Bad 10 pin connector

[thrasher]

Gentlemen,

I was out on my boat and all the gauges started jumping about. I stopped the boat and lifted the engine cover. I checked all the connections on the battery, starter motor and alternator and everything was tight. I then touched the 10 pin plug which connects between the boat wiring harness and the engine wiring harness and all the gauges moved. I opened the plug and there is no sign of rust, but the connectors don't look very good. The boat is 16 years old so I can believe the plug has gone bad with age. Is this a common problem? Can you buy the 10 pin plugs? I could hard wire the connections, but then the next time I want/need to take the engine out it would be a nightmare.. I tried adding dialectric grease, but the plug is clearly past it's best so I prefer to just change it out. Any other recomendations? The boat runs great otherwise, its a 1991 Glastron with a Mercruiser V6 4.3L and an Alpha1 gen 2 drive.

Gary

 

[tommays]

Re: Bad 10 pin connector

The plugs come with a compleat wireing harnes SO i would give this a shot first as you would have to rewire the boat to change them

DeoxIT™/ProGold™ Twin Pack


I have had the same problem i picked up cleaner at radio shack and used some Q-tips in the female pins

It was pretty amazing how many Q-TIPS IT TOOK to get clean holes and everything worked good after that


I still need to change some 12 year old vbattery cables that "LOOK" good
but have some voltage drop in them



Tommays

 

[thrasher]

Re: Bad 10 pin connector

Thanks Tommays,

But the more I look at the 10 pin plug, the worst it gets. It looks like one or two of the pins have got very hot at some time and actually burnt the rubber around them. I am not going to change the wiring looms, but this plug has got to be changed. I will see if I can locate another 10 pin hermetically sealde plug if I can't get the original plugs.. It just looks well beyond a bit of contact cleaner!!

Gary

 

[tommays]

Re: Bad 10 pin connector

search under "Cannon Plug"


You should be able to find many the big issue being the two large pins needing to carry a 50 amp load

And how the wires connect to the new plug will be a big issue as well



Tommays

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Bad 10 pin connector

This is one of the reasons that I have dielectric grease & a SS clamp to hold it tight & keep out moisture....​

 

[Windykid]

Re: Bad 10 pin connector

You might want to make sure none of the pins are being pushed back when instaling.

 

[thrasher]

Re: Bad 10 pin connector

Well it seems you where correct, the plugs cannot be purchased seperately!! The person in my local boat service departement said to just cut off the plug and hard wire the connections (and seal them with heat shrink). I asked "what if I need to remove the engine?", he said that if a 16 year old boat needed the engine out he would sink it instead, but that I could just cut the wires.. I think I am going to follow his advise, the plug looks to be in such bad condition, I don't see any point trying to repair it..

Gary

 

[Bondo]

Re: Bad 10 pin connector

Maybe a couple of Trailer type of connectors,.....??...........

 

[v1_0]

Re: Bad 10 pin connector

I have no experience in this on boats.. But why not replace *both* sides of the plug? The wire gauges will give you an indication of the amperage, then pick the best set of plugs to fit.

One thing *not* to do is to get all the same connector.. ie: five plugs with two pins each -> so that confusion can ensue at a later date. (Maybe one each: 5pin, 3pin, 2pin - with the 2 pin for the high current somebody mentioned...)

http://www.suresealconnections.com/
http://www.jbn-duraline.com/duraline_multipin_plugsandconnectors.htm

-V

 

[thrasher]

Re: Bad 10 pin connector

I wondered about using a 7 pin plug and a 3 pin heavy duty plug as there seem to be 3 large pins in the plug. I just don't know where to get water tight plugs!! I really hope to never take the engine out again, so hard wiring doesn't sound that bad. I intend to sell the boat in 2 years.. I will try looking for some plugs, but I think hard wiring will win in the end.,

Thanks for the ideas and comments.

Gary

 

[Don S]

Re: Bad 10 pin connector

I have found those plugs in such bad shape that I just cut them off and put a ring terminal on each wire and add a terminal block in a handy location.
A terminal block like this with 8 or more terminals.

I especially like the ring terminals with the heatshrink built in, like this.

 

[thrasher]

Re: Bad 10 pin connector

Thanks Don, but that still leaves a metal surface exposed to oxidise, I think soldering the wires together and covering them with heatshrink the kind with heat activated glue inside will make for a more reliable join, will just be more difficult to remove the engine at a later date. I will see what plugs I can find this week.

Gary

 

[Zero Balance]

Re: Bad 10 pin connector

Well it seems you where correct, the plugs cannot be purchased seperately!! The person in my local boat service departement said to just cut off the plug and hard wire the connections (and seal them with heat shrink).
Gary

I spent all winter looking on Ebay for a good 10 pin plug/harness for a V8. You could try online parts houses all winter maybe you'll get lucky. I ended up hardwiring my bundle rather than wait for that special plug to come along. Use grease after cleaning and shrink up those connections. Took about 2 hours and theres plenty of length to the bundle to re-splice if necessary.

 

[Don S]

Re: Bad 10 pin connector

The heat shrink terminals cover the wire completely, a little liquid electric tape covers all the screws and ends.
Have done this on Salt water wet boats and have had to take them apart after a few years....... Clean and shiny.
You can also get water proof boxes. But if you are getting that much water in there, maybe you ought to fix that problem fiirst.

 

[thrasher]

Re: Bad 10 pin connector

Thanks Don,

I didn't think about covering the bar with liquid electric tape. I am not getting any water in my engine bay (just changed all the bellows and it's lovely and dry in there) but I know anything on a boat will rust if left exposed. I will look at your idea further..

Thanks Gary

 

[v1_0]

Re: Bad 10 pin connector

If you look at my previous post, I gave a couple of links that I found. I searched on "waterproof + marine + 10 pin + connector" - there were quite a number of links.

Haven't used the products, but per the manufacturer:

"Water Submersible
Not just splash-proof, but truly submersible
for short periods of time. Sure-Seal? will seal
to the requirements of IP67 and DIN 400 50.
Resistant to Automotive/Industrial
Environments
Sure-Seal? will operate in temperatures from -
40?F to +221?F under conditions of high
humidity, severe vibration, ice and mud.
Sealing integrity is maintained with exposure
to brake fluid, gasoline, diesel fuel, antifreeze,
ultraviolet, ozone, and steam."

The manufacturer in the 2nd link claims their connectors are submersible to 6'.

I'd make a guess that "ug, this not be cheap", but less than a new wiring harness...

-V