuff - I use it almost daily working on vintage electronic gear but, like WD 40 (also fabulous stuff), it can be forced to do a job that it is NOT very good at.

So, GPS & heated gear are both isolated ground, why would you go to the effort/expense of changing over?
I smile every time I plug my iPhone charger into my positive earth battery tender lead, thinking if Joseph Lucas could see us now.

concours said:

So, GPS & heated gear are both isolated ground, why would you go to the effort/expense of changing over?
I smile every time I plug my iPhone charger into my positive earth battery tender lead, thinking if Joseph Lucas could see us now.

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I was wondering the same thing. I just figured there might be some units that don't have an isolated ground but given the nature of today's gear, I highly doubt it.

Soldered joints were common on older planes but generally only in multi-pin connectors like cannon plugs. The backshell and strain relief prevented any movement of the wire so it was unlikely to fatigue off. Western Union splices were taught as acceptable on what are now considered antiques. Likewise components in electronic gear may be soldered but not where the wire is subject to movement. Other than printed circuit boards solder has largely disappeared from aircraft. Even there precautions are taken to avoid any flex of the board.

The type plane I'm currently flying was grounded due to a runaway stabilizer trim traced to a failed solder joint on a circuit board. The crew was descending into Kuala Lumpur when the autopilot kicked off and the plane pitched up at 4.6g. I had a couple of weeks off while they figured that one out.

https://news.aviation-safety.net/20...-7x-loss-of-control-after-pitch-trim-runaway/