Listen to DoN when it comes to crimpers. He knows everything about
them and then some. Based on his advice, I bought a bunch of great and
useful crimpers and even resold some ebay -- ebay. DoN is the God of
crimper advice.

Definitely do not solder a proper crimp in a vibration
environment. This is known to cause fatigue failure of wire.

i


On 2009-03-25, DoN. Nichols wrote:
On 2009-03-25, wrote:
Unless you are doing a vintage restoration with "points off" for non
"vintage era" components, I'd suggest just using different color wires
and extensive use of split wire loom (sold in various diameters in
auto parts stores), You could also use color coded crimp terminals

No! The colors on pre-insulated crimp terminals are to tell you
the proper range of wire sizes for which that crimp terminal is correct,
and which crimper to use with the terminals. (Yes, each size terminal
must be crimped with the proper crimper for proper performance.)

The colors for sizes which are likely to be found in a tractor
or automobile a

Red 22-18 Ga
Blue 16-14 Ga
Yellow 12-10 Ga
Red 8 Ga
Blue 6 Ga
Yellow 4 Ga
Red 2 Ga

The sequence continues beyond both ends of what I have written there,
but I doubt that you will be using anything smaller than 22 Ga in a
vehicle, nor will you be using anything larger than 2 Ga (if anywhere
near that large).

or short sections of colored heatshrink tubing. Use lots of wire ties
(Ty-Wraps), or if a restoration, you can use black waxed cloth
lacing. I also make use of screw terminal blocks (often called
barrier strips). Make a good wiring diagram with the connectors on
the terminal blocks numbered.

Yes.

I solder all crimp terminals after crimping and then cover the crimped
part with short sections of heatshrink tubing - but then I am wiring
motor cycles and race cars where heat, moisture and vibration are
major enemies and failures are not considered a good thing. Joel in

Again -- *no*. A proper crimped terminal (e.g. the AMP P.I.D.G.
series) with the right size terminal crimped onto the right size wire is
more reliable in the face of vibration than any which has been soldered
after the crimping. The "P.I.D.G." stands for "Pre Insulated Diamond
Grip", and the crimper, as well as crimping firmly an oxygen-tight
connection to the wire, will also form a strain relief over the wire's
insulation (the "Diamond Grip" part).

Flow solder into it and it will wick up to the insulation,
leaving a rigid length of wire which stops just where the insulation
starts, so the vibration flexes it all at that one point, and failure is
more likely there than at any other point.

Even solder terminal connectors should be soldered with
anti-wicking tweezers to prevent this for any system where vibration is
a problem.

The heat can cause the crimped terminal insulation to deform,
but there is a copper lining to the terminal's insulation which still
keeps its shape and grips the insulation of the wire.

BTW -- the proper crimpers leave a mark to allow inspection to
verify that the terminals were crimped with the proper size dies. For
the smaller size they are alternating single or double dots in the
middle of the crimp. For the larger sizes (8 Ga and larger) the size
itself is formed in the insulation making it even easier.

IIRC -- the pattern is:

Red (22-18 Ga) 0ne dot
Blue (16-14 Ga) Two dots
Yellow (12-10 Ga) One dot

and so on.

The proper crimpers also assure a complete cycle of the crimp
tool via a ratchet for the sizes up to Yellow (12-10 Ga). Beyond that,
the crimpers are hydraulicly powered -- at least up to the 4-0 (again
blue) which is as far as my personal collection of crimpers goes. The
bottom end is a rare small yellow which is 28-24 Ga IIRC.

Good Luck,
DoN.


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