Replace Gp/gpx Coil Cable?

[bklein]

Oh crap. I get out my GPX coils and find 3 with bad cable insulation,  the inner plastic insulation may be brittle too.  They don’t have a shield so I’m wondering if some thick stranded AC power cord cable may be a sufficient replacement- any thoughts?

[dig4gold]

I would be more inclined to replace the coils completely. There are much better options in coils these days. Especially considering the age of the original ML coils & are most likely past their useful use by date with wear & tear & falsing etc. 

D4G

[bklein]

I watched one of Woody’s Detectormods videos and he says the wire is litz wire and cannot be replaced by regular stranded wire. You are likely correct that newer coils are a better way to go but maybe these would be useful if fixed.  I’m thinking to try covering the length of the cable with a long piece of heatshrink tubing.

[Aureous]

The coax may still be use-able, just heavily wrap the split section with elec tape and do a test. To replace the coax cable entirely is a much bigger job....you have to use enameled  coax with a braided outer core and resistance  of <.1ohm per metre. Stripping the enamel off both cores will do your head in if you're not familiar with various procedures. Couple that with the complete disassembly of the coil, careful retention of the shielding paper and screen wire, ablation of the solder joint cement....yeah, you get the picture....😱

[Tony]

Looking at your wash settings......next time I would use a gentle rinse cycle and maybe just a dash of fabric conditioner.

[bklein]

We normally start at Ultraclean. Wife says to run cold but….

[gef12]

No .. can not simply replace with normal coax .. the coax used is a litz coax the internal and shield ..

also the coax is of low capacitance .. so is quite special ..Then if you do find the correct type cable it is a big job breaking into the coil to fit .... 

If the outer protective sheath is decomposing ..for a bandaid fix ..just try taping it with electrical tape .. have done this in the past ..

otherwise is a replacement coil is the way to go..

 

[rvpopeye]

 

 

It might be possible to restore those coil wires , but I wouldn't go too overboard with trying to replace the cable. The coils might fail anyway.( BUT maybe NOT !)🤔

Your shrink wrap idea sounds like a good try at sealing the outer coating IMO.

It wouldn't have to be one continuous piece...

There are variations on shrink that have a sealant inside ! 

There is also a product sometimes called liquid electrical tape that would work on the shrink joints too.~$5-10 for a tin. Available at an auto pts or even wally's . I think it's the same stuff that they used to sell for dipping tool handles in. Or the stuff that is advertised by sealing a boat with a screen bottom......( Not getting into brand names.)😏

Another product that could prove useful is the self sealing tape that is intended for things like radiator hose leaks.

Good luck on the rescue !  Looking forward seeing your results.

OH , one other thing if you decide to just go with electrical tape. I will give a brand name on this one...Scotch 88  , worth the extra price to this old road tech.

[phrunt]

I wouldn't use heat shrink, especially the adhesive ones as they will make the cable very stiff, they'd work well for sealing up the cable but you'd have a whole lot of trouble wrapping it, you'd have to heat it up, wrap it and leave it wrapped, you could take it off and it will keep the loops for you 🙂 In saying that, to heat shrink it you'd have to cut the cable unless you use the 4x shrinking stuff to get it over the coil cable plug.  Still, not a good idea with how stiff it makes the cable.

Electrical tape is a very short term fix and not overly good when it comes to water.

Perhaps try this silicone self fusing tape, waterproof, flexible and should do the job I would think, even says for insulating failed electrical wires.

Stops Rust® LeakSeal® Self-Fusing Silicone Tape Product Page (rustoleum.com.au)

Going to the effort of replacing the coil cables probably not worth it for the coils, the Chinese on Aliexpress used to sell replacement GPX coil cables but now I can only find replacement cables for the GPX 6000 and GPZ 7000 from China.

[Redz]

Aqua seal glue. Flexible polyurethane glue. It does a great job. Very tough and resistant to rocks etc

https://www.amazon.com/Gear-Aid-Aquaseal-Flexible-Adhesive/dp/B07455W4FQ/ref=asc_df_B001XUMBIA/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=198063929510&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3123155464261584632&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031565&hvtargid=pla-323318044212&psc=1&th=1