Primary light cord too long

[Rick Inman]

I have never tried silicon, but my gut feeling is not to use it.

FWIW, I just rebuilt my HID and I did use silicone to slide that TIGHT cord through. Once the gland was in place I wiped off all the silicone except what was hidden underneath the plastic part of the gland. So far I can see no reason not to use it in moderation.

Just a comment, when you unscrew the gland to slide the cord through, you will see how the cord is indented quit a bit. This is normal and how the seal is created.

Now to something actually DIR related, I personally don't see by your pics that the cord is that much too long. Are there any DIR Instructors (assuming you've made it this far into this thread) who can comment? If you had a student with this light would you advise them to shorten the cord?

 

[zimm17]

IMHO, what you are trying to do is pretty easy. Don't mess with the light head. A leaking canister is better than a leaking light head. For one you will know about a leaking canister after the first dive and you can do a dry run sans battery. A leaking light head my not show it's self until the ballast is damaged. Also, it's likely that there's much less room to work in the head.

So back to the canister side. Cut the shrink wrap off. It's not necessary and in fact is likely to be more of a spot for corrosion than anything else. It looks like it's there to act as a strain relief and maybe to cover up an ugly brass gland. It looks like you might have to un-solder the wires off the block. Then loosen the gland as described above and pull some slack through. A little spit or rubbing alcohol works great as a lube. I have never tried silicon, but my gut feeling is not to use it.

Once you get it where you want it, mark the insulation near the inside surface of the lid. Pull it through a little more so you can remove the insulation from the mark forward. You will likely have three wires. One of them isn't used. It's just easier to seal a round cord (three wires) than it is to seal a flat cord (two wires). Cut the un-used wire near the cut insulation. Cut the other two wires to the proper length and re-solder them in the correct location. Re-tighten the gland and you should be good to go.

If you really care about the shrink wrap then you can put another piece on but you will have to pull the cord completely out of the lid and thread a new piece on. It's not really necessary but it's easy enough to do if you want.

Hunter

You were exactly right! The shrink wrap was hiding an ugly brass fitting that is showing green corrosion. I undid fitting and it's just an o-ring that is squished by the fitting into the cord. I desoldered the connections- shortened the cord by about 9", resoldered, shrink wrapped the interior connection, and re-tightened the brass fitting down snug. Looks great. Now I just need to sink test it. Took about 20 mins.

I did some further research on the forums from the 2004 era when I bought the light. Turns out it's a stealth dive canister from "Dan" who was making them back in the day and he used a dive rite MR11 head with his own 2 wire cord and derlin canister. Now it should be good to go. Thanks for the advice.

 

[rjack321]

Here's some pics of what I'm talking about. I think the cord is too long. The photo shows my arms fully stretched out. Normally I have my arms bent a little more. Also note that glued shrinkwrap on the battery side of the cord. The light head looks easier to undo the fitting, but I have no idea how to take apart the diverite housing.

I don't think its too long as your torso is bent over. Hope it works out for you tho.

 

[JeffG]

Interesting moderation.

 

[rjack321]

Why? I used silicon without any consequence.

You don't need it and it just makes it alot easier to pull the cord thru the gland and out of the lid.

 

[TSandM]

I have to say that my light cord was about that long (in terms of droop) and I found that, when cave diving in places where I had to be close to the floor, it caught on stuff. I sent it off to Salvo and had 4 or 6 inches (don't remember exactly, but I had measured it) taken off, and I'm much happier.