Morris Minor Owners Club

Dear All

Any budding electrical engineers/metallurgists/chemists etc out there? Hope you can help me?

Quite a while ago I bought on a well known auction site some twin , red/black copper wire for general use ,
speakers etc
All was well for a while till they went faulty...traced it to the wiring and both wires were faulty , so replaced them...all was well for a while again till....
So , after ripping the wiring out again , had a closer look at the cable and it seemed the copper wire was " disintegrating " for want of a better word , which brings me back to a problem a couple of years ago when I had problems sealing hydraulic fittings , mult-ipacks of various copper O rings were found to be steel , copper plated , so now I carry with me a small magnet....won't be caught out again!!

Back to the copper ? wire , how can one tell if it is copper wire or as suspected copper plated aluminium wire ?

Thanks

John

Buy from reputable sources Eg VehicleWiringProducts or carbuildersolutions.

In terms of what you're stuck with, sandpapering the ends will reveal the colour underneath.

Thank you..

Have found the solution..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL5VUYe_uX8

John ;-)

Not copper, but brass - years ago I bought a whole load of (fairly expensive) solid brass screws also off a well known auction site, since I was fed up of steel going rusty.

They looked good, they looked like brass - years later I was using one and the hole was slightly too small as when I turned the screw in, it ground off the brass to reveal steel underneath

As I've just ordered copper speaker wire from the same auction site (before seeing this thread) I can't help but wonder now what metal it'll be made of since it was very-very cheap

Looks like we all need to keep a pocket knife , cigarette lighter and magnet in our pockets when out shopping ...

It's a jungle out there.....

John