What connectors do I need for these dynamo lights?

[backnotes]

Yes I was unclear - I'd defer to the printed instructions which to me describe what you say - thread the bare wire through the hole in the plastic connector plug thing and then fold it back on itself so the plastic thing presses the wire against the terminal and hopefully stays in place by stiction. The main point is that if the OP's light may still have these plastic wedges / plugs / bungs / connectors in situ, in which case you just need bare wire. If the plastic things are missing then narrow spade connectors (as suggested above) on the ends of the wires will work, and probably offer a more secure connection. A photo of the terminal area of the OPs light would clarify what the options are.

[Philip Benstead]

I was thinking of using these as connects for the rear light, any views?
RS PRO Insulated Crimp Pin Connector, 0.5mm² to 1.5mm², 22AWG to 16AWG, 1.9mm Pin Diameter, 12mm Pin Length, Red

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/crimp-pi ... lsrc=aw.ds


I got these for the front light, Red Female Spades

https://alltradedirect.co.uk/collection ... 1682987085


But should I have got these?
https://alltradedirect.co.uk/collection ... 1703663693

Fully Insulated Crimp Terminals
I shall be working on the lights tomorrow.

Here are the lights with the connection. The rear connection is just bear wire I awaiting the arrival of the pin connectors.

Comments welcome

[plancashire]

I was thinking of using these as connects for the rear light, any views?
RS PRO Insulated Crimp Pin Connector, 0.5mm² to 1.5mm², 22AWG to 16AWG, 1.9mm Pin Diameter, 12mm Pin Length, Red

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/crimp-pi ... lsrc=aw.ds


I got these for the front light, Red Female Spades

https://alltradedirect.co.uk/collection ... 1682987085


But should I have got these?
https://alltradedirect.co.uk/collection ... 1703663693

Fully Insulated Crimp Terminals
I shall be working on the lights tomorrow.
Comments welcome

When I looked at the lights in our bits boxes at the workshop I was checking for the original wire connecting method.

• The rear light has spring-loaded plates with holes. I did not measure the size of the holes but 1.9mm might not fit. Why not use the wire itself as designed? If that bothers you, just tin it with solder.

• The front light plates are in recesses. There is enough space to insert the plastic sleeves supplied. I could not say if there is enough space to insert a fully insulated spade connector. almost certainly the one with the bare end will fit, provided the width 2.8mm is correct; again I did not measure.

If this is still bothering you, I could measure the lights when I am next there on Thursday. I could also take my camera, which has a macro lens.

[wjhall]

As far as the rear lights go the red plastic unclips from the black to reveal the inside, which shows what your are working with, although not necessary for fitting the wires. These push into a spring loaded guillotine. Any size wire, not flex, that is held firmly will no doubt do.

They have an internal sprung connection between the two parts, this can become loose over time, which is probably why they are no longer made. I soldered wires across the internal connection on one, but on the next I must have been heavy handed and unsoldered the connection pads.

[Philip Benstead]

I was thinking of using these as connects for the rear light, any views?
RS PRO Insulated Crimp Pin Connector, 0.5mm² to 1.5mm², 22AWG to 16AWG, 1.9mm Pin Diameter, 12mm Pin Length, Red

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/crimp-pi ... lsrc=aw.ds


I got these for the front light, Red Female Spades

https://alltradedirect.co.uk/collection ... 1682987085


But should I have got these?
https://alltradedirect.co.uk/collection ... 1703663693

Fully Insulated Crimp Terminals
I shall be working on the lights tomorrow.

Here are the lights with the connection. The rear connection is just bear wire I awaiting the arrival of the pin connectors.

20230906_130135ed.jpg20230906_130127ed.jpg20230906_130119ed.jpg20230906_130111ed.jpg20230906_130051ed.jpg


Comments welcome

.

[gregoryoftours]

I think that bare wire would give more reliable contact than the pin connectors for the rear light. For the front light I'd say the ones you have ordered are better than the full insulated ones which may have had issues with clearance.

[Philip Benstead]

I was thinking of using these as connects for the rear light, any views?
RS PRO Insulated Crimp Pin Connector, 0.5mm² to 1.5mm², 22AWG to 16AWG, 1.9mm Pin Diameter, 12mm Pin Length, Red

https://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/crimp-pi ... lsrc=aw.ds


I got these for the front light, Red Female Spades

https://alltradedirect.co.uk/collection ... 1682987085


But should I have got these?
https://alltradedirect.co.uk/collection ... 1703663693

Fully Insulated Crimp Terminals
I shall be working on the lights tomorrow.

Here are the lights with the connection. The rear connection is just bear wire I awaiting the arrival of the pin connectors.

20230906_130135ed.jpg20230906_130127ed.jpg20230906_130119ed.jpg20230906_130111ed.jpg20230906_130051ed.jpg


Comments welcome

Can you see photos?

[plancashire]

I used the AXA rear with the spring-loaded plates yesterday to replace a blown B+M Toplight (they have no over-voltage protection). I noticed that part of the plastic housing had broken off so the wire was trapped not in plastic-metal-plastic but metal-plastic. The designer had saved a tiny fraction of a cent and made the plastic too thin and with too many sharp corners (cause stress fractures). There are a lot of rubbish bike lights about - I see them frequently at the workshop.

[Philip Benstead]

[...]
The wiring instructions are in sections 8 to 10. It looks as if for the front light, you strip the end of the wire and poke it through the connector and fold it back on itself and hold it in place with a plastic cover. [...]

I have been to the workshop and found both front and rear lights. I can confirm the above and elaborate.

The front we have is new, 15W LED, so I can see that you also have some twin wire, two small black plastic tubes and no instructions. The light has two flat strips with holes near the end. You hold the stripped ends of the wire on by pushing these through the hole, then sliding on the tube.[...]

I'm reasonably confident that either the above descriptions are wrong or I'm misunderstanding them.

The little black plastic plugs supplied in the headlight are Axa's poor-man's tool-free spade connectors, which I've had before but forgotten because they go slack or crack after a few years of sunny summers and cold winters, so I've replaced them with crimped-on metal spades.

Instead of using a tool for Axa's connectors, you put the stripped wire through the round side (not the hole in the flat metal strip aka male spade connector) and fold it back over the dipped edge of the rectangular end, then slide the rectangular end over the male connector to hold it in place. It's similar to Shimano "lego brick" dynamo connectors, but for one wire at a time.

Any chance of a photograph?

[Philip Benstead]

A issual that concerns me connect these lights is the physical strenght of the wire.

Normaly 8 stranes copper wire is used, I was wondering If a think single stane would be better?

Comments welcomed

[cycle tramp]

A issual that concerns me connect these lights is the physical strenght of the wire.

Normaly 8 stranes copper wire is used, I was wondering If a think single stane would be better?

Comments welcomed

I always go for 8 narrow wires than one thick single - the reason being, unlike household wiring one has to allow for a certain amount of flexibility within the wire for bicycle lights - even if its to allow a bottle dynamo to be pushed against the tyre or the front wheel connected to a hub dynamo to be disconnected.

If you go for one thick copper wire and bend it back and forth at the same point- it will (eventually) snap - 8 strands of copper wire are less like to do that.

I tend to support any electrical wires by zip ties, and wrapping it around the frame or fork.(think ivy growing up a tree).

Ideally dynamo wiring should make the bike look untidy and you should use as many different coloured zip ties as possible - if you can wire a bike in such a way that simply by looking at it makes you nauseous, then its a job well done and there's less chance of if being stolen.

Extra points are given if any broken light isn't removed and a replacement is just bolted next to it

[plancashire]

Use stranded wire. It has 7 strands or 13 for the next size up (one in the middle then six around it, then another six). Bikes I fix here in Germany always have stranded wire. The 8 refers to the shape of the insulated twin conductors viewed end-on. Fancy systems use co-axial wire. If you are bothered about the strands unravelling, tin them with solder or use a crimp-fit pin or spade.

German bikes are made for and with dynamos. Puzzling out the cable runs can be a frustrating puzzle when they dive into the frame, re-emerge only to return, then run along inside the rear mudguard or through a part of it designed as a conductor. Zip ties are not usually present from new but tend to accumulate over time.

[mjr]

The little black plastic plugs supplied in the headlight are Axa's poor-man's tool-free spade connectors, which I've had before but forgotten because they go slack or crack after a few years of sunny summers and cold winters, so I've replaced them with crimped-on metal spades.

Instead of using a tool for Axa's connectors, you put the stripped wire through the round side (not the hole in the flat metal strip aka male spade connector) and fold it back over the dipped edge of the rectangular end, then slide the rectangular end over the male connector to hold it in place. It's similar to Shimano "lego brick" dynamo connectors, but for one wire at a time.

Any chance of a photograph?

No, sorry, I don't have those connectors any more. As I wrote: "they go slack or crack after a few years of sunny summers and cold winters, so I've replaced them with crimped-on metal spades".