They are just different sizes, not sure if your sizes are correct as we have the metric system in the uk so AWG is alien to myself.
Knock sensor wire cut, what do I do HELP
- Thread starter 2001LC
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You can measure conductor o.d. and certainly get close enough...e.g., 1.5mm wire is ~ 0.06" in diameter. Closest thing in the AWG system would be 14 aww, with an o.d. of 0.057". Another quickie that's good to remember is that moving up 2 aww numbers, e.g. from 16 to 12 awg, doubles the current carrying capacity of the wire. This holds true wire up to about 10 awg.
You need a narrow curved reflector to do Solder Sleeves. What you have now will barely have enough concentrated heat to melt and flow the solder, and solder works best with fast heating. I'd check E-Bay for Raychem heat guns, I use a CV-5300 which I think is no longer made.
I've been to several major aerospace contractors who tried the same thing...aka RTFM
...trying to crimp a solder splice is not unusual.You nailed it. Bigger wires need more solder. Other issue is that as wires or cables get larger, it becomes a biatch to pump enough heat into the conductors with hot air. It's doable, but cable insulation gets cooked while waiting for the solder to melt and flow. Anything larger than 12-to-12awg I normally crimp.
hth
Steve
That is correct. The reflector you use should have a slot in it where you'll center the solder. Hottest point in the reflector is the bottom front. Warm the heat gun up for 2-3 minutes. Turn it to the no-heat setting when you're done for 3-4 minutes...makes the element last longer.
A little google shows that this http://www.jensentools.com/master-appliance-solder-sleeve-heat-gun-kit/g/1563 is what replaced the Raychem heat gun I'm using...check the reflector in the pic...that's what you want.
Steve
Because of posts like this I have Minnie and Mickey traps and rat poison all over my garage. Good luck on a fix.
Moth balls are supposed to work as deterrents...2 barn cats are extremely effective, and that's the outer perimeter. 2 cats that sleep in the garage are the second layer of security. If ever a rodent got in the house, my avatar would tcb. That's never happened, and avatar spends most of the day in the field getting food to go.
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2001LC
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- #28
The Dealer has a Knock sensor kit with wires I'll be picking up. They're cool, and will let me take to Grainger for fitment.
I fashioned a home made reflector. Tested it with some thin flux filled solder I had lying around. Don't know this solder melting point, but it liquefied in 3 seconds. So I'll run some test splices when I get the package of Raychem cwt's, I may get lucky.
Steve, how long should it take to complete one test splice?
The PO said they were out of town for three months, and took the cats with them. You may have seen the picture I posted of the air box with bird seed & peanuts in it: Engine wash That was only half of what was there when I first opened it up. Had PO not stored feed in the garage, Mickey & Minnie may never have come around. Like leaving food around the camp fire, not a good idea unless you like bears.
Never heard of the mothball trick, worth trying that one for sure. That is one bad ass avatar.
I've never tried the mothballs either, as spring begins the cats are on a rodent jihad.
Avatar appeared at
's friend's haircutting salon in downtown Boise 3 years ago last Thanksgiving. Vet estimated she was a year old at time. She probably lost 8 of her 9 lives dodging traffic. She's on my lap and halfway on the laptop as I type this. She's definitely a dog trapped in a cat's body.Sorry...about 3-4 seconds to melt the solder and maybe that much time finishing shrinking the ends of the splice...though your reflector might do it all at once...I like the shadetree engineering.
Steve
Can you take pictures of the harness on the vehicle. Is it a bigger cable or just screened. I cant really picture in my head what your trying to achieve, what it looks like is you have replacement connectors, the connectors get cut of the existing harness on the truck and new get soldered in place, if im looking at it right.
2001LC
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- #32
The issue is the difference in wire size is so vast it exceed the butt splicers limitation. I really like the design of the Raychem Soldergrip heat-shrink Butt Splices, and would like to use. My concern is the small factory wire (30AWG OD) will not hold in the Raychem 22-18AWG.
With that large a difference in AWG size, I'd skip the connector and do a direct solder splice, using 2 layers of heat-shrink tubing (first layer small and second layer larger) with an outer shell of abrasion protection like wire loom.
Try the raychem on the old connector cable. The solder will hold anyway, its just if the heat shrink will go small enough. So 30 awg is smaller than 20, confusing.
2001LC
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- #35
Yes the higher the number the smaller.
I'm amazed at some of the stuff I find in my tool box sometimes. This AWG gauge must be 50 years old.
If I just go with solder, is their any special solder I should use. I've just some very old no description flux core lying around?
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I don't know if the resin goes bad over (a long) time. Given the difficulty of access to that wire, it's worth getting new resin-core solder, IMHO. That's amazingly small wire! The conductor inside is even smaller than 30 AWG!
2001LC
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- #37
I noticed the Dealer gave me two of these white connectors. Connected to the knock sensors are white for right bank and gray for left. So I assume the ECU needs to know which is which. Wish I not put it together. I was just seeing how it worked with lead, when they clicked in....darn. This puppies are pricey, connector list at $7.33 and lead's at $7.21.
As long as it fits on the knock sensor, just put a grey dot on the connector with permanent pen or something.
2001LC
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- #40
Good idea. I guess it's not a big deal, as long as I do any work in this area in future. If for some reason I don't get it done today. I'll call my parts guy and see if they make a gray. Oh BTW I did just manager to separate the new wire form connector, one small victory. It will help to allow me to slide heat-shrink wrap on after splicing wires. There's not much area to work with to keep heat away from wrap while splicing, so this will be handy. I've been trying to get the other old connecter off right bank knock sensor, but the clip is frozen like left bank was. It may be packed with Mickey & Minnie leftover or just getting brittle with time & heat.
