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All kinds of stuff about crimping wire connections


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Another forum had this link one of the members posted to this site on crimped connections that's maintained by a friend of his. Cross posted here for info.

 

It's a pretty useful discussion of the subject, one we've gone around with on this forum more than a few times.

 

http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/wire_termination&page=1

Edited by Don H.
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Good article, thank you.

 

What we all struggle with on TR's is the bullet connector as fitted almost everywhere.

I bought a set of these 20 + years ago and they have paid their way on every car rewire or electrical modification I have done.

They provide an excellent hexagonal crimp to bullet connectors.

http://www.autosparks.co.uk/electrical-components/wiring-tools/high-quality-rachet-action-bullet-crimp-tool-giving-a-professional-hexagonal-crimp-finish.html

 

Peter W

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Hi Don,

a good read. I like his view of the yucky vinyl sleeved terminals - horrid things.

 

As it is for a car I prefer the bare terminal (spade or ring) with the clear plastic boot. Insulated but not water proof as such.

 

Quality tools are the answer.

 

 

Roger

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There's six pages of info on that site -- be sure to look over it all. Lots of information.

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Hi Don

I did, shame about the sales pitch at the end :rolleyes:

 

Yeah, and at several places in between, too. But the info is useful and the pitch is easily ignored -- overall I thought it was worth capturing for folks here.

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That is a good explanation for why I dont use crimped connections. You have to have the correct tools, the correct connectors and the correct technique. I do much better with a soldering iron and some heat shrink.

 

Stan

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That is a good explanation for why I dont use crimped connections. You have to have the correct tools, the correct connectors and the correct technique. I do much better with a soldering iron and some heat shrink.

 

Stan

This is what you really want quick easy you can jam most wires into them.

 

 

I had a Triumph acclaim where the PO thought that was ok and at 19 I didn't know any better. It was very surprising how much smoke can be produced by one wire in the confines of a car!!

post-14544-0-67790100-1494478349_thumb.jpg

Edited by Hamish
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The above item should be confined to the nearest bin !

As for proper crimped connections yes, I would always uses them over soldering, but with the correct tools.

 

Bob.

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This is what you really want quick easy you can jam most wires into them.

 

 

I had a Triumph acclaim where the PO thought that was ok and at 19 I didn't know any better. It was very surprising how much smoke can be produced by one wire in the confines of a car!!

Hi Hamish,

when I bought the TR4 in 2010 the engine bay was covered in those blighters.

A clever little get you home connector but they look ugly and are a temporary solution.

 

I like tools; so any excuse to buy another one and I'm off to the shops.

Being Aerospace biased I like crimps. Solder is for PCB's and plumbing.

 

Roger

Edited by RogerH
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That is a good explanation for why I dont use crimped connections. You have to have the correct tools, the correct connectors and the correct technique. I do much better with a soldering iron and some heat shrink.

 

Stan

 

A bullet connector crimping tool is cheap enough, Stan. You're worth it.

http://www.britishwiring.com/Tools-s/42.htm

 

This is the one I have. Same as that recommended by Peter in post #3.

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Crimped terminals did not exist when these cars were built so why fit them now? The only reason can be speed and idleness.

My car is by no means concourse but I wouldn't dream of using them.

I have seen many nice cars until the bonnet is opened and the whole thing is spoilt by a mass of crimped terminals.

 

There, I've had my say and got it off my chest.

 

John

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Hi John,

they did exist but ST probably didn't want to know due to cost etc

 

Development History[edit]

According to one of the crimp tool manufacturers, the development of standardized crimp tools and procedures occurred on this timeline.[9]

  • 1940's All terminations were soldered (Hard-wired)
  • 1953 AMP introduced Crimp Barrel Terminals
  • 1957 Cannon Brothers experimented with Machined Contacts with Crimp Barrels
  • 1960 Buchanan introduced the MS3191-1 4 Indent Crimp Tool with a Ratchet[10]
  • 1963 MS3191-1 was published as the first Crimp Tool Standard
  • 1965 MS3191-4 introduced by Daniels Manufacturing Corporation
  • 1969 MIL-T-22520 published and dated to replace all previous specifications
  • 1974 Changed to MIL-C-22520, and many Slash Sheets added
  • 1996 Changed to MIL-DTL-22520
  • 2010 Changed to AS22520

 

So what was there before solder connections.?

 

Roger

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That is a good explanation for why I dont use crimped connections. You have to have the correct tools, the correct connectors and the correct technique. I do much better with a soldering iron and some heat shrink.

 

Stan

Me too!

Crimping is as good as solder or better ONLY when done properly. This means getting a gas tight bond.Effectively a cold weld.

Apart from versatility on sizes, the benefit of soldering on an amateur, low volume process is that you can see what the quality is like and can repair or rectify poor joints. Not possible with a poor crimp.

Do resist the temptation to solder a crimped connection, Counter-intuitively this decreases reliability.

 

Mike

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+1 for crimped connectors but you do need decent tooling.

As roger states aviation uses crimped connectors and that's in a very harsh environment. never use solder outside of the cabin!

 

Useless information: Mr Boeing uses a lot of wire wrapping where the wires are just wrapped around a little post...works well lasts a long time!

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Hi Dave,

wire wrapping was all the rage in the late 70's, 80's on Hi-Fi items. My big JVC amp has it and works very well.

Never liked it myself.

 

 

 

Hi Steve,

of course. Couldn't think of that yesterday.

 

Roger

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Owning a boat that goes on salt water soon gets you hooked on soldering everything. (and using tinned wire).

The tow bar electrics on the Prado were done using professional standard crimps. Over the years I've had to solder all the joints as they failed. (some were a b*gger to get to).

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Terminal blocks - a piece of metal into which the stripped end of wire is inserted and fixed. Think old style domestic plugs as an example.

Look under the bonnet of an Italia and then you`ll see what "Old school" wiring is like. Before anyone says thats a bodge believe me that is 100% original!

Stuart.

 

Edited by stuart
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Hi Dave,

wire wrapping was all the rage in the late 70's, 80's on Hi-Fi items. My big JVC amp has it and works very well.

Never liked it myself.

 

 

 

Hi Steve,

of course. Couldn't think of that yesterday.

 

Roger

The main application for wire wrapping back then was backplanes for computers and similar. [A backplane ic a large PCB with hundreds of mult-pin connector sockets,.Their pins were wire wrapped]. The backplane goes in the back - hence its name - of a cabinet and all the PCBs are plugged into the sockets. Recall the film 2001 when astronaut Dave pulled all the circuit boards to kill off HAL.

The principal of wire wrapping and crimping is the same: High pressure to make a gas tight metal to metal seal, without that the bond is not reliable.

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