Lazy way to clean corroded connectors

Classic Goldwings

Help Support Classic Goldwings:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

chuck c

Well-known member
Supporting Member
Joined
May 25, 2013
Messages
833
Reaction score
1
Location
Souderton PA
Working on old bikes (or any old vehicles) you often find connectors full of nasty corrosion. It can cause electrical gremlins that are hard to track down, reduce the power getting to your lights, and even stop the bike from running at all. You can painstakingly remove every contact and hand clean them or you could do this.

Step 1: Disconnect the battery. Seriously, you really must do this.
Step 2: put enough white vinegar in a plastic sandwich bag to immerse the connector.
Step 3: Make sure you really did disconnect the battery, then go away for a few hours.
Step 4: Remove the bag and discard or to another connector.
Step 5: Rinse it out with clean water and if possible blow it dry with compressed air.
Step 6: Fill the connector with dielectric grease, including packing it in the back side.
Snap it together and ride! :moped:
 

Attachments

  • 20160709_155742.jpg
    20160709_155742.jpg
    76.4 KB · Views: 529
  • 20160709_155730.jpg
    20160709_155730.jpg
    82.4 KB · Views: 536
  • 20160709_124212.jpg
    20160709_124212.jpg
    133.6 KB · Views: 520
  • 20160709_123930.jpg
    20160709_123930.jpg
    102.4 KB · Views: 526
  • 20160709_123903.jpg
    20160709_123903.jpg
    98.9 KB · Views: 529
Just don't forget and leave it in too long or forget to tighten the female connectors. I've had some so bad I stole my wifes emory boards to sand them. Very tedious that way.
 
Why must you disconnect the battery? Because one of the conductors might be live and another might be a ground. Vinegar is acid. And what happens when you put positive and negative metal objects in an acid? It's called electroplating. The current can flow through the acid and as it does it will rip atoms off the negative and deposit them on the positive. If it goes long enough the negative metal will be completely destroyed, one atom at a time. I lost a third of a terminal in a few hours. Had I let it go overnight it would have been gone in the morning!
 
It's really great for female connectors that you can't get into at all. The male makes good pictures. Vinegar is a great mild rust/corrosion remover. Just soak your parts in it and it will come right off. Note it ate the deposits of corrosion off the plastic, too.
 
[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=176453#p176453:am62z44y said:
Fstsix » Sun Jul 10, 2016 7:02 am[/url]":am62z44y]
Good tip ! Thanks
+1 :good:
 
[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=176458#p176458:31e0y1se said:
dan filipi » Sun Jul 10, 2016 7:18 am[/url]":31e0y1se]
Does the plastic get brittle?

Down here most cheap vinegar comes in a plastic bottles. No problems with plastic :yes:
 
[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=176479#p176479:33s4kdug said:
OldWrench » Sun Jul 10, 2016 10:37 am[/url]":33s4kdug]
Good tip, I prefer to replace them, but that seems to work really well.
Replacement is good! :good:
That way the female connectors are nice and tight on the male ones... :yes:
 
Replacement is good! :good:
That way the female connectors are nice and tight on the male ones... :yes:

The mind reels with off-color jokes.......... :sensored:
 
Another nice thing about this method is it doesn't remove metal and then leave abrasive grit and metal dust in them like sanding them can, and they don't get any thinner.
 
Great info... I have been restoring a 84 GL1200I and every bad connector I did this... Dielectric grease is a must... If you are having weird stuff happening to the electrical system,,, DO THIS...
My 84 goes out for a test ride today... Will post pictures later...
 
that works pretty good, I did every plug and wire end on my aspy with an ultra sonic cleaner, they look new after, but I see how this works good for the "fix as needed" job......good post
 
Just adding my 2 cents regarding cleaning electrical contacts. :whistling: :whistling:

Vinegar work really well but sometimes because it's a liquid you need a container (jar/plastic bag).

So here's another tip:
MUSTARD. :Egyptian: being a gel or past, solve the container issue. Everything else applies.
Meaning wash and dry afterward.
Anyway you wouldn't like your pride and joy rolling around smelling like a hot dog. :smilie_happy: :smilie_happy:
Personally I prefer to use a tiny paint brush to spread into those tight spots.
Also work wonders for old coins . :roll:

Vaseline/petroleum gel makes a perfectly cheap protection for the contacts.
 

Latest posts

Top