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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

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Deck electrical connections

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britinusa
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5404 Posts

Initially Posted - 06/13/2011 : 03:56:31

Obviously I was busy this weekend. Preparing JD for our 10 days 11 nights cruise around the upper Keys at the end of this month.

Yesterday I decided to inspect and rebed the electrical connections for the mast at the deck connectors.

We have 3 conectors: #1 (Original) Mast lights, #2 (Dealer install) Wind instruement, #3 (Self install) VHF co-ax for masthead VHF antenna.

After removing all three recepticals, I spent a couple of hours cleaning the goop on the deck around all three connectors. I had used 5100 sealant, the dealer used something similar, and Catalina used a a huge glob of clear silicone.

The Mast lights connector has to be replaced, it's showing signs of deterioration (now 6 years old). When I removed it, two of the 4 wires just fell out of the connector! That might explain the occasional anchor light failure, fixed by just reconnecting the plug. Maybe the action caused the loose connector below to make better contact. An order for new connector and receptical is waiting the team at CD this morning.

The wind instrument has wires so thin I'm amazed they have not broken! Again, one of the two wires fell out of the deck connector despite there being 4" of wire free below deck. There was a rubber washer beneath the wind instrument deck connector, but that had deteriorated too. (The connector is steel)

I used Butyl sealant on both the wind and co-ax fittings, I'm pretty confident that they are now really well sealed (and clean up will be a cinch compared to 5100!)

Hopefully the wire colors in the mast for the lights will be the same as the deck connector and so matching them into the new connector will be a breeze.

Loading is this coming weekend.

Paul

Joint Decision. (Sold)
PO C250WB 2005 Sail # 841.

Moved up to C34 Eximius

Updated August 2015

Edited by - britinusa on 06/13/2011 03:58:36

Tradewind
Admiral

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531 Posts

Response Posted - 06/13/2011 : 13:04:09

Deck connector wire colors on my '97 had nothing to do with the color of the mast wires, hope you have better luck. And the wire colors at the lights up the mast did not match the wire colors at the base of the mast. What a pain that became, had to drop the mast and use a volt/ohm meter to unscramble it. Your 2005 probably is in much better shape.

Edited by - on

britinusa
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Response Posted - 06/13/2011 : 17:28:48

Not going to bet on that Steve.

Paul

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britinusa
Web Editor

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5404 Posts

Response Posted - 06/13/2011 : 17:30:56

Catalina Direct Order details:

Z2029 Deck Connector 4 Pin Black Plastic 1 $13.67 $13.67
Subtotal: $13.67
Shipping (Std Ground):$7.50
Total: $21.17
Shipping Method: Std Ground

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delliottg
Former Mainsheet C250 Tech Editor

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4479 Posts

Response Posted - 06/13/2011 : 17:40:06

Paul,
I just bought & installed the exact same part on SL. Once I had all the connections nice & tights (be careful, the screw heads are more delicate than you'd think), I used some [url="http://www.google.com/products/catalog?hl=en&client=ubuntu&hs=3rx&channel=fs&q=liquid+electrical+tape&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1680&bih=830&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=6132328053167214365&sa=X&ei=Fq32TdeSNoa8sAOFppnCBw&sqi=2&ved=0CFYQ8wIwAg"]liquid electrical tape[/url] to completely cover the connections. Mine had done exactly the same thing as yours, only one wire was still connected, the other three had pulled out. After the liquid tape dried (it's pretty quick), I carefully put the connector together making sure it didn't spin (and pull the wires right back out), and then used self fusing silicone tape to seal against moisture, wrapping the entire fixture with it. Same for my VHF connection.

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Tradewind
Admiral

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531 Posts

Response Posted - 06/14/2011 : 14:21:52

I installed the CD 4 pin connector but I'd like to have something more substantial, seems a little too fragile and cheap. If it's accidentally kicked or stepped on it's trash.

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britinusa
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5404 Posts

Response Posted - 06/15/2011 : 03:39:04

Agreed on the quality of the connector, the alternative I have found is [url="http://www.catalinadirect.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&product_ID=289"]this[/url]

Paul

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