Stator Connector Corrosion

[ARKNT]

Anybody have corrosion/overheating problems with the connector in between the stator and the regulator/rectifier?
One of the three connections on mine has corroded and overheated. My battery life has always been pretty short (~2 1/2 to 3 1/2 years) but I attributed it to all my short trips and it gets quite hot here in Summertime. My ATV battery is now failing and it is same type Yuasa AGM, so I looked a little closer to see what I was doing wrong. The ATV battery terminals weren't loose but should have been tighter. That may be the issue there.

Looking at the NT I found the stator connector issue. I don't think I have looked at it for 3 years or so so a bad connection developed in that time I believe. Anybody replace this connector? What did you replace it with? I searched the site and found a post from Katherine where Honda has used a similar setup for years. Some people cut off the connector and soldered the wires directly together. I was thinking of soldering on ring lugs, using screws and nuts to connect the ends together so they could be taken apart if needed later. Finishing with heat shrink.
These wires carry all the current from the stator so the connection needs to be good.

Any thoughts?

Brad

 

[seagrass]

I like your suggestions about using ring lugs and nuts and bolts as a replacement.

This connector is known to be a problem on different models including the 1982 CX500 Turbo that I own.

I am not sure why the connector becomes a problem (what causes the overheating) and I keep an eye on mine to make sure everything is OK.

Seagrass

 

[mikesim]

The corrosion begins ever so slightly. The corrosion increases the resistance in the connector and generates heat. The heat generated exacerbates the corrosion thus generating more heat. It is a cascading failure that is quite common in higher amperage connectors. It is also commonly seen in HVAC blower motor connectors in automotive applications. About the only preventive measure one can take is to periodically take the connector apart and lube the terminals with a dielectric grease. Replacement connectors are available from cycleterminals.com if I recall. If that is not the correct URL, let me know and I will look thru my archives. Hope this helps!

Mike

 

[DirtFlier]

+1 on Mike's comments.

On older bike (especially GL1200s!) the fix for a corroded melted connector was to snip off the wires and crimp/solder bullet connectors in its place. Maybe I'm paranoid but I like to first crimp the connector then solder it in place, so it never comes loose. Anyhow, with bullet connectors you end up with a neat tidy package that is insulated. There is a place called Vintage Connections that offers all this stuff and I've bought from them several times. All my bikes have used their connectors/insulators for accessories and I've never suffered a failure. I've had the charging system connector on my NT off several times to blast it with electrical contact cleaner then apply dielectric grease. It's one of the things on my list as a winter chore.

ps. at least to me, using "ring connectors" is a little too clunky and how would be insulate the metal eyes?

 

[Shadowjack]

Usually on those old Wings they just soldered the wires together--no connectors at all. It's not like you have to disconnect them unless there's a problem.

 

[ARKNT]

The ring lugs and bolts would be clunky. Heat shrink over them would insulate.
If I crimp on anything I would want to also solder it. Still a little concerned with bullet connectors or similar because of the higher current involved. Probably would do fine and would be easier to clean and add dielectric grease to than the original connector.

Brad

 

[DirtFlier]

[...Still a little concerned with bullet connectors or similar because of the higher current involved...]

I'm sure connectors have a current carrying classification but I've never seen a chart with those listed.

 

[ARKNT]

I ended up removing the connector and soldered the wire ends together and insulated with heat shrink.
Hope I don't need to disconnect for maint in the future. It was a little bit of a hassle since removing the connector shortened the wires over 2 inches. Rerouted to compensate. Also a little hard to solder cleanly since a little oil will wick up the wires coming from the oil cooled stator.
Here are connector pics, sorry not too good.

Brad