Soldering vs crimping? And joining 3 wires

[rinella]

I've always thought that soldering was the best way to connect wires, and crimping was the shortcut. However I've been reading that heating the wire hardens then and makes them brittle. Thus they are easier to break. As I understand, boats and planes don't allow soldered connections. So, I've decided to crimp my connections.

On one circuit, I plan on wiring multiple led lights, and I'll need to connect three wires to complete a parallel circuit. I've seen the three way "ring" terminals, but I don't like the center being left exposed. Is there a better way to wire these lights together?

Thank you

 

[Darth_Muerte]

Have you considered wagos? They make electrical connections very easy.

Wagos on Amazon

 

[Zil]

bare. twist ends together. trim twisted to proper length. Use wire coil, plastic twist nut. Some have silicone or use heat shrink tape or tube over nut. Use nut size for wire sizes. Twist wires together neat and tight. Trim length of twist for the right length for nut.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

I haven't tried this yet, but I was planning to try:

Step Down Butt Connectors

These are butt connectors designed to splice a thick wire to a thin wire. I was going to put a 16 gauge wire in the thin side, and twist two 16 gauge wires together and crimp them in the thick side, probably with an inch or so of adhesive heat shrink tubing over the twisted wires insulation to help hold them together and provide a bit of strain relief.

I plan to get a few scraps of wire and test this by trying to pull the connection apart after I assemble it. If I can't, I'll call it good. If I CAN pull it apart, I'll have to start looking for a plan B . . .

Regards
John

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Have you considered wagos? They make electrical connections very easy.

Wagos on Amazon

These are interesting. I've not seen them before, thanks for posting it.

I'm a little concerned about the fact that they rely on a spring-loaded connection. I'm worried that long term the spring might lose it's tension. You might wind up with mysterious connectivity problems 5 years down the road.

Regards
John

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bare. twist ends together. trim twisted to proper length. Use wire coil, plastic twist nut. Some have silicone or use heat shrink tape or tube over nut. Use nut size for wire sizes. Twist wires together neat and tight. Trim length of twist for the right length for nut.

Zil, as far as I know, twist caps are NOT recommended for vehicle wiring, as the vibration is said to loosen them.

They DO make a similar Crimp Cap that could be used the same way, and wouldn't have the vibration issue. Apparently, they're used all the time by stereo shops.

Regards
John

 

[Reducto]

I crimp everything and rarely have any issues. For connecting wires to each other I use these:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Gardner-...ctors-100-Pack-10-310C/202526312?N=5yc1vZbm6y

Just put two or more wires into the thing, crimp, then put heat shrink tubing over it. I generally prefer terminals without the built-in insulator because those things sometimes come loose, but they can be hard to find. I'll sometimes either pry off the insulator or just put heat shrink over the whole thing to be safe.

 

[Darth_Muerte]

I'm a little concerned about the fact that they rely on a spring-loaded connection. I'm worried that long term the spring might lose it's tension. You might wind up with mysterious connectivity problems 5 years down the road.

Regards
John

They actually work very well. We used them in the emergency vehicle manufacturing industry. Their only downside is that they are not weather proof.

 

[anm]

I would use >>these<< they're cheap and work well if sized correctly and crimped correctly. Wirenuts are not suitable for use in vehicles, they can come loose and fall off. Anything else is overkill...

 

[Donedirtcheap]

If it's interior, crimps are ok. If it's exterior, solder then grease and heat shrink. Soldering any connection together even inside isn't going to weaken the wire and cause failure. Flopping around and hanging loose with repetitive jarring movement may cause damage.

Soldered exterior connections will last a long time even as salt and moisture travel up the wire and destroy it.. It's just part of having wire exposed to the elements. Tape wont seal it. Thats why they went to weather pack or sometimes referred to as Deutsch connectors. In the 70's and 80's warranty costs for electrical repairs were killing the car companies. When the first computerized systems appeared in the early 80's they had to go to reliable connections so they started using weather pack. Computerized systems would never work even in an interior environment with the old open style connectors.

Because of the need for connection integrity they use weather pack and gold plated for air bag systems.

 

[highdesertranger]

well everybody has their own way I see. you can use regular butt connectors to connect 3 wires. get connectors that will hold 2 of the wires twisted together, crimp those on one side then on the other side strip twice the amount of insulation back and fold the wire over so that it's now the same size as 2 wires then crimp. do not use this method on high amperage circuts much better to use a terminal block. always good to heat shrink for outside use waterproof. make sure to put a magnet to the connectors if they stick don't use, it's common for the cheap junk connectors from some Asian country to be iron. also I have never been a fan of those piercing terminals like someone posted I have seen them on several occasions cut the wire and end the connection. highdesertranger

 

[coolmom42]

I haven't tried this yet, but I was planning to try:

Step Down Butt Connectors

These are butt connectors designed to splice a thick wire to a thin wire. I was going to put a 16 gauge wire in the thin side, and twist two 16 gauge wires together and crimp them in the thick side, probably with an inch or so of adhesive heat shrink tubing over the twisted wires insulation to help hold them together and provide a bit of strain relief.

I plan to get a few scraps of wire and test this by trying to pull the connection apart after I assemble it. If I can't, I'll call it good. If I CAN pull it apart, I'll have to start looking for a plan B . . .

Regards
John

---

These are interesting. I've not seen them before, thanks for posting it.

I'm a little concerned about the fact that they rely on a spring-loaded connection. I'm worried that long term the spring might lose it's tension. You might wind up with mysterious connectivity problems 5 years down the road.

Regards
John

---

Zil, as far as I know, twist caps are NOT recommended for vehicle wiring, as the vibration is said to loosen them.

They DO make a similar Crimp Cap that could be used the same way, and wouldn't have the vibration issue. Apparently, they're used all the time by stereo shops.

Regards
John

---

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The RV that my ex BF owns has wire nut connections all over it. They never came loose. If you are concerned about it, you could use some electrical tape over them.

These type of connectors would be neater, for making an in-line connection:

Crimp on butt connectors with heat shrink

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

The RV that my ex BF owns has wire nut connections all over it. They never came loose. If you are concerned about it, you could use some electrical tape over them.]

I don't doubt that that's true, at least about the ac part of the rv, which usually uses the same romex type solid wires that houses use.

The thing is, those wire nuts are DESIGNED to work on solid wires, not stranded wires. Because the strands can move and shift, the wire nuts can't get the same solid bite on them that they get when they are twisted onto solid wires.

That said, do people use them on stranded wires? I'm sure they do.

Do they work? Sorta-kinda.

Is it really a good idea? I don't personally think so. There are better ways to do it.

Regards
John

 

[highdesertranger]

The RV that my ex BF owns has wire nut connections all over it. They never came loose.

another reason I will not buy a commercially built rv. highdesertranger

 

[Zil]

There is a right and wrong way to use any type connector. Yes crimp connectors are best for mobile applications. But I think a twist connector done properly used on a LED circuit inside the vehicle will be fine. Wire nuts are used on stranded wire in many applications. Again, properly done.
Crimp connectors are best for mobile applications. But not every one has a good crimping tool.

 

[coolmom42]

I don't doubt that that's true, at least about the ac part of the rv, which usually uses the same romex type solid wires that houses use.

The thing is, those wire nuts are DESIGNED to work on solid wires, not stranded wires. Because the strands can move and shift, the wire nuts can't get the same solid bite on them that they get when they are twisted onto solid wires.

That said, do people use them on stranded wires? I'm sure they do.

Do they work? Sorta-kinda.

Is it really a good idea? I don't personally think so. There are better ways to do it.

Regards
John

Good point on the stranded vs solid wire. i didn't think about that.

 

[johnny b]

I stay away from cheap terminals (i.e. china, radio shack, auto parts, etc).
Use quality terminals along with a good ratchet crimping tool.
I use this site...they have terms with built-in heat shrink (which helps avoid those 'oh crap!' moments of forgetting to slide on the tubing b4 crimping that big ring):
http://www.elecdirect.com/catalog/crimp-wire-terminals/heat-shrink-terminals