Autohelm slack socket quick bodge

webcraft

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Long motoring day ahead and the Simrad TP10 keeps throwing its hand in.

Plenty juice at the socket, which is relatively new. Pins on the plug seem to be slack in their sockets - any suggestion for a quick fix to enlarge pins or reduce holes slightly?
 

greeny

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Word of warning. If its like mine was, the pins are split down their length. I thought I could just insert a small screwdriver and ease them apart to tighten up the connection. It didn't! One side of the pin just broke off. Result, new socket needed. My temporary fix was to remove the wires from each end and use a Wago quick release to power the TP10 until I could get a new socket of a different type.
 

Refueler

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I eased my pins apart ... no breaks .... it only needs a tiny literally the act of inserting the blade is enough ...

But those 'Signal lamp' plug / sockets are awful .... we had them on the battery aldis lamp boxes on ship ! UGH !

The act of cleaning the pins effectively wears the pins away till they are slack ...
 

Wakatere

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If the pins are moving individually then I agree with the above, but if the pins are moving together within the shell it may be that the locking ring has shifted - the tool you need is the dust cap - the castellations engage with the ring and you can just tighten it up by hand. I know that's no help if you don't have tha cap, but prodding the ring around with a small screwdriver will help.
 

Metalicmike

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Nothing worse than a dodgy plug and socket, mess around with it all you like but your going to end up replacing them anyway. Caravan and campervan stores tend to be cheaper but I use RS or Farnell
 

Wakatere

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Nothing worse than a dodgy plug and socket, mess around with it all you like but your going to end up replacing them anyway. Caravan and campervan stores tend to be cheaper but I use RS or Farnell
Agreed - it's a Bulgin Buccaneer (the standard one not the more recent 900 series) but that won't help Webcraft today if he's already at sea.
 

webcraft

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Now you tell me . . . spreading the pins seems like a great idea, but there was no signal coming down the West Coast of Skye and through the Small Isles.

Having a beer on a mooring in Tobermory after hand steering for 11 hours!
 
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