We Are Sometimes Sure of Ourselves When We Should Not Be
Often because we want to believe.
I want to tell you a story.
I received a letter from Triumph USA about a safety recall on my bike. This is the second recall related to the same issue. Last time I took it in to the local dealership. They attached this little clip to the alternator wires and called it good. This second recall on the same issue really raised my curiosity.
I looked up what I could find and discovered both recalls were related to an electrical connector that attached the alternator to the main wiring harness. The problem was it would get hot enough to melt the plastic, which is very bad. The fix was to remove it altogether and splice the wires permanently.
This is right down my alley. I've been splicing wires for decades. A proper splice is stronger than the wire that makes it up. And that's the truth. I could think of no reason to spend the time and effort to take my bike back down to the dealership for this.
You may be thinking, "Yeah, see there. Sometimes it's better to let the experts handle things," and you're right. Sometimes it is. This is not one of those times. The truth is, I am at least as qualified to do this splicing as any certified Triumph mechanic. Probably more than most, actually. But that doesn't prevent me from screwing up. Read on.
I thought it might be helpful to someone to see what this was all about and how they can solve it themselves. I made a few short video clips. (They each open in a new window.) It's interesting to see them now in retrospect.
Introduction to the Task (72secs)
Cut the old connector close. (10secs)
The first crimp connector was an abject failure. (53secs)
I switched to a self-soldering type I had used before. (26secs)
The evidence was there that something was amiss. (21secs)
Like many people, I saw what I wanted to see. (35secs)
What Went Wrong
There were at least two things that went wrong here:
1) I didn't use a hot-enough heat gun. The gun I used was adequate to melt the solder on AWG24 or 22, but this was AWG10 wire. It would, naturally, require more heat.
2) I ignored the niggling voice in my head warning that bare copper was visible inside the finished connectors. I wanted to believe I had done it right. I was sure. Sort of. But still . . .
What Went Right
I was not able to silence the 'bare copper wire' voice. Night and day it continued, prodding my doubting mechanisms until I finally gave in.
I took the soldering connectors off. I split the outer shrink plastic and the connections just fell apart. They weren't soldered at all. All I had done was soften the solder ring enough for the shrink to pull it down on the wire.
I remade the joints the old-school way. I retrieved the crimp ring from inside an insulated butt splice I have on hand. I slid a length of water-tight heat shrink tube onto one wire, then crimped the connector in place. Then I soldered the result to provide both a mechanical and electrical bond. Heat the shrink and we're done.
The Real Point to All of This
We all tend to see what we want to see. Even when the evidence is plainly before our eyes, if it doesn't line up with what we believe to be real, we will choose our fantasy over the cold, clear reality in front of us.
I did it. You do it. Everyone does it.
Accepting reality from the start every time is a Thing That Works. You will always have better results dealing with reality than you will by trying to force your wishes on the world around you. That's it in a nutshell. I wish you well!
If you want to see the rest of the story, check out the gallery below.
The Problem and Solution Gallery
You still here?
In a conversation with Triumph USA, the person told me if I didn't take it to the dealer, the recall would be listed as unfulfilled against the bike's VIN indefinitely.
I guess that is a problem for some people if they try to sell the bike and the buyer doesn't know enough to see the fix was done. I'm not worried about that, because I don't plan to sell the bike. And even if I did, if the potential buyer is that . . . inexperienced, perhaps they shouldn't be buying a motorcycle.
Just sayin'.
