I am starting to think these may be the best way to go.

insulated heat shrink connectors along with one good ratcheting insulated connector crimper, for all male, female and butt connectors 22-18, 16-14, 12-10.

vs bouncing from tool to tool, depending on size of connector and style of connector. pic is of an low dollar partially insulated connector, not a fully insulated heat shrink style connector.

also good to know that the bump on the crimper should be on the opposite side of the seam on the connector. but you guys already knew this : )




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CS_YS-F9Z2E


this also looks like a handy tool to have as well for the heavy guage stuff.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxavPsio2iw

Nice hooters. Had to watch it 3 times.

Those finger talons are creepy.

I dunno....

Depending on your application, no problem with them technically, but they don't look very "Porsche-like". They are not waterproof either, where the two terminals mate.

Creepy claws is right...

"no problem with them technically"

this is the luke warm green light I was hoping for

certainly not for every 914, but for the ones that not attempt at period correct is being made, these look like the next best thing for, consistent WATER RESISTANT connections.

currently I am bouncing between 2-3 kinds of connectors (uninsulated and cheap insulated) and 2-3 different tools, in addition to applying heat shrink, so for me, I am thinking this is the way to go.

I am impressed that she could do anything with those claws

I always crimp, then solder.

I always use real ratching crimpers (certainly not the lower two in your picture, the top might be OK) and never solder.

Connectors with pre-applied heat shrink are quite convient. The only thing I don't like about them is the limited color selection (since colors are standardized for size).

3M makes some really nice connectors. Pricey but nice. +1 one the ratcheting style. If you get quality connectors like 3M then go ahead and crimp the insulation. You have seen that Ins spot on your crimpers, right? It helps support the wire at the connection point. Don't try it with the cheap connectors; plastic just breaks

I just looked at their website. It is pretty much low end stuff. The shrinkable crimp connectors are a step up from regular crimp connectors but still low end and should be used for emergency repairs. I even have some for such an occasion. In the Marine Corps we had crimpable, solder shrink tube connectors. You crimped first and then hit it with a heat gun. The heat melted the solder, shrinked the tube and some even had a heat reactive glue that would push out the ends of the shrink tube. We would use these on $20M aircraft.

If you want a decent connector at a good price point go with Weather Pack. They are weather resistant and standard equipment on a lot of GM vehicles. Molex no makes some weather resistant connectors that are cheap. Deutsch makes some higher end connectors. They are expensive and a PITA to put together but they are a better choice than crimp spades.
Here is a link to weather pack. You can use the blue crimper you have.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Compact-97pc-Delph...ebf&vxp=mtr

Solder and shrink tube are still the best for splicing a wire together.

It all depends on what you want the final product to look like.

BTW, throw away the crimper/striper in the middle. Buy a good pair of strippers...

I love those crimpers on the bottom!! They are by far the best tool I have ever owned! The ratching ones have a tendancy to not crimp enough to hold the wire snug as they get older! The ones in the bottom of the photo are the bomb!

From 1989 to 1995 I would install 5-8 cellular phones per day in cars, trucks & limos and I never had one come back for a bad crimp! Lets say 6.5x5 days a week = 32.5x48 weeks per year =1560 x7 years = 10,920 mobile installs!

Sorry my $.02!!

Shrink & crimp is good for lugs; it keeps moisture out of the end of the wire, which reduces the opportunity for corrosion in the crimp, and the shrink greatly reduces the bending strain around the joint. Using the right tool is definitely important. Jeff - I started off with the 480pc starter kit off eBay for ~$60, and then I just buy refills for specific connectors as I need them.

For any connection you are (re)making between wires in the exposed areas of the car, there's very little excuse not to use a proper sealed connector. You can buy a Weatherpack starter kit with a decent crimp tool and terminal extractor off eBay for less than a hundred bucks, and get refills at any FLAPS in an emergency. This will cover any circuit up to 20A.

Yes, there are newer, smaller and sexier connector families out there, but you are looking at 4-5x the investment in tooling and substantially higher per-terminal costs for no appreciable benefit. (Check out the Metripack 150/280/480/630/800 range, for example, or try pricing the Deutsch tooling.)

For interior connections, my personal preference is the Molex Mini-Fit series. Mini-Fit Jr is good for up to 9A; connectors, pins and tooling are all very cheap and available in a wide range of pin counts. For bigger circuits, Mini-Fit SR will take wire to 8AWG and 50A.

Neither of these connector families suffer from terminal fatigue like the lug connectors that VW used in the vehicle originally. The biggest drawback, of course, is that without a standard your rewiring job is going to be unique...

+1 on the crimp and shrink but never solder, solder will crack with time and lead to annoying faults.

While we are talking about wiring and re-wiring, has anyone changed out their fuseboard for something more modern, if so what have you used ?

MTA in Italy make some very nice parts that would be ideal for putting together a new fuse box.

Sadly, nobody seems to carry much of their line here. You can get some of their fuse and relay carriers from Hella, but all of the fun stuff like their modular fuse box system, or the battery terminal-mounted fuse blocks are unobtainium unless you feel like ordering from the UK.

I have their 16-way fuse block snapped to a 7-way relay block that I was going to use on an '02; I'm still tossing up whether to use the JWest panel and keep all my planned changes separate, or resell it and integrate everything. A few more fuses and relays would come in very handy...

The Blue Sea Systems' SafetyHub 100 also looks like something that would go well up close to the battery; I want to rip out Renegade's fan power run in the longs, but that means I need another 30A under the dash, and that in turn means a new power run from the battery, which really ought to be fused at the source...

Can you tell I spend too much time planning this?

turns out the 3M ones are available on ebay CHEAP
"heat shrink connectors 3m"
I think, heat shrink with adhesive, provides pretty good strain relief too.
I really like that the connector end is fully insulated.

one concern I have with greenlee 45500 tool is if the crimp area is too wide for this type of connector?

ps - on my non insulated connectors, my blue tool works fine on my female double barrel 16-14 connectors but not well on any of my male connectors or my female 22-18 connectors, thus i resort to my orange and black tool which does not make me happy : ( thus my search for a better overall solution.

plus when putting heat shrink with adhesive over my ENTIRE female connectors, they sometimes get so squeezed and maybe gunked up from the adhesive that it is hard to slide the male connector in.

I see the - heat shrink connectors 3m - as a vast improvement over what I am using now.

I believe this tool:

http://www.waytekwire.com/item/480/CRIMPIN...L-8-GA-TO-22GA/

is what you're after for the heat shrink terminals.

wow- so much to know - to do it right - never expected a tool specifically for heat shrink connectors.

thanks for the heads up!!!

.....As long as they have insulation(sold-her)

the connectors this thread is about - are UNSOLDERABLE

i think that only insulated connectors can be soldered BEFORE insulating with heat shrink.

There is a specific tool for *everything*.

It's a nasty, evil scam. Too many connector families, too many different approaches to making a gas-tight connection between bare copper and a huge range of terminal platings. At least the "licensed" tool vendors haven't had too much success blocking the import of affordable clone tools...

Jim - there are variants of at least some of the heat shrink connectors that also contain a blob of low-temperature solder. With proper wire prep you can get crimp + solder + shrink in one connection - good for high current applications. Search for "solder shrink terminals".

Also, in your sig block you should be telling folks to remove the *negative* battery terminal. If you start with the positive terminal, any contact between the wrench and the body risks shorting the battery - if you are lucky, you'll get a huge spark and the fright of your life; if you're unlucky the wrench will weld itself in place and you'll have shorted the battery; results can vary but there is a lot of energy in there, and it's all going to turn into heat. Expect to boil the battery, and possibly start a fire.

I did the following when I rebuilt my entire harness from scratch:

1 - Strip the crappy plastic insulator from a TIN plated crimp connector (the really cheap crimp connectors have BAD plating)
2 - install heat shrink tubing over the wire
3 - crimp connection in place with the lowest of the tools in the above pic (crimpers intended for the connection will no longer work once you remove the plastic insulator)
4 - solder connection with butane torch & proper electronics solder
5 - Heatshrink over connector.

I will see if I can find some pictures.
I find it hard to believe that a soldered & crimped connection can crack any more that a crimped connection can just come loose.

ANCOR is the brand we use in the marine industry. Easy to get and a good variety of styles. Tinned and the heat shrink has adhesive in it that makes the connection water tight.

The 3M shrink connectors pictured above also contain an adhesive, and as Jim noted they can be had very cheaply on eBay.

I have to figure that they're being used in very high volume somewhere; just not sure where yet.

This is a very good way to do DIY connectors.

I've heard solder connections being dissed before and depending on how they are done, it's probably well placed.

A wire connector must have 2 important properties: A very secure mechanical fastening and a very robust electrical connection. The crimp provides the mechanical connection keeping the wire securely fastened to the eyelet. The solder makes a very robust electrical connection between wire and eyelet.

If the wire is merely slipped through the sleeve of the eyelet and soldered, the solder is tasked with mechanical securing. Solder is a very soft metal and will loosen over time if constantly stressed especially in a high heat environment like the engine compartment. Silver solder is better but harder to work with because of the higher melting temp.

ancor - must be great quality - but very pricey!!

available here..
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userp...AWG+Disconnects

ancor - female 16-14 connector - 25ea - $51.92
vs
3m - female 16-14 connector - 25ea - $10

The good shit...

http://www.nationalstandardparts.com/multilink.html

A properly soldered electrical connection is a stronger mechanical joint than electrical. The proper soldering technique starts with a thorough cleaning of the joint and applying heat to the opposite side of the connection, heating until, when applied, the solder flows throughout the connection. After cooling a cleaning with isopropyl alcohol cleans off any flux.
What damages soldered connections is vibration and incorrect technique. Imagine a wire soldered to a connector and placed in a vise with the connector in the jaws of the vise and the wire hanging loose in a breeze. Over time the constant movement of the wire will cause cracks at the connector and eventually break. Now imagine the same scenario with the wire held fast to the vise close to the connection, say 4". Connection will last and last, because you have removed the vibration that would destroy it over time. Heat shrink over the connection will help also, but the proper way is to secure the wire to prevent the movement.
If any of you have the 4 red wires at the battery not tied to something close to the connection, take note. When I repaired mine, I had many strands of the red wires broken from what I just described. The 4 red wires are now secured to the large battery cable about 2-3 inches from where they attach.
Tom

And if you soldered the wires underneath the yellow HS tube in the above pic, then corrosion that causes a bad connection will be non-existent in the future since the acid cannot penetrate inside the cable any longer.

Sometimes we will even "wet" the cable where you see it going into the battery terminal clamp with solder, but you typically need a "solder pot" (not something most of us hobby types have available).

i'm sold.

the waytek crimper and 3m connectors is definitely how I will make my connections in the future.

it will be nice to be able to use one crimper on all my male and female connectors and butt splices.

I need to check if I have one of those nice heat shrink tip/reflector for my heat
gun??

Stugray,
Yep, exactly why I did it and the nylon ties to keep the connection still extends the life of the connection indefinitely.
The battery cable itself I didn't put solder on, what we in the shipbuilding industry call "tinning". I expect I will be replacing that cable with something more modern soon. It is barely adequate in ga. and has very few strands. I would replace it with something slightly larger and with a greater number of strands. Del City has some I have been looking at, 4 ga. with 133 strands of 0.0171 copper.
Jim,
What leads to good electrical connections is consistency. Having one style and repeatedly using them will make you better over time. I like those for 3 reasons, water resistance at the connector to connector junction, strain relief at the wire to connector junction, and the water/air tightness at that same end. If one would need something more water tight, there are expensive options out there, however for most of our needs your choice is very good.
Tom

No solder. The military did a huge long duration test and found that the crimped connectors lasted longer and had better reliability. Solder creates a hig stress point where the wire leaves the solder bubble, crimped don't have that issue. Shrink tubiing on outside to act as shield and strain relief

That's what I learned about designing high tech military electronic systems with a 20 year minimum expected life.

solder looks flowed properly,but how you could do that with the stock plastic insulator in-place is a mystery.

the only time I get a good solder joint is when I remove that sleeve first.

my guess is tom just dripped a little molten solder down into the crimp area to enhance the electrical contact, not to enhance the mechanical contact.

that said, if solder is to be used, it is best suited for a non insulated connector that has first been crimped, to provide a bit better electrical contact but not for the purpose of improving the mechanical contact, or in lieu of a mechanical contact, at least not in automotive applications.

though I did run across the - fully insulated heat shrink connectors that mikesmith mention that have a blob of solder already in them. the one's I found had a ring of low temp solder in them, over the connector but under the heat shrink. the males are not as fully insulated as the 3m type, but when coupled appear to offer a full insulation. $0.70 each or so depending on qty bought.

http://www.delcity.net/store/Heat-Shrink,-...minals/p_801913

I am sure most would be fine using a correct ratchet crimp tool (ie: waytek mentioned and pictured above), and fully insulated 3m heat shrink connectors without the low temp solder feature. and as for size, I believe much of our harness are within the 22-18 size, except for yellow starter wire which falls into the 16-14 size, I believe.

guys, I appreciate all your contributions and thoughts , to this thread.

Jim,
No, I use a pricey temperature controlled soldering iron and good technique to get solder to flow where I want it and heat to not damage the wiring insulation or connector insulation. You do not want the solder to "wick" up into the wire past the insulation of the wiring. Many years of practice in the shipyard. One of the most important things to learn is cleanliness and building a good heat bridge to get the heat where you want it to be without damaging insulation. The classes I have been through prepared me to be able to pass NASA standards for soldering, although I never took that test because I did not need the certification. I did, however, work in a printed circuit board repair facility for 4-5 months where solder connections were examined under a microscope and rejected if not up to standards. I can assure you that I have redone many solder joints because of tiny holes where there was some tiny amount of dust/debris that I failed to get cleaned out. This really instilled in me the importance of cleanliness when making solder connections.
Tom

I do think that, for most of us, crimping the connectors on with the correct tool will make a better connection than soldering. Because most of us don't have the training and practice that some of you obviously do.

--DD

These are the connectors I like and use, I'm not a fan of soldering myself but many have had success doing it.. I learned about these being involved in off road racing, the rally boys , trophy trucks, NASCAR & F1, caterpillar equipment all use this.. The crimp ears are expensive but Ebay or military surplus stores have them for less( which is what i did... Most of the pro race teams use lighter gauge wire but if you'd like to use oem stuff just find a store the supplies the heavy equipment connectors...

http://www.wirecare.com/deutsch-connectors-main.asp

[edit: no point beating a dead horse, sorry]