Tips & Techniques: Harness work

[ArdWrknTrk]

Anything related to the wiring of a vehicle.
Soldering and splicing.
Sockets and connectors.
Loads and ground paths.
Ect...

[ArdWrknTrk]

The idea for this whole techniques section centered around a 3G conversion where Brian 'Schwabber' was asking "crimp or solder?"
Gary and I weighed in with our opinions and techniques
THIS is the legacy of that.

One thing I'd add is that when splicing a harness (or anywhere there are multiple wires) is to cut each wire a little offset, so you don't end up with a huge bulk of splices in one spot.

Also, try to be careful that all wires get taut at the same time.
Nothing worse than trying to pull through a bulkhead (or something) and one or two wires get hung up because they are slack and have nowhere to go.

[Gary Lewis]

And pretty much what I said in that thread was that a good crimp is best, but a good crimp can only be made with either a ratcheting or hydraulic crimper.  Not the garden-variety non-ratcheting crimpers that are so prevalent and which do not provide an acceptable crimp in my opinion.

I have a ratcheting crimper, but it only does something like #18 and 20 gauge wire.  And I have a 16-ton hydraulic crimper which does from #6 to 2-0 wire.  So for any wire size in between I use a cheap non-ratcheting crimper to get the terminal snug, which is all it can do, and then solder it.

However, it has been pointed out that you won't find soldered wires in aircraft, and that's because solder wicks up the wire and where it ends is a potential failure point as all movement is focused there.  In other words, any vibration tends to cause the wire to bend at the end of the wicked solder, and eventually the wire will fail there.

While that is true, I've never had a soldered joint fail, and I've been doing this for decades.  However, I always use a piece of heat-shrink tubing on the joint.  Always.  And I highly prefer the type that has a layer of adhesive inside.  That way the joint is sealed and extra support is given to the wire such that not all of the movement will be at the end of the solder.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Brian has pretty much condoned snipping and moving that part of his thread over here (now that HERE exists)

You don't need a $200 Japanese crimper.
You can get a perfectly serviceable one with multiple jaws on Amazon for under $20.
Not greatest if you do this all day, every day, but fine for weekenders.

[Schwabber]

Ok!  I think I have what I need to get this done now.  Thanks to both you Jim and Gary for helping me work thru all my confusion. Your assistance has been absolutely essential.  One final question and it is somewhat academic, but I am interested in your opinions nonetheless:  Crimp or Solder?   This debate seems to rage on without a clear winner.  I have been making my own lugs via solder connections, but still have several connections to make for the wiring harness and your opinions may have some impact on my how I proceed depending on your arguments.

Thanks Again for everything.  Will let you know how this goes.

Brian

[ArdWrknTrk]

I think a GOOD crimp is better than solder on a truck or other vehicle.

That said, there are a dozen ways to make a bad crimp.

Solder is harder to screw up, as long as it isn't a cold joint.
A badly done solder joint is not likely to fall apart.

But you will never find a solder joint on a rocket or aircraft.
Solder (especially lead free solder) can make a joint brittle in the long term, if lots of solder wicks up into the wire.

I do solder BIG  lugs, because I don't have the proper tool to crimp
But little ones I use a proper lug, with crimps that hold both core and insulation.
And the right ratcheting crimpers, so I know it's just right.

We really ought to have a 'techniques' thread or page here on the garagemahal.

[Gary Lewis]

Good idea, Jim.  Maybe a Techniques folder and then threads therein on each topic, one of which would be installing connectors?

As for me, I think a properly crimped connector is best.  But, it takes the right tools to create a proper crimp - and in my opinion one of the cheap crimpers is absolutely NOT the right tool.  I believe the only good crimp comes from ratcheting or hydraulic crimpers.

My tools only include one ratcheting crimper, which is for something like 18 or 20 gauge wire, and a 16-ton hydraulic crimper for anything from 6 gauge up to at least 2-0.  So I solder the smaller stuff and crimp the big stuff.  But I use adhesive-lined heat shrink tubing on all connections, which not only insulates & seals but also provides some support for the wire in case solder wicks up the wire.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I do have a box assortment of tinned marine terminations from Amazon and my tool has changeable jaws for those blue, red, yellow crimps. (yes they are adhesive shrink insulated)

Red is 18 & up
Blue 14 - 18
and Yellow 10 & 12

I will use these because the insulation is transparent and I can SEE for sure that I have a good connection before shrinking the tube and melting the glue.
But they are not my best choice.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Maybe a techniques sub-folder in the Garage/Shop &Tools?

[Gary Lewis]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Maybe a techniques sub-folder in the Garage/Shop &Tools?

That may be the best approach.  Check the Garage/Shop & Tools folder.  

[Schwabber]

I have been using a solder joint and adhesive shrink tube on the 4 gauge charge wire connections because I do not have access to a good crimper.  But I do have a good ratcheting crimper for connections from 10 to 22 gauge, so that will be how I proceed with the rest of the upgrade.  Work Continues...

Brian

[ArdWrknTrk]

I'm going to snip and shift this to the Garage....

[Ray Cecil]

Solder everything, throw away the butt connectors, stock up on shrink tube. Thats my .02 for electrical....

[ArdWrknTrk]

What about properly crimped connectors with self adhesive heat shrink already installed?

That's what we use....

[ArdWrknTrk]

So.
Yesterday I had to make up a multi outlet adapter to replace the crappy socket in the Festool vacuum.

I also had to put a new ring terminal on the ground wire of my wiper motor.

I mentioned before the inexpensive marine terminals and iwiss ratchet crimper with five sets of jaws from ***eBay.

Here's some pics, and a pic of my favorite little hot air gun nosepiece that melts all sides of a terminal without cooking the rest of the harness.














This is a properly done crimp for something non critical (IMHO)

[Gary Lewis]

Jim - Do you have a link for that crimper?  I'm not finding that one on Amazon.  Others, but not that one.

By the way, good looking terminations.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Good enough for a vacuum cleaner.

Let me check my purchase history....

[ArdWrknTrk]

I must have got it from eBay.
I remember being excited to open the box.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F281702144763

$25 delivered is a great deal when you look at Hozan crimpers from Eastern Beaver.

https://www.easternbeaver.com/Main/Elec__Products/Tools/tools.html

[Gary Lewis]

Not bad at all!

I didn't see a closeup of the die, but are they marked in metric as well as wire gauge?  And, how well does it work in your estimation?

I ask because my big metric-sized crimper does well if you feed it premium lugs as smaller, standard lugs aren't big enough to get properly crimped.  I think that's because the metric/wire gauge translation doesn't work too well.

[ArdWrknTrk]

It seems to work fine on the smaller wires I use it for.
Maybe up to a 6?

I like the dies for terminals that crimp onto both the wire and the insulation, like older Japanese motorcycles had.

That's really why I bought it.
That and rewiring boats.