DIY work for ship electrical connectors.

Most marine engine wiring harnesses and many electrical accessory wires are now equipped with plug-and-play connectors to help shorten the working time of rigging. These connectors can be easily snapped together or plugged into an electrical port. They can release the snap lock by pressing a small tab, thus easily disconnecting.

Connectors from companies such as AMP, Bosch, Deutsch, Furukawa, Sumitomo, and Yazaki contain multiple terminal pins-half of the connector is a female terminal and the other half is a corresponding male pin-connected to the wire and kept within the impact range Inside. Corrosion-resistant, non-conductive plastic housing. Rubber seals on the wire/pin connection and the mating surface of the connector help prevent water intrusion and prevent corrosion. These connectors are also designed to minimize resistance, which is very important in digital applications.

However, sealed connectors are not foolproof. The wire insulation can be scratched and corroded. In extremely humid conditions, moisture will eventually penetrate into the connector and corrode the terminal pins. If this happens, you can replace the damaged pins in the connector, thereby saving the cost and trouble of buying and installing a new harness.

Once you have the correct terminal pins, wire seals, and tools, re-securing the connector is an easy job, although it requires patience, good lighting and a magnifying glass. The following is how we deal with the corrosion pins found in the female side of the Sumitomo DL 090 series 16-pin sealed connector on the main electrical wiring harness of the Suzuki DF200AP outboard engine.

Completion time: approx. 15 minutes for each terminal pin

There are countless sealed connectors using different styles of plastic housings, terminal pins, and rubber wire seals. To find the right item, please ask your ship dealer, they may order it for you. In our case, we searched online and found cycleterminal.com. By carefully reading the photos on the website, we found the same two-part connector, as well as male and female terminal pins and rubber seals suitable for 18 AWG wires on the wiring harness. Within four days, the parts arrived and we were almost ready.

In order to move on, you also need some relatively inexpensive tools to re-fix the connector. One is a terminal extraction tool, a narrow flat blade that can be inserted into a small terminal hole and lift the tiny plastic piece stuck on the pin to hold it in place. For this, we ordered ET120 from cycleterminal.com. The other tool is a special crimper with a B-shaped die for bare wire crimping. We ordered ECT47 to crimp the pins onto the bare wires and crimp the rubber seals onto the wire insulation.

Tip: Before creating the final crimp, you need to obtain some spare wires (the same size as the harness wires) and some additional terminal pins and wire seals to practice and perfect your crimping technique.

After separating the two-piece connector, use a pair of needle-nose pliers to gently pull out the white plastic auxiliary holder inside the plastic female connector housing. This will give you access to the terminal pins inside the connector. Insert the terminal extraction tool blade between the affected pin and the small plastic piece that holds it in place. While carefully pulling out the corresponding wires from the back of the connector, apply gentle lifting pressure to the tabs. When you lift the tab, it may be helpful to have a friend pull the cord.

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If possible, pry open the old crimp to avoid cutting the wires. Check the wires for corrosion and fraying. If necessary, cut the wires and strip the insulation to expose 5 to 6 mm of bare wire for new pins. Put the seal over the wire insulation and slide the slender collar toward the bitter end, where it will be crimped into place. The DL 090 pin needs to be crimped in two steps on the bare wire, using a 1.25 mm mold for pre-crimping, and a 0.5 mm mold for the final crimping. The third 2.5 mm circular mold is used to crimp the collar of the seal onto the wire insulation.

Tip: When you pull out from the back of the connector, please pay attention to the direction of the wiring pin. This will help ensure that when you insert the new pin, its right side is facing up. Also pay attention to whether it is a male or female version, and replace it with similar terminal pins.

Gently insert the new terminal pin into the same hole previously occupied by the old terminal pin on the back of the connector. Make sure the pin orientation is correct because the top and bottom of the terminal pins are different. Push carefully behind the rubber seal with your fingers, and listen carefully for a click inside the connector, indicating that the pin is properly seated. Visually inspect the inside of the connector to confirm the correct positioning of the pins. When finished, snap the plastic auxiliary retainer back to its original position.

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