Poor mans electrical connections

[Mobilesport]

Im referring to instead of splice connectors just winding the wires together and wrapping with electrical tape  and Crimping with Visegrips .
My question is does it costs more to make the more professional connections ?
I have many many many times of wiring stuff up and its a temporary thing like testing , is it economical to use the professional method during these times , it seems to me that it would cost more for the heat shrink and electrical connectors and xtra time to Install the heat shrink wrap and heat it up.
I know that during the final design or install I would want the professional connectors , heatshrink and money wouldn't be a issue.
Any thoughts on this?

 

[rvpopeye]

Any method of connection will conduct current.
The thing is how well.
Poor connections have resistance (and eventually corrosion) which =less of what you want to do.
The reason everyone is concerned with how connections are made is to minimize or eliminate these things.
Wire guage will also work for or against you too.

 

[LoupGarou]

For temporary connections I use wire nuts.

 

[DannyB1954]

Wire nuts. reusable and you are not using tape, so in the long run economical. I have even twisted wires together, soldered them and used the screw on wire nuts as an insulator.

 

[highdesertranger]

wire nuts will vibrate loose on a vehicle. people in the know will squirt silicone into them after the wire connection has been completed. they say this is to stop them from vibrating out. I prefer to use the correct terminals. wire nuts were meant for stationary use. highdesertranger

 

[SternWake]

'crimping with vice grips'

Problem with temporary wire connections is they tend to wind up permanent, until they fail. their failure usually requires a curse fest of diagnosis, and usually for the next owner, who loses all confidence in anything the previous owner has done.

Twisting wires together is not a low resistance connection, due to finger oils and whatnot basically covering each twisted strand. Electrical tape will unravel, and slide, eventually.

'Poor man's' does not have to equate to overwhelmingly halfassed.

Electrical tape is temporary, and yields no strength to the joint.

Many times there is no option other than a self fusing tape, but one should really use gloves and not contaminate the sticky side.

Also 99 cent store electrical tape might seem like a good deal. It is not. Removing electrical tape that has partially unravelled makes for a huge sticky mess that can descend into a tool throwing curse fest.

I recently had a guy ask me to figure out why his 12v system was not working and fuses kept blowing, I took one look at lint covered unraveled electrical tape and declined looking any further as i had no gloves on me, and no desire to wade into that black widow nest of wiring incompetence.

 

[Bladeforger]

Solder and heat-shrink aren't terribly costly, and that's a great way to go.

 

[DannyB1954]

wire nuts will vibrate loose on a vehicle.  people in the know will squirt silicone into them after the wire connection has been completed.  they say this is to stop them from vibrating out.  I prefer to use the correct terminals.  wire nuts were meant for stationary use.  highdesertranger

The OP was talking temporary use for testing. Then using permanent connectors. 

I  seldom will use electrical tape for permanent insulation. I have a long history with marine environments and in a year's time the adhesive turns into a gooey mess. Where I do use it, I put a tie wrap over the last section wrapped, (as in making a wire harness). 

On sea going connections we used a crimp cap connector and filled the bell with silicone. this was to keep saltwater out of the connector. I still prefer the bell crimp connectors.  When but connectors were used, we had the type with heat shrink built into them. Never seen any of those fail.

 

[ccbreder]

When setting up to test concept, I use twist caps. But when making permanent, crimped terminals, and if meant to be removable later, terminal blocks with screws.

 

[ZoNiE]

When setting up to test concept, I use twist caps. But when making permanent, crimped terminals, and if meant to be removable later, terminal blocks with screws.

Bingo, and in some places, solder and heat shrink. Depends on the environment.

 

[johnny b]

I think your decision will be made for you as you stand by the side of the road watching the fire burn itself out.

It's like buying a motorcycle helmet....buy the $30 one if you think your head is only worth that much!

Investing in the 'good' stuff only seems expensive until after you've redone the cheap stuff for the 2nd or 3rd time. :idea:

 

[TMG51]

Those crimp electrical connections are not always the best, and I agree they are sometimes costly. I frequently solder wires as solder is cheap. End up with a better connection. I would not just twist wires and tape them and call it good.

 

[bcbullet]

Although it may be met with scorn, a Western Union (lineman's) splice and heat shrink beats both wire nuts and any form of crimped butt connector. The splices get a bit long on heavier gauge, but are still quite doable.

 

[AngryVanMan]

If there is an option, try not to have any splices, just termination points at each end of the wire. For termination, you can use solder or crimp, but whichever one you use make sure to do it correctly using the correct size crimp connectors, it will save a lot of headaches going forward.  Crimps made with a $5 auto parts store tool might be as failure prone as an improper solder joint.  Crimps made with a pair of pliers or vice grips is just asking for it!

Solder joints are not well suited to high-vibration.  The solder joint has a higher mass/weight than the surrounding wire and tends to vibrate at a different rate than the attached copper wire.  Copper as a metal has a tendency to work-harden - that is when it is flexed repeatedly over and over, it becomes brittle - you can see where this is going.  If you solder, the heat shrink tubing provides mechanical stability to the joint, as well you should secure the wiring in a bundle and/or attach it to the structure of the vehicle using proper clamps whenever possible to limit vibration related failures.  Always use the minimum amount of solder to achieve a fully wet joint without excess blobs - pre-tinned wire is far easier to work with for soldering.

A well done western-union splice wrapped in heat shrink is very good, but really best suited to solid wire, not stranded like is found in most vehicle systems.  Most people also seem to have trouble completing a high quality splice of this style.  You will likely not see solid wire in vehicles anyway, because it is itself prone to cracking in high-vibration, which is why high-end RV's don't often use Romex NM-B for 120V wiring, and instead opt for stranded wire, like THHN or finer-stranded wire with high voltage insulation.  Unfortunately, this adds further complication as each termination must then have a spade crimp connector where it attaches to a screw terminal to prevent fire hazards. 

This then bundles into another problem, screw terminals tend to have trouble maintaining clamping force when subject to continuous vibrations. Over time, this can cause localized hot spots at those connection points.  All sorts of solutions for this exist, from spring-retainer connections to nord-lock washers, to chemical adhesives like loc-tite.  Mechanically restraining the wiring as close to the terminal as possible is also helpful.

There seem to be very few free lunches for vehicle wiring in general! Sorry if I could not be of more use! :s

 

[ccbreder]

OP was talking about temporary connections. I believe to test a possible build, and have ability to change connections if needed. Then make a permanent connection after proof.

 

[AngryVanMan]

OP was talking about temporary connections. I believe to test a possible build, and have ability to change connections if needed. Then make a permanent connection after proof.

I haven't had a lot of experience or need for making temporary wiring, but I suppose if one's build is not finalized and equipment locations might change or something, it could be useful.  For testing equipment, I use alligator clip leads/jumper cables which are probably what I would do to if I was wanting to test a bunch of new equipment in place - you can get them in different lengths and wire gauges and they are usually inexpensive.  Just attach one end to the equipment and the other end to the stripped end(s) of your long runs of wire.  If you do much testing, you'll get a lot of use out of them over time. 

If you're careful not to run high amperage loads, putting stripped wires into your screw terminals or using those jumper clips would work without any fancy termination needed.  No need for splices or tape either, the alligator clips have rubber hoods that prevent accidental contact as long as you are using caution during testing. On a temporary test rig you can just run wiring in free air around the cabin too, as it wouldn't be in place for more than a few hours probably.  The alligator clips remove the temptation to make temporary wiring permanent, as anyone who would drive around like that would have to be insane!