Is there a gold connector upgrade kit for the '95 F512M?

Gold on a tin ECU...not good.

 

If you are having problems try a disconnect, cleaning, and reconnect.

 

I know what you are asking about. I think it's a bad idea. He will sell you that it is a good idea.

Bottom line is that I called AMP and other engineers that make the little metal connectors. They told me to never put gold on tin.

In addition those little gold connectors cost 30 cents each if you really have to use them.

This is just the conclusion I came to after doing my research.


Why are you asking? Are you having a problem?

 

Gold kit is not a bad idea.. Have you even worked with the kit?

R

 

I had a Helms connector kit on my 328, it was great. I had a few bugs before hand, they took care of all my issues. Worth the money and time for sure.

I've personally never heard anything bad about them, ever...

 

I agree.. few at a time.. Do 2 or 3 - start her up.. take her for a shake down.. this way if something is off or you made a mistake you only have to trace back the 2 or three that you just did.. Kudos John.. your reading and paying attention.. Thumbs up..

R

 

There's a reason the engineers tf308 mentioned about not using gold on tin. May be great initially but what is the long term result? These kits haven't been out long enough for people to see yet. Sounds like they'll be right back where they started from from what I'm reading. I've debated getting one of these kits for my Tr but a quick Google of gold on tin came up with these bits of info:

"The problem is that gold and tin are far apart in electrical potentials. When you put them together, they form a thermocouple that produces an electric current. The gold oxidizes the tin, and eventually causes a noisy, high resistance connection."

"When gold and tin are mixed by putting gold in a tin socket or vice-versa, the direct contact between the two dissimilar metals causes a chemical reaction over time. It can take months or even years to happen, but tin oxide will build up on the gold and eventually, cause the electrical connection between the socket and connector to become unreliable."

It'll be interesting to see if the owners with gold kits do indeed circle right back to connection issues in the years to come. I'm holding off. My very early '85 doesn't seem to have the electrical maladies the newer ones do so if it ain't broke I ain't gonna fix it.

 

YES ! But only if needed imo ... we don't swap 12 pistons in the engine because .... do we ?

 

Well I had some "bugs" in my 328, the Dave Helms gold connector kit solved those issues and kept anymore from popping up. I recommend the kit as I'm sure it would do just as well in these cars.

 

I wonder if you had repaced the connectors with oem AMP's if the result would have been the same ?? (But you did not ....)

Anyhow, that kit helped you out, good for you !

I am not against it, just will not use it myself.

 

I am the posterboy for the gold kit. I have had more "no gold on tin" handgrenades lobbed at me than anyone else on this forum including some lobbed by tf308. The science of no gold on tin is sound on a purely academic level. The problem is there may be some other issues we don't understand about why this contrary idea works. I'm a scientist 1st and should agree with tf308. But if there is no harm in trying then why not? I was an SRI beta tester for the gold kit. The prototype kit has been on my car for 4 years. My car runs flawlessly. In fact I have 2 550s and the no gold 550 with 20k miles does not run as good in throttle response, felt power, or idle smoothness or have as good smog numbers as my gold kit 550 with 64k miles! It is a fact that we owners chased electronic ghosts in these cars since new with oem ferrari tin on tin connection. Second owners etc are continuing to hunt down new and old ghosts. Something had to change. OEM Ferrari had gold on tin connectors on the throttle position sensors. Is that a clue? Certainly ferrari was not trying to make the cars worse by violating the laws of physics. So SRI takes Ferraris lead and puts gold everywhere and does gold on gold like at the 02 sensors where possible.

Four years later I have not had a single CEL. Even if I must replace all the gold a second time because of fretting corrosion tin on gold I will do it all over again because I have had Toyota reliabilty in my Ferrari for 4 years and counting. So the SRI kit is expensive. Well yes... you could source your own crimp tool and if it does not work as good as SRI tool well you can look at Ernies crimps on his thread about his conversation just to new tin pins and see if you think those are good crimps. A crimp tool that does the right thing is imperative. You can do with less if you are well skilled. Most are not. Some even suck with a good tool. You will also have to make no mistakes because Dave is not going to help debug an error you made if you are not using his kit. Clamping force on the SRI gold pins is everything. There is no readable visible name on the SRI pins. It you get cheap gold pins elsewhere will they work the same? There are many reasons to go with SRI. Going alone just increases your risk of a poor outcome but the benefit of less money spent. Make your own choices just do your homework. Remember you can't just go by what is scientific dogma. Engineers come up with ideas based in dogma then test them in the real world before it becomes the way it is done. Ferrari started the idea of the first gold connectors in a ferrari. SRI took the concept all the way. We gold kit users proved it worked in the field. Those are the facts. Finally, I have the SRI gold kit going in my 2nd 550 as I type this so I put my money where my mouth is twice. So far there is no known user to go gold and make their car worse if properly installed.

 

Amen.. probably 4 years in my Testarossa.. I was a beta tester as well along with Spasso... Since sold the car but new owner reaches out to me every now and then to shoot the breeze.. Tells me how great the car runs.. Its baffling he says.. He drove other TR's before he settled on buying the b*tch. All it took was one drive.. maybe a mile tops and he turned to me and said "I'm buying this car".

R

 

Gold may or may not be the determining factor in the operational improvements and longevity of the electrical contacts but I do know that the increased clamping pressure of Dave's SRI connectors is.

Many of the OEM contacts in my TR did not "close-up" after removal from the connector. There was a gap between the "tabs" of the contact, clearly visible.
This indicates a failure of clamping pressure of the 20+ year-old OEM contacts and could easily explain electrical anomalies as well as an increased probability of corrosion in the contact area.

As far as I'm concerned, it would only be a matter of time before I would experience system degradation.

I would think that even going with tin on tin could be acceptable as long as the clamping pressure is high.

With that said, my TR has always been a strong running car. It always started well hot or cold and the cold start circuit performed as it should.

I dyno'd my TR before installation of the Gold Kit and once after.
Without changing the tune or making any adjustments I netted 3 HP.

In addition to the minor horse power gain, I observed a marked improvement in drivability and performance/response.

 

Like I said at the very beginning...

"He will sell you that it's a good idea"

It was not a typo

I agree that about the improvement in clamping force, but you can have that with 25 cent jpt connectors and a crimping tool.

Search the 355 forum...40 pages of debate for your reading pleasure

Look up "installed Sri kit"

 

No offense...but you sold your B%*>#h.

She is not around to witness the failure of the boob job 10 years later.

 

What about Ketel's car? That running any better?
He used the crimper in the kit.

Gold connector will always look good...even in 29 years. The problem is the tin on the ECU will corrode. How will you fix that? You can not repair the ECU. Everywhere else you can buy a new crimp or a new sensor, but good luck with your ECU. Gold is the most stable non corroding metal in the periodic table....that's why it will nuke the tin.

I do not trust one company's opinion over the Entire connector industry's published info.

Old cars with old connectors can run poorly if anyone of these many connectors is loose or corroded.

Think about it. The ECU is looking for resistance inputs or voltage signals from any number of sensors. MAF, coolant temp, and between .5 to 1 v from the O2 sensor. This is the used in the 3d map. Any bad info causes the car to be less than perfect.

The only way to guarantee proper signals is to properly re do every single input. If you mess one up...you have shot yourself in the foot.

You do NOT need to spend $1500 to learn this. Ferrari used single jpt connectors....they did not have the second outside tab. As I have said before, buy the improved ones and the proper crimp tool ($40)

I would use tin on tin for the ECU. If the O2 sensor has gold pins, then use the gold connector ( I think they cost 5 cents more)

BTW ....I bought higher claiming force JPT terminals and I installed them in my Lotus HCi bosch connectors that were old. Very easy to do. Car running great.

I have had no reason yet to do my 308 or 512tr because each are running with no CEL.

 

So you think just replacing the factory tin connectors with higher quality tin ones is the way to go?

 

Here's what J. J. Whitley, Research Associate at AMP Incorporated (a well-known connector manufacturer) has to say about mating tin-plated contacts with gold. "In most cases, lubricated tin contacts can be mated with gold-plated contacts. This combination works as long as the conditions of contact force and stability for tin contacts are met."

 

What is "lubricated?"

 

I had a 355CH that ran perfectly and never had a CEL come on, except early in my ownership, they would come on only because the 02 sensors/ECUs were trying to understand the Challenge exhaust. After that problem was resolved no CELs. A few years later I installed the gold kit because Dave thought it was a good idea even on a car that ran fine. My engine seemed to run a little smoother but I am not sure whether I "think" it did or it actually did again my car ran fine before, good throttle response and very strong etc.

With that being said I think the gold kit is snake oil and way to expensive, and these days I trust Dave and his shop about as far as I could throw them. If anyone is having a problem with the ECUs not reading the sensors properly go to the 355 section and follow what Ernie did, 100 percent better way. Also you can check the connector ends yourself if there is gap between the two prongs on the female end of the connector then you are not going to get a good voltage reading to the ECU. Those prongs have to have enough tension to touch when they are disconected from the male end they should also be clean if they are not then replace them with tin connectors, simple as that.