REPINNING MARINE ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS

When small terminal pins in electrical connectors break or corrode, you can fix them.

Most marine-engine harnesses and many electrical accessory wires now come equipped with plug-and-play connectors that help make short work of rigging jobs. These connectors easily snap together or into an electrical port. They can just as easily disconnect by pressing on a small tab to release the snap-lock.

Connectors from companies such as AMP, Bosch, Deutsch, Furukawa, Sumitomo and Yazaki contain multiple terminal pins—female terminals on one-half of the connector, with corresponding male pins on the other

half—that are connected to wires and retained within impact-resistant, nonconductive plastic housings. Rubber seals at the wire/pin connection and on the mating surface of the connector help prevent water intrusion and keep corrosion at bay. These connectors are also designed to minimize electrical resistance, which can prove critical in digital applications.

However, sealed connectors are not foolproof. Wire insulations can chafe and corrode. And in extremely damp conditions, moisture can eventually seep inside the connectors and corrode the terminal pins. If this occurs, you can replace the damaged pins inside the connector, saving the expense and trouble of buying and installing an entirely new harness.

Repinning a connector is an easy job once you have the right terminal pins, wire seals and tools, though it requires patience, good lighting and perhaps a magnifying glass. Here’s how we proceeded after discovering corroded pins inside the female side of a Sumitomo DL 090-series 16pin sealed connector on the main electrical harness of a Suzuki DF200AP outboard engine.