Repairing moving head lamps

[pmiller056]

I've been fixing some well used moving head lamps. The main problem is breaks in the internal wiring caused by repeated movement which is no great surprise. I'm having trouble getting hold of the correct/best type of wire to repair the damage. I doubt if I will be able to find the correct (unknown oriental) replacement crimps and connector shells to completely rebuild the affected parts of the wiring loom, which would be the best long-term fix. Instead I will have to do splice repairs to the wiring in appropriate places.

 

The wire used has many extremely fine strands with relatively hard PVC insulation to survive the flexing and rubbing - apparently it is common in robotics applications. The nearest suitable wire I have been able to find is test lead wire, but the insulation is a bit soft and too thick for this application. Does anyone have any better suggestions? When searching the web I have only been able to find multicore cables for robotic applications, not single wire which is what I need.

 

Thanks

 

Peter

[alistermorton]

When I used to work at EMI we used silver plated copper insulated with PTFE where we wanted abrasion resistance and flexibility. Something like this wire is what we used.

[DrV]

I'm not near my computer at the mo but from memory do a search for Dilip Microwire and it might turn up the right stuff

 

Dave

 

Can that - the company I was thinking of was this one http://www.daburn.com/2671UltraFlexibleSub-MiniatureWire-U/LSTYLE15681692.aspx

[KevinE]

Moving heads use allsorts of wires for this, some better than others. Obviously, if wires are breaking, its telling you the loom is worn and replacing the odd one or two is only a stop gap..it's better to replace the loom as a whole. If the OEM spares aren't available, I've made them up from Nexans Siliflex. This is available in several sizes and strand counts, you want the highest they do. It's not cheap though!

[pmiller056]

Thank you for your replies.

 

I have subsequently found out that the existing (failing) wiring is made from someting similar to 50/0.05 mm or 50/44awg - there may be more strands that I've not counted!

Alister - The ptfe insulation is good, but it has very few strands compared to the original cable, so I doubt it will survive the flexing for long.

DrV - That looks like the stuff, I just need to find a source this side of the pond that would be willing to supply smaller quantities.

Kevin - I'm unsure of the silicon rubber insulation, my experience is that it is very soft, easily damaged and usually a lot thicker than the equivalent PVC insulation. In this

case the lamp is an LED lamp, so temperature is not an issue in my application.

 

I appreciate the comment about stop-gap repairs. Once I find appropriate wire I'll take the time to make a permanent repair to the wiring. In the interim I've had the entire wiring loom off the lamp and carefully inspected it for damage and patched it up where appropriate, so it will work for the forseeable future.

 

Thank you for your help and suggestions,

 

Peter

[alistermorton]

Yes I thought you might need more, flexible cores, it was just the first match similar to the stuff we used at emi