Di2 Cat eye wiring problem

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yumseyo
Posts: 104
Joined: Tue May 12, 2009 12:25 am
Location: San Francisco

by yumseyo

Hi All, I am hoping someone can help me. I am trying to install cateye switches to my Dura Ace 7970 Di2 system in place of the shift switches on the brake levers and the levers themselves. I am installing a flatbar with Pauls brake levers and am trying to wire up cateye switches. I have unplugged the two drop bar brake levers at the connection point where the small door that opens on the brake lever is. Then I found two female extensions from a 7970 Di2 system. I then took 3 pieces of 20 gauge solid core wire and made pins to plug the two female ends together. I confirmed the pins at the extension and found the center upper pin to be the blue wire, so I did not connect that pin. I then connected the red of the extension to the red of the cateye, then the white to the black of the cateye, and the green to the two bare wires. I pluged everything in, installed the battery, and ...."nothing", the switches don't work. I unplugged the extensions, plugged them back into the original brake levers, and of course, they work. Maybe I am trying to do something that is not possible. Thanks in advance...

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goodboyr
Posts: 1487
Joined: Wed Jan 10, 2007 10:56 pm
Location: Canada

by goodboyr

Looks like the wires are just twisted together. Signal levels are so low that soldered connections are required. As well, the cat eye wires have a plastic coating that you need to melt.

yumseyo
Posts: 104
Joined: Tue May 12, 2009 12:25 am
Location: San Francisco

by yumseyo

Thanks Mr Goodboyr, I will try it today.. :)

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madcow
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Location: Tucson, Az.
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by madcow

It's been a while since I've done a setup like this, but I'll help where I can.

Twisting the wires is fine for testing, we've tested all our systems this way and never had it be a problem. I also don't remember the cateye wires having a coating, we did work with some buttons that did and it needed to be burnt off, but I believe the cateye was just standard wire.

For the shimano side of wiring I know you have it right, blue is flight deck info and that wire gets ignored. Green supplies the power so it will be connected to both buttons. Red and white are the two wires that shift up and down when connected to the green. The first thing I'd do is to see which side of the twisted connections the problem is. I'd remove the cateye button and touch the green shimano wire to the red shimano wire to see if the der. moves. Then touch the green shimano wire to the white shimano wire. Everytime you touch the two wires together the der. should shift one gear. If that works you know the problem is on the cateye side of things. If I remember right the last cateye setup I did we connected the housed wires from both buttons to the green shimano wire and each of the bare wires to one of the red and white shimano wires.

yumseyo
Posts: 104
Joined: Tue May 12, 2009 12:25 am
Location: San Francisco

by yumseyo

I tinned and soldered the wires and system works GREAT !! Thanks Mr. Goodboyr !!

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