EZ wireing harness soldering or crimping?

Hi guys, I'm finally to the point in my rebuild to start rewireing. I'm using the EZ wire harness. What do most guys do when it comes time to splice and terminate ends? I was thinking soldering and heat shrink tubing was better but with the 14 ga wire its more of a pain. How about but splices crimped on with heat shrink over them to keep out moisture. I would like to hear what others have success with. Thank You

 

x2 on crimps and heat shrink.

 

Crimped and soldered and heatshrinked, I went the belt and suspenders route.

 

Thats funny right there.

I did the crimp, solder and back in the factory connector body.

 

doing mine right now as well. I am using the painless set up.
I went to west marine and bought those marine grade crimp style couplings that have the heat shrink on them. When you shrink em down they seal with some kinda goo in there.
they work great on my boat so I figure they will do ok on the jeep.
Good Luck

Dave

 

For me, I always crimp and solder and adhesive heat shrink. You can get the naked crimp terminals from electronics places, like Mouser, for a few cents each. They also have the adhesive-lined waterproof heat shrink. I recall figuring that with the crimp, solder and heat shrink, each connection was costing about 25c.

Get a hot air gun for the heat shrink - they are cheap from Harbor Freight or Amazon. I have this one - http://www.amazon.com/Grizzly-H0800...D1KP/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1289389656&sr=8-8 - works fine. That, plus a soldering gun http://www.amazon.com/Weller-D550PK...N7S1/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1289389782&sr=8-1 some 60/40 electronics solder, and a cheap crimp tool http://www.amazon.com/GB-GS-388-8-I...LN1Y/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1289389876&sr=8-7 and you're all set.

Comment about crimps - when done right, a crimp is as good or better than a soldered joint. A good crimp essentially welds the wire to the sleeve with pressure, making a low-resistance air-tight joint. However, to make proper crimps, you need the right tool. The hand crimpers that are affordable and widely available will not give you a proper crimp. This tool http://www.amazon.com/Tool-Aid-1892...TTTI/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1289390024&sr=8-5 is about the cheapest entry to s "proper" crimping tool. Or, you can solder.

Comment about solder - I expect the 60/40 tin/lead solder to become more expensive and less available as time goes by. Anything containing lead... Buy a couple of spools of solder now, because it may not be available in 5-10 years. In the past decade, the price of electronic solder has doubled. 0.8 mm (0.031") is a good size for electronics, but larger is probably better for car wiring. Again, Mouser is a good source. A 1 lb spool will last a long time for most people, and does not go bad with time.

 

Tim is right on about using a good crimper.

I am using one from SteinAir, I have the SAT 001, and it is hands down the best crimper I have ever used in 50 years of doing this stuff.

Another source for electrical tools is B and C.

Both of these vendors are in the aircraft industry, and for my $$$ that is the standard of reliability I trust.

As to soldering, it will make the wire less flexible for an inch or so away from the joint. You must support the wire to keep it from trying to move in this length, or it will fail sooner or later. Also, do not ever ----EVER--- use acid core solder for electrical work.

 

These are what i like to use,
http://www.marinco.com/productline/adhesive-lined-heat-shrink
A little on the expensive side, but its good quality stuff.
Most marine chandleries have them.

 

I would add to take it all the way to the terminal and use one w/ the sealant/adhesive lined heat shrrink like mentioned above. A quick look around all terminal connections you can add up what you need of each to keep the price down. Jegs is a good place for smaller amounts. Do round up though DAHIK.

 

All my terminals are Thomas & Betts nickel plated SS units rated to 900*, non insulated. I then put shrink tube over everything and coated them with liquid tape around the ends. I use standard Klein crimpers. With these SS steel terminals the only way there coming off is to break the wire, the terminal will not fail. I have installed 1000's of them at work over the last 10 years with no problems, except at work we cover them with glass tape as shrink tube would survive about 2 minutes tops! I don't use aluminum terminals unless I have to.

 

I crimped only with our good old shop crimper that's about 30 years old.
9 years and about 10K miles later, I've had no issues.
If I lived in a wet or damp climate, or used my Jeep as a submarine, I might go the solder and shrink tubing.
Or if I had a EFI or other complex electrical system....

 

I crimped, soldered, gooed, and finally shrink wrapped. The 'goo' is some sort of dielectic(?) gel from Radio Shack. Keeps dirt and water out of the connector.

Definitely be careful about how much solder you apply, That stuff can creep down your wire quite a ways....

 

Tim is right.
I crimped, soldered and heat-shrinked and was glad I did.
Get the best tools you can afford and go for it.

 

Thanks for all the input guys. Nothing beats expierience. I'm going with the crimp and heat shrink route. It's comming along nicely. Has to be better than the 35 year old factory stuff no matter how it comes out.