the actual wire insulation colour means zilch
its the colour of the little sleeve by the conector that needs to be matched

I've always used copper slip which is good protector and conductor,you just have to make sure not to smother everything with it for obvious reasons. Worked on my bikes through all to many years as my only transport all year round

Lenny,
what did you use as replacement sleeves?
I've been using windscreen washer tubing on original wiring where the rubber sleeves have perished, but might try some of this instead...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Clear-Translu ... 6676e2eb24


Edit; In response to the OP, that's not heat shrink on the female bullet connectors, it's rubber sleeving, which holds the 4 brass 'blades' of the female connector onto the pin.
The contact surfaces on both male and female connectors can be cleaned, then lightly coated with petroleum jelly, not so easy to do that with female blade connectors...

Ken

I used screen washer tubing!
You used some on one or two connectors last time I was over at yours and I thought it was a good idea so I've done a good few more as and when.

The stuff in that Ebay link looks even better. Shame they don't do it in black really.

Oops,
memory matching 'gramps' status, it seems.

Plastic windscreen washer tubing does harden with age and/or exposure to oils and greases, so your comment nudged me into having a look for something more durable.

Anyhow, already ordered some of that from Ebay, so will see how it fares...

Ken

I use spades because:

My fuse box has spade connectors
My switches have spade connectors
My lights have spade connectors
They're less likely to fall off.
They're really cheap!
You can buy them anywhere, so spares are easy to come by.

Cheap for a reason sam

Premium quality is never cheap

I've got similar stuff (silicone tubing) but in red, that I've been using on my cars and my customers cars for a few years now. It's the same material as my MirrorCool trims and slightly softer than my Dyane/Ami headlamp bezel surround trims.
I got a few metres of it a few years ago, when I was researching to get the mirror trim kits made: I've probably got about a metre left.

Shall I see if I can get some made in black? It should be a similar price the that clear stuff on ebay, (possibly slightly less) but I would have to order at least 50 meters so I don't want to order it unless I can re-sell it! Anyone interested?

Daras

PS: Like Ken and Viking, I too would recommend using the original-type connectors that Roy (Ecas) sells. I have been trying to find a cheaper source for them but so far I've only found the 3mm female ones: I can do those individually for 30p each, or a bag of 10 connectors and 10 silicone rubber sleeves (red, while stocks last!) for £3.50. (I haven't got round to putting them on the website yet though!).

Thanks for the replies, folks

Ken, you're correct in saying its the rubber sleeve which has perished, not the heat shrink, my apologies. I've had a good bash at cleaning up the existing connections already - the male connectors come up beautifully, but the females are all so fragile that they are losing 'blades' no matter how gentle i am. Plus, from what i can see a lot of the wire-to-connector junctions are corroded themselves, hence thinking replacements might be best as if the junctions are corroded it can't be very good for electrical conductivity, surely?

Would be a great source of verdigris if i could harvest it all

You could always go for these ... http://www.beal.org.uk/electrical-produ ... d_127.html

... and some of these ... http://www.beal.org.uk/electrical-produ ... d_128.html

... or these ... http://www.beal.org.uk/electrical-produ ... d_129.html

Not original, but very cheap. I used them when I rewired my Land Rover. You'll need a crimping tool though.