Rob,

Good catch!  A fire was in the making for sure.  This is what can and does
happen within people's walls at home.

Unfortunately, I think that solder tinning the wire (stranded?) and then
reheating after the crimp is not a good idea even though I'm sure you have
a good connection for now.  It may intuitively seem a good thing to do,
but ...

A properly crimped connection relies upon the high metal/metal pressure to
maintain airtight connections and can do this better than solder.  I think
you had a bad crimp to start with - that happens.  Solder (usually a
tin/lead alloy) tends to cold flow away from the pressure points and may
then allow air to enter the connection (even without being reheated).
Also, I doubt the solder will wet the stainless steel.  At least I've
never been able to solder to SS.

I'm not an expert in this particular technology although I worked close to
it.  If I'm wrong, I'd appreciate someone correcting me.

//Jack
'85 GL

On 4 Aug 2002, at 20:39, Rob Scott wrote:

> I though that I'd post a note warning others to watch out for a
> potentially hazardous wiring condition I found today that some of you
> may also have.
>
> Yesterday I was going through my AC system electrical circuits after
> charging the system with ES-12 (problems with the charging hose sold
> to me by the ES-12 dealer but that's another story).  I discovered that
> the main supply wire to the AC electrical system got hot, really HOT
> right at the junction block on the 50-amp solid metal fuse connection.
> This junction is located inside the rearmost portion of the storage
> cabinet on my 1990 Westie MV.
>
> The main feed wire is of good size (10ga?) but the crimped ring connector
> is what gets so hot.  I suspect that corrosion and heat over time
> have raised the wire resistance in the joint.  It gets so hot that the
> 50-amp metal fuse stamping appears to have been warped a bit and when
> hot the plastic insulation gets dangerously soft.The copper wire is
> discolored and has become quite stiff for approximately one inch below
> the connector.
>
> Today I removed the corroded wire and connector.  I replaced it with a
> stainless steel high-temp ring crimp connector.  I tinned the wire
> prior to crimping, and heated the wire until the solder flowed after
> I crimped the connector in place.  Even when running the AC fans on
> high, the connector now gets no more than warm to the touch.
>
> Failure to correct this could have caused other wires in contact with
> the hot wire to burn through.  Eventually the 50-amp fuse may have
> melted or the junction block may have melted.  A short of
> the 10-gauge wire to ground (should it have melted) may even have shorted
> out an entire portion of the wiring harness.
>
> I suggest that anyone with AC check this junction at your earliest
> opportunity.  Turn on your AC and let it run for a minute or two, then
> check the temp of the wiring junction where the main 10-gauge feed
> wire is screwed to the relay block.
>
>
> Regards,
> Rob
> p.s.  Boy, have I learned a lot about AC in a short couple of days.
> Once I figured out where the wiring diagram for it was in Bentley,
> things were much easier.
>
>               It's never too late to have a happy childhood.
>                     -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
>                      Rob Scott, mailto:rob@unixguy.com
>         Langley, Washington on Whidbey Island (a suburb with a moat)