Making Connections

I went out to the Museum yesterday but didn't take any pictures. Mostly I was checking some dimensions, and looked at the control wiring some more. And I collected various parts to take home, so I can work on rewiring the control jumper receptacles in comfort. I may pass on going out again tomorrow, as the snow is still falling even as we speak.

This is what the receptacle casting looks like, with the spring-loaded door propped open. The inner diameter is about 5". This is a standard GE part. The number of pins varies for different control systems.

The pins are mounted in a thick Bakelite frame, as seen here.

The pins are screwed onto solder terminals, which are inserted from the back. The terminals have a hex shape, and fit snugly into the base, so disassembling it is actually pretty easy. Here are the various parts. For unknown reasons, at Cleveland two of these receptacles were rewired and connected together with about 30' of 16 gauge wire, which is too small for regular use. So it needs to be replaced.

So let's drill a few holes in a block of scrap wood, unsolder the old wires, and solder our nice new 12 gauge 2000V wire into them.

After about an hour of work, all the soldering has been done, and here's a test assembly of the completed receptacle.

Next I need the 1" inside diameter armored cable and the appropriate connectors, which should be arriving soon, thanks to Rod Turner. I will also build a replica connector board and attach the lugs at the other end of the wires. And in theory, this will minimize the amount of work that needs to be done under the car. It's quite preferable to do as much as possible in my nice warm workroom while listening to, for instance, Richard Strauss!