K109 Header Joint Fix

So I've an issue with one of them header joint K109s on the 110, rave says the blue one behind instrument panel need lookin' at. Current problems:

1. No horn - hotwiring at grille says the horn unit works (neighbors can confirm this)
2. No radio - not like I could hear it anyway
3. No interior lights - means I've got a legit reason for waiting till it's light to get outta bed

Reckon it's C285 with either fault on common live, multimeter should help me confirm at the weekend. Does anyone have any experience with these fancy terminal connector jobs? I don't fancy opening it up only to mix up me wires...

Also don't want to have to use scotchlocks because they're about as reliable as a renault.

Alm.

The header joints are a plastic housing with a common bus, into which the various combining earth leads terminate.

They are generally pretty reliable, you're more likely to find that the actual connection to the body is rusty than a fault in the connector itself.

Peter

Cheers Pete - In which case I will check the connections feeding the header joint, C285-7, but could be a problem at A92...

....appreciate the input.

Alm.

Burn out on one of the terminals at the C285-7 joint, i.e. the Blue K109 header behind the dash. This was causing intermittent problems.

Solution:
Open up header joint with flat-head,
clean out blue/green crud,
stuff in Copper grease (careful not to cross over the busbars which are NOT connected),
Detatch crap crimp connector (it fell apart as I touched to inspec)
stip wire & crimp on a joining wire with scotch-lok

Everything now works..... excellent.

Alm.

Use Vaseline, NOT Copper grease.

The Mad Hat Man said:

Use Vaseline, NOT Copper grease.

Click to expand...

Reason for Vas rather than Cu grease? Might be an old wives tale, but I thought Vaseline would melt and then there's a fire risk with the fumes...

Alm.

Because yu don't want cu within the plug
The vaseline acts as a water barrier and it doesn't melt at usual operating temperatures. If it is melting sufficiently to catch fire, then the plug is overheating, so yu got more problems than the Vaseline..


Vaseline is commonly used on battery terminals, where there is a much higher current flow.
If it does melt slightly , all it will do is flow into the joints and seal them better.

Other internet sources suggest using vas because it isn't soluable in water, which makes sense (Land Rover Owner • View topic - why vaseline and not copper grease on battery .... this would protect the terminals.

My terminals were so corroded they fell apart on contact, in order to promote conductance I used a conductive medium (vas is non-conductive). If I had decent contacts I would definitely use vas in future as it will protect them from disintegrating.

Thanks for comments Mad Hat - learnt something new!

Alm.