steelbikeguy

that's a good point about the DTM connectors... my experience was primarily with the DT's.

Regarding dielectric grease... I've never used it in either the earth moving industry or aviation. It's only been bike wiring where I've used it, and even then I mostly forget that I even have it. Haven't seen any problems yet, but maybe that's just dumb luck?

Steve in Peoria

2_i 

I have it on every contact on the bikes, staying there for ages. Without the grease the contacts that are not golden usually go south pretty quick, at least on my bikes.

unterhausen

I have used dielectric grease on car connectors, seems like a good idea. It's commonly used on cars and I always buy it at auto parts stores. It seems pretty inert, never seen a problem due to using it.

RGMN

Sorry, I got unexpectedly called out of town on a work related issue. I just love it when a customer calls and tells us we have a problem, only to find a forklift speared the equipment and damaged it. Somehow that's our problem. And if you want to see the effects of the government shutdown try going thru TSA security. Talk about some testy people, and then you get the TSA agents...NOT a fun time for air travel.
The pin & socket designs on most electrical contacts DO move relative to each other when they are mated due to vibration, stress on the wires, temperature variation, etc. Depending on the contact's surface finish and lubrication fretting will eventually happen. Contacts like Anderson Power Poles that use spring force to hold two overlapping contacts together are actually much worse for fretting, but their contact design anticipates this and the finish of the contacts minimizes the effect. Lubrication still helps.
If by "golden" you mean an actual gold finish, yes, I would not expect to see any issues with fretting. Gold is one of the only contact materials that typically won't fret in electrical contacts due to its self lubricating properties.
On a bike I wouldn't expect too many issues with dielectric grease on electrical contacts, but on vehicles I have reservations. Dielectric grease is typically silicone oil in a soap base to thicken it. The silicone oil will soften the silicone seals used on most electrical connectors, reducing the effectiveness of the seals. I've seen dielectric grease soften the nylon connector body, allowing the electrical contacts to get pushed out of the connector body and cause issues. When used on contacts the silicone will migrate out from the oil and/or evaporate, leaving behind the soap base. The soap base becomes sticky, and in many of the cheap dielectric greases can actually become abrasive to the finish of the electrical contacts, causing them to fail in use. I'd actually use petroleum jelly on contacts before I'd use dielectric grease.

The grease is really just making the contact gas-tight. It fills the gaps between the mating surfaces and prevents any gases like water vapor from getting in. ANYTHING that is soft enough but will allow the contacts to make surface to surface contact will work and, if the material will not migrate or wash out, will prevent deterioration of the contacts due to moisture. If that same material can also lubricate the contacts it will help prevent fretting damage. In my experience (30+ years engineering connection systems) NyoGel 760G is the best product out for electrical connections. Dielectric grease is pretty much near the bottom of the list (just above butter,) but is the most commonly specified due to its availability. It falls into the category of "it's better than nothing" but often nothing is better.

Sci-Fi

I've used these quick connectors without any problems :

https://www.amazon.com/LanHong-Waterproof-Electrical-Connector-Marine/dp/B01F54PFLE/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1547958569&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=electrical+quick+connectors&dpPl=1&dpID=51meSzMW88L&ref=plS rch&dpPl=1&dpID=51meSzMW88L&ref=plSrch

The wires are about 20 gauge. There are other q/r styles that you may prefer, but check the wire gauge before ordering.

fietsbob

https://nabendynamo.de/en/products/wiring/

fietsbob

Well With my Schmidt LED/Dynamo set and B&M double Torx fitting bolt on the light, I have no issue either.. but NB;

An example of a rather common DC power supply Inline plug can be clearly seen (?)

you could find them at aRadioShack Store...


Have now a couple 349 wheel bikes 1 I put the Nicer Schmidt new XS Brompton wheel in replacing the less reliable Shimano Brompton wheel
turned out (in addition to the plug on the hub coming loose, it can lose the ground, with axle nut loosening ..

fixed that , my Bike Friday Tikit is a candidate QR swap, put it in, stick the dynamo Blaze on the bar mount and boom! ready to go..







....

sweeks

I've been using Radio Shack (R.I.P.) silicone grease on my dynohub connections for years. It's great for preventing corrosion, especially in a salty environment. It's only a minor nuisance when removing the plug from the dynohub.

rhm

Not long ago I changed the QR skewer on my bike, removing the lightweight and elegant aluminum-and-titanium one and installing an old school chromed steel one. Why? The axle (and wiring connector etc) all tended to rotate forward (direction of rotation) no matter how tight I made it. It rarely turned far enough to cause damage, but the potential was there.

On all the hubs we're discussing here, the wiring connections are oriented radially. The old Sturmey Archer Dyno-hub has connectors parallel to the axle, also not ideal.

Someone should design a wiring connector that is oriented tangentially to the axis, with one part attached to the hub, the other to the fork, so forward rotation on the wheel effectively pushes the parts together. This would make for an easy removal of the wheel....

steelbikeguy

There is the Schmidt SON SL hub and fork dropout that doesn't require any connectors at all.... well, at least not any connectors in the usual sense.
https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/schmidt-sl.php
It does require specific dropouts to be used, but is otherwise not too difficult to incorporate into the bike.

Steve in Peoria

unterhausen

you can get the SL contact retrofitted into a fork, but the tools are justifiably expensive.

Tourist in MSN

I have never heard of that happening. Interesting. Which hub was that?

Sometimes I run a conventional quick release skewer. And sometimes I use a bolt on one that uses a 5mm Allen wrench instead of quick release for better theft resistance since you need a tool to steal the wheel. I have never had a problem with the axle rotating. I have a couple Shimano hubs and a couple SP hubs, all for rim brakes.

If I had such a problem, I probably would buy a couple toothed lock washers at the hardware store to put between the hub and dropouts.

fietsbob

I did find my Cord wrapped a bit around my axle , I assume it was a little magnetic drag from the dynamo ,
combined with my QR skewer not being tight enough..

So, From then on, I give the Skewer a little more tension , and that never happened again...







...

fietsbob

Schmidt SL is better added to the specifications of a new custom built bike.. fork tip is + face with a wire & insulated from rest of fork..


I let my QR be a bit loose, .. an elastic Titanium skewer would do that , stretching rather than tightening..

I gave my QR , steel, and that, a wrap of my cable slack, never happened again, with a bit more clamping tension, on the skewer ..

Scummer

I have the SON SL you mentioned with the custom fork, since I had a custom bike built to my specs and the SL connection works very well. Taking the wheel out is a breeze without having to fiddle with the spade connectors.
I can only recommend it, if you go the route of getting a custom fork.

fietsbob

They used to link to some places that made forks with the SL connector fork tip, you could buy as a separate part, but their current site no longer does that

https://nabendynamo.de/en/products/sl/

Rick

I have the Son SL hub on my Co-Motion Pangea Rohloff. Co-Motion did not want to run the wire through the fork and I agreed with there reasoning on this. I just wanted the no hassle removal of the front wheel. I am setting up a Son 28 on my sons Fuji touring bike. I ordered the Edelux II with the coaxial plug already on it.

unterhausen

how did they run the wire?

fietsbob

Options here: https://nabendynamo.de/en/products/sl/

unterhausen

Rick said they didn't want to run the wire through the fork like Schmidt intended. Just curious how they did end up running the wire.

JaccoW

Son's coax adapter combined with its coax wires and connectors?


Or Supernova's gold connectors. Supernova gold connectors

I am waiting for the final parts so I can build a front wheel with everthing wired up nicely with a combination of Son, Supernova and B+M connectors. Probably going through the front rack.

unterhausen

the supernova connectors (or nearly identical RC motor connectors) will probably break the wire if forcibly separated. As one does occasionally. When I swapped out my lights using the supernova connectors, it was difficult to get the connectors apart. I'm not sure how many times you can pull the Schmidt coax connector apart without thinking, but I think the chances they will survive unharmed is pretty good.

Tourist in MSN

I am not saying anything against the connectors described in this thread, just tossing out another option. I do not have a Son hub, I use Shimano and SP hubs and use their connectors at the hubs.

When I got my first dynohub and first dyno powered headlamp that had the 2.8mm spade connectors, I decided to standardize on the 2.8mm connectors everywhere that I was going to plug or unplug wires.

And for several years I had one dynohub that I used on three different forks. So, I zip tied wire and hub connectors to the fork blade on all three of those forks so it was easy to move the wheel from fork to fork, used the 2.8mm connectors near the fork crown on those wires on each fork.

As an example in the photo, I have those 2.8mm connectors in the wires between the light and the fork crown. Little bit of black electrical tape was used to insulate the metal on the connectors to prevent shorts. At the time the photo was taken, no dyno powered taillight was used, thus the wiring was immensely simple.



Since then I have accumulated a few more dynohubs and lights, also have some dyno powered taillights too, but still using the 2.8mm wire connectors everywhere that I need to plug a couple wires together.

freckles

Hi Steve in Peoria,

I like your quick release connections! how are the Amphenol pins and sockets connected to the dynamo wiring? is it soldered or crimped?

I am searching for a way to quickly remove head and tail lights for my new folding bike.

looking at-
supernova gold banana adapters- kind of expensive, some sites says need to solder connections other says crimp????
edelux coaxial adaptor- also expensive and need to solder- trying to avoid soldering as i have no experience
2.8 mm spade connectors- inexpensive, need crimper

the amphenol pins and sockets look like a more affordable supernova adaptors. I looked for images and some show an end to be crimped and others show a round cylinder?

how are your's connected?

thank you

unterhausen

I don't think the supernova banana connectors can be crimped. I am pretty sure they are meant to be soldered. I used a batch of them on my travel bike. A pair at the rear fender, a pair inside the down tube at the coupler, a pair so I could swap headlights, and 3 pairs so I could remove the front rack, which has the headlight on it.

I actually used a number of the Velo Lumino banana connectors as well as the supernova. Installation hardware The Velo Lumino are shorter, but they are pretty much the same size otherwise