All ready to go with the pickup rewire.
Pulled the case expecting to see the existing wires leading to an obvious solder joint on the pickup. Silly me!
So the question is do the pickup bodies open up in some simple way to reveal the the tag to which the existing wires are soldered. Or do I clip the existing wires away at the surface of the body and solder the new wires to the squares of bare metal visibile at the sides of the body
While were at it is it safe to remove the pickup mounting plate from the case leaving the pickups in place on it. It looks like that should relocate properly but advice from the better informed please.
just trying to do it right
Rewiring the pickups - where do I solder
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KevinVernon
- Cucciolo - the Lil Pup
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2009 3:46 pm
pick up
I just cut the wires about an inch away from the pick-ps and spliced it there. You could see on mine that the insulation was a different quality to the stuff up in the rubber sleeving and did`nt seem to be effected by the oil. I then got some of that heat shrink with the sealing goo inside it and slipped that over..............well, no..........make sure you slip the heat shrink over it before you solder it back together, but you knew that. Then as added insurance I smeared just a dash of the RTV silicone over the ends of the heat shrink. This stuff handles mega heat and is good around oil. That was well over a year ago now and the old girl is still going strong. I cleaned any oil in the area with contact cleaner and cleaned the bare wire with solder flux.
I personally would not move the pick-ups and if you do it that way there is no need to move them. Good luck.
Oh by the way, make sure you get your head around which wire is which before you cut and solder. You don`t want to hook it up wrong to the advance units. It will save you a nasty kick back when you hook it up........ask me how I know...........................
I personally would not move the pick-ups and if you do it that way there is no need to move them. Good luck.
Oh by the way, make sure you get your head around which wire is which before you cut and solder. You don`t want to hook it up wrong to the advance units. It will save you a nasty kick back when you hook it up........ask me how I know...........................
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KevinVernon
- Cucciolo - the Lil Pup
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2009 3:46 pm
Bosch Pickup rewire
Cheers lumpy for the quick response.
Since I posted I had a good search and found the "1980 900SS Bosch Ignition Wire Rewire" thread which you've probably seen.
Got to figure out where to get the right kind of shrinkwrap and the Threebond that Steve recommends in the UK.
Out of interest what kind of contact cleaner did you use? I've got a can of Isopropyl alcohol to hand I can try with that first.
Its a learning experience isn't it?
Since I posted I had a good search and found the "1980 900SS Bosch Ignition Wire Rewire" thread which you've probably seen.
Got to figure out where to get the right kind of shrinkwrap and the Threebond that Steve recommends in the UK.
Out of interest what kind of contact cleaner did you use? I've got a can of Isopropyl alcohol to hand I can try with that first.
Its a learning experience isn't it?
pick up wires
The contact cleaner I used is an electrical cleaner that is used to clean oil amd scum off electrical contacts. It`s funny you should ask where I got it Kev because it`s one of my great shed mystery`s. It just kind of turned up there at the back of my aerosols shelf and I have no idea how I procured it. That being said I also have no idea where you`d go to get more. However another product that works very well is brake cleaner and that is freely available at most automotive outlets. It too is an aerosol which I find to be helpful as it sort of blasts it`s way in. Just watch out near any open flames, the stuff has a flash point of about -7 degrees.
And yes, it`s a learning experience but hey, it keeps me out of the pub...............well...........sometimes................
And yes, it`s a learning experience but hey, it keeps me out of the pub...............well...........sometimes................
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KevinVernon
- Cucciolo - the Lil Pup
- Posts: 9
- Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2009 3:46 pm
rewiring the pickups - done - phew
Thanks for the advice Lumpy, that didn't turn out too bad.
finally sourced heatshrink from RS (s/n 4811775) and some permatex Ultra Black rtv for the final sealing
cleaned the case with gunk and then soapy water, dried the bearing off with hot air and oiled it. Cleaned the pickup and wires with qtips and isopropyl alcohol, got through a lot of qtips !
double checked the the colour coding back to the control boxes, found the last vestiges of coloured insulation on the wires within the case (advice to those who follow - dont cut away all the wire outside the case till you've traced the wires back to the pickup) to be sure about pickup polarity.
got all the bits in the right order case, glands, heat shrink. popped a bit of wider heatshrink round the whole cable to fatten it where it comes through the gland to make sealing the gland easier.
Ten minutes later it was done, only slight hiccup was realising on the first spice that you need to not have the heatshrink too close to the splice otherwise it shrinks as you solder.
finally sourced heatshrink from RS (s/n 4811775) and some permatex Ultra Black rtv for the final sealing
cleaned the case with gunk and then soapy water, dried the bearing off with hot air and oiled it. Cleaned the pickup and wires with qtips and isopropyl alcohol, got through a lot of qtips !
double checked the the colour coding back to the control boxes, found the last vestiges of coloured insulation on the wires within the case (advice to those who follow - dont cut away all the wire outside the case till you've traced the wires back to the pickup) to be sure about pickup polarity.
got all the bits in the right order case, glands, heat shrink. popped a bit of wider heatshrink round the whole cable to fatten it where it comes through the gland to make sealing the gland easier.
Ten minutes later it was done, only slight hiccup was realising on the first spice that you need to not have the heatshrink too close to the splice otherwise it shrinks as you solder.
pick-up wires
Glad it all worked out Kev. Glad you took the time to make sure of wire polarity. Unlike my good self who ended up hooking them up arse about on the 4 pin connector and the beast kicked back with a ferosity I won`t forget in a while. Damn near broke my knee, ankle and kick starter. 
Sorted out the polarity to what i thought it should be then sat on a stool in the shed like a frightened child staring at it affraid of what she was capable of if the wires were`nt right this time.
I`m pleased to say they were right and she leaped into life first kick. A foot note to all this I have mentioned before was that at the same time I changed the pick-up wires I switched to Irridium plugs and one grade hotter. She still kicked back intermitantly and would even pop when you turned on the ignition with out touching the kicker. I really could`nt pick any better performance while she was running. I went back to standard plugs and she`s never a problem now.
Sorted out the polarity to what i thought it should be then sat on a stool in the shed like a frightened child staring at it affraid of what she was capable of if the wires were`nt right this time.I`m pleased to say they were right and she leaped into life first kick. A foot note to all this I have mentioned before was that at the same time I changed the pick-up wires I switched to Irridium plugs and one grade hotter. She still kicked back intermitantly and would even pop when you turned on the ignition with out touching the kicker. I really could`nt pick any better performance while she was running. I went back to standard plugs and she`s never a problem now.