Thread: Joining electrical wire, solder, spades or blocks?

OK, what i do....

If it is joining a wire i just strip about 1.5cm off both wires to be joined and twist them together.. BUT as you start twisting, you twist them overthemself so they become a ball. like twisting them long ways, but do it overthemself.... they cant pull apart then.
Then i tape them with good quality tape or heatshrink.

As for ones that need to come apart later... Bullets and spades and lugs.

I only use Scotchlocks where i cant get enought length to cut and join another wire in. and i never use scotch locks under a car or in the engine... they will fail due to mud and water...

Clarkie

Solder an heatshrink, what sort of components??

If its stereo stuff and other none important items, links or spades etc ar fine, but wnything thats stops you running or turns the lights of should be soldered

Solder won't crack if you solder correctly

Originally Posted by sclarke

OK, what i do....

If it is joining a wire i just strip about 1.5cm off both wires to be joined and twist them together.. BUT as you start twisting, you twist them overthemself so they become a ball. like twisting them long ways, but do it overthemself.... they cant pull apart then.
Then i tape them with good quality tape or heatshrink.

As for ones that need to come apart later... Bullets and spades and lugs.

I only use Scotchlocks where i cant get enought length to cut and join another wire in. and i never use scotch locks under a car or in the engine... they will fail due to mud and water...

Clarkie

Scotch locks are the spawn of the devil, and should be cisposed of promptly and NEVER EVER EVER used on anything

Love the "twist and tape" method

I was an avionics techo on aircraft. Crimps are considered the best and most reliable in the aviation industry. They wont work loose if done correctly. Solder tends to corrode and stiffen the wire which can lead to breakages.
Aircraft don't use quick disconnect spades, terminal blocks are used mostly. I feel spades are excellent for automotive use...I use them. Use good quality spades. The plastic plugs (the ones with two or more spades molded together)are even better because they have an inbuilt lock moulded into the plastic.
Terminal blocks are excellent. Remember, one day you'll want to disconnect things.
When I crimp on my boat I fill the crimp with and anticorrosive (like vasoline), stick the wire in, crimp, seal with shrink wrap or use amalgimating tape. Works in a very harsh environment.

Originally Posted by rovercare

Solder an heatshrink, what sort of components??

If its stereo stuff and other none important items, links or spades etc ar fine, but wnything thats stops you running or turns the lights of should be soldered

Solder won't crack if you solder correctly

What stuff hmmm :

eventually carputer & touchscreen
but quite soon, air horn, (no not musical !)
tyre pressure/temp monitor, (2"-3" lcd screen)
UHF
AM, I know, old hat.
radiator fans
electronic ignition (gonna move it)
various other bits n pieces then need reconnecting after I pulled the dashboard out

Originally Posted by County3.9

When I crimp on my boat I fill the crimp with and anticorrosive (like vasoline), stick the wire in, crimp, seal with shrink wrap or use amalgimating tape. Works in a very harsh environment.

sounds like the way to go !

If you do go for the twist and tape method and you have a bit of wire to spare strip the wire to twice the legnth you want the twist. Twist the wire all the way along the stripped length and then fold the twisted part in half before lying it along the unstripped wire and taping.
That way even if somebody/something tries to pull the wire apart it takes a lot more effort.
Also if you need to join more than one wire on something stagger(sp?) the joins so the different wires can't touch.

Andrew

This always shows up differences of opinion!

Done properly crimped connections are, in my opinion, the best for general use, mainly because they are easier to do properly. The advantage of crimp connections is that they are attached to both the conductor and the insulation. Problems can include the use of the wrong connector for the size of wire, inadequate crimping pressure, excessive crimping pressure, particularly on the insulation crimp (can break conductors particularly on thin wires) and use on wires with either too thick or too thin insulation.

The problem with soldering is that it has far more opportunity of being done badly, but the worst fault is that the point where the solder on individual strands ends is a stress concentrator. This point MUST to be supported adequately, for example by heat shrink, or it will fail by vibration. Another common problem with soldering is damage to insulation by doing the soldering too slowly because of poor preparation or, paradoxically, too low a temperature. Done properly, the obvious advantage of soldering is that the actual contact cannot be penetrated by water and corroded (unlike a crimp joint), but although obvious, this is not as great an advantage as it seems - the two or three metals present in the joint (copper, tin, lead), together with traces of flux, usually make a good electrochemical cell that results in the corrosion of the thin copper strands.

In summary, either will work well, provided they are done properly.

Scotchlock connectors, I agree, should not be used - EVER.

John