Thread: Holy crimp connectors and wire nuts batman!

Tweet

problem we have up here with the crimp connections is corrosion. using road salt in the winter, every under hood crimp will corrode over time. what I always do is buy Buss crimp terminals, yank the jacket off them, normally I solder the connection and use shrink tubing, but if I don't do the solder. I at least use shrink tubing instead of the plastic jackets they come with..

I have a few crimp on connectors for my project wiring, but all are "tested by the YANK method" then shrink wrapped. This brings up another problem - quality of shrink wrap. Some that I have is just plain junk and wont do a tight seal. There is the shiny black wrap then there is the flat black wrap, that regardless of brand has been the best sealer.

Although not the best looking method of wiring, crimp terminals work ONLY when they are crimped using a proper crimp tool. IN the pictures, it appears that the terminals were crimped with amp pliers, which do not correctly collapse the barrel of the terminal to give maximum wire contact. Amp plier crimps are very prone to loosening up and failing. Proper crimp tools are not cheap but will last forever; I have a pair that I got in 1969 that still work perfectly.

mike in tucson

I always use the crimp connectors but prefer the non insulated ones and heat shrink. I only use a certain model of Thomas and Betts crimper, not those cheap ones with the striper built in. It is as good as solder, probably better in many situations. Also I pay attention to which side of the connector the crimper is engaging. It has like a tang and a valley and you want the seam of the connector in the valley most of the time.
It looks like the person working on the column didn't know you could disengage the wires from the connector to feed them through the column..

Originally Posted by IC2

I have a few crimp on connectors for my project wiring, but all are "tested by the YANK method" then shrink wrapped. This brings up another problem - quality of shrink wrap. Some that I have is just plain junk and wont do a tight seal. There is the shiny black wrap then there is the flat black wrap, that regardless of brand has been the best sealer.

JC Whitney sells flat black shrink tubing, and it is sold in 10' lengths for around $8.. it shrinks up good