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08/21/04
Tender plug problem & repair:
If you have issues with intermittent sound output from the tender (or intermittent marker light function) and wiggling the tender connection at the back of the engine seems to help, you may have an issue with the connector pins coming loose from the circuit board.
To repair it, you will need to remove the rear engine set and frame from the engine. Inspect the solder connections on the board. If you need to resolder, put the tip of the soldering iron on the tip of each pin, heat it, then apply new solder at the base of the pin where it meets the circuit board. I had to apply solder to both sides of the pin to completely fill the gap around the pin with solder. Repeat this step with each pin and be careful not to cross solder the connections and create a short. After I was done soldering, I used a voltmeter set to check for continuity and checked each sequence of pins to ensure there was no accidental cross-soldering of the pins at their base. I then applied a bead of super glue around the base of the socket on the other side to help secure it in place.
In short, be sure to not use excessive force when plugging or unplugging the tender wire to the engine.
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To help ensure you don't have this problem in the future (on this or any other engine), inject hot glue into the pins to bond them to each other and the board.
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