Trailer Wire Repair
My trailer had a wire chewed through by a mouse over the winter. I can
get at the spot that needs to be fixed so I would rather repair it then
pull it all out and rerun wires. Problem is this section of wire will
submerge when launching my boat. What would be recommended to cover
the bare wire after I solder it back together? Thanks for any ideas! |
Bose
Jul 17
2006
|
| For the ultimate I've soldered, put some silicon on, and then covered
with heat shrink. Shrink it and then wipe off the excess silicon. |
jamesgangnc
Jul 18
|
| I use this:
http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/item/COS-1/search/COAX_SEAL_.html |
Jeff
Jul 17
|
| Ancor hot melt glue lined heat shrink. It shrinks, and glues itself to the insulation.
Don't skimp on the length. You can get it in good chandlerly. I've also seen it
at Lowes or Home Depot, but I don't know if their's is marine grade. Also, as prevention, a cat, preferably the neighbor cat that keeps shitting in my yard. |
Chuck
Jul 17
|
| Both good suggestions. You can also seal it with silicone sealer. Make a
ball around it. This will seal it from water, air and moisture. Ron "Bose" <andyb@vermontsystems.com> wrote in message |
Ron
Jul 17
|
| I would recommend tying a new wire to end of the old wire and just pulling
it through. If you don't do that, then don't solder the wire. The bouncing of a boat
or a boat trailer will break the solder sooner or later--clamp it, then
put shrink wrap around it to seal it (you can get the
shrink-with-a-hair-dryer kind at Radio Shack for very small change. But
by the time you get the shrink wrap to where you want it, it will have
been more trouble then pulling a new wire. Electrical tape will hold when wet for a while, but will eventually
unravel.
|
FWB
Jul 17
|
| Good idea but I've read that you have to be careful of what type of silicone
you use. Apparently at least one type has an acid in it that will eat away
and corrode the wire. Eisboch |
Eisboch
Jul 17
|
| I always wondered about that. Is that why 'dielectric' silicone is
recommended for exposed electrical wiring connections exposed to the
elements? |
Jul 17
|
| Not really. A dielectric means it will conduct electricity.
I can't remember right now which of the silicone "sealers" is the one to
avoid when sealing electrical connections, but I do remember the issue about
it corroding the wires over time. Eisboch |
Eisboch
Jul 17
|
| http://www.neelyindustries.com/pdf/738.pdf#search='silicone%20sealant%20electrical' Eisboch |
Eisboch
Jul 17
|
| Dielectric means it insulates not conducts. |
Vince
Jul 17
|
| Great product. Tough to use "overhead" so be careful. http://shopping.rexmar.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=starbrite You can buy this at any marine store and probably automotive stores. |
Dan
Jul 18
|
| ooopppss! You are right, of course. I had it backwards. The dielectrics are available
as a grease though, not a curable silicone to the best of my knowledge,
although I didn't look for it. There are noncorrosive silicones designed to seal electrical connections. Eisboch |
Eisboch
Jul 17
|
| I have always soldered then heat shrink wrapped my electrical connections on
the boat. What advantage does the noncorrosive silicone add to the mix?
Does it replace the heat shrink wrap and do a better job? |
Jul 17
|
| I don't know. I've always heat shrinked also. I found out about the
silicon sealant issue when I was installing buried wiring for a sprinkler
system. The connections were made with wirenuts and I was advised to fill
them with silicon "rubber" but of the type that would not corrode the wires. Eisboch |
Eisboch
Jul 17
|
| I ran across the same thing earlier this spring with landscape lighting. I
soldered the connections, gave them a squirt of silicone (the sealant type
used around windows), then wrapped them in electrical tape. I hope that lasts for at least 4 years as we will be selling the house and
moving to our retirement house on the water soon before then. ;-) |
Jul 17
|
