Cal Club Autocross Forums

I am replacing one on my radar detector (hard wire) and the brand (Ideal) seems to be made to a quality level less than the oem (Valentine 1) used.

When I wiggle the conn it cuts out & yes I used a good Belkin tool & the strip/crimp is fine. I did 3 and they all fit a bit loose in the V1 thus causing the cut out.

Of course bumping down the freeway is going to be the same deal.

Anyone know of a "high quality" rj11 source? Or even a different brand from Ideal?

Of course I just need a couple.

Take it to an electronics parts shop and just try out what they have in stock. There's one here in Westminster, if you're coming this way ofr any reason, they're recommended: JK Electronics on Westminster Blvd.

Jay W

RJ11's are pretty much perfected, I doubt there are good ones and bad ones. Maybe the jack is bad - I have seen cracked solder joints on circuit boards.

When in doubt...Shim. Its the ST way (vague ugly reference).

I've had loose connections like that. Once I'm sure its purely a fitment issue, just add a little tape to shim for a tighter fit.

As long as your V1 casing is OK, It's an $80 flat rate to get your V1 repaired, but you might end up getting everything for free.

If the problem is the gold spring wire contacts on the RJ-11, you can try bending them out using a very fine tool. I do this and it works. The spring force varies otherwise and in some cases is not enough to compensate for the wiggling.

If the problem is not there, it is in the wire junction from your crimping and I would recommend a bought cable instead to get a better mechanical connection. I understand why you are making your own. But it is probably still not as good. If the problem is there.

Thanks guys, I'm liking the shim idea.

Jayson Woodruff wrote:Take it to an electronics parts shop and just try out what they have in stock. There's one here in Westminster, if you're coming this way ofr any reason, they're recommended: JK Electronics on Westminster Blvd.

Jay W

That would make sense, but I don't know of any in North County SD and this is not worth a drive very far. Maybe Fry's will have some other brand that'll work.

:0

I'm with Randy on the wire springs in the socket. Plugs are plugs, not much to them other than don't use a junky crimp tool and make sure you press down all the way. Some of them have nicer internal guides to help insert and align the wires before crimping.

Randy Chase wrote:If the problem is the gold spring wire contacts on the RJ-11, you can try bending them out using a very fine tool. I do this and it works. The spring force varies otherwise and in some cases is not enough to compensate for the wiggling.

If the problem is not there, it is in the wire junction from your crimping and I would recommend a bought cable instead to get a better mechanical connection. I understand why you are making your own. But it is probably still not as good. If the problem is there.

The other end is fished thru the headliner & down the a pillar & into a fuse box & I just did not want to go thru that again for the sake of crimoing on a connector.

I just bought a spare cable and cigarette lighter adapter from the Valentine site:

https://store.valentine1.com/store/defa ... =partsdept

Both pieces cost $22 and they offer free shipping. I know that when I had mine hardwired in, the installer tried using a regular RJ-11 cord, and it didn't work properly. I always figured they wired one or two more pins differently or something. Anyway, you might consider getting the genuine article off their site: 100% guaranteed to work.

Thanks for all the great posts. It turns out theat the conn works OK when I leave it alone & just drive. I loses contact when I pull on it, so I guess I was just "testing" it too hard although I think it shoulm maintain contact with a slight pull.