[TR] Soldered Wire Connections in Cars

[Dave1massey at cs.com]

In a message dated 7/11/2008 2:34:07 PM Central Daylight Time, 
fishplate at charter.net writes: 
> Having said that, I'm not sure I see the difference between a 
> properly crimped tight joint and a properly soldered joint.  Either 
> one will flex where one can least afford it; I suspect it's easier to 
> properly crimp a joint rather than solder it, and maybe this is where 
> the difference lies.  I have always soldered wires where possible, 
> and don't recall any failures.

There is a lot of engineering that has gone into the design of crimp 
terminals.  And there are differences between crimp terminals.  Some terminals will 
crimp on the exposed wire only and others crimp on both the wire and on the 
insulation a little further back.  Obviously the latter are better since this 
absorbs the stresses further away from the actual connection.

> 
> <snip>



> My advice is either solder or crimp, but make sure you have the 
> proper tools for the job.  Hint:  that pressed-steel crimp tool from 
> Harbor Freight is not the correct tool...
> 
> <http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92410>
> 
> These might do for the home mechanic - I'll have to look next time 
> I'm by the HF store:
> 
> <http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93977>
> 
> <http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=97420>
> 
> Cheers!

Good points, all.  $13 for decent crimpers is still cheap.  We here have a 
pair of $300 crimpers that will crimp only one type of crimp.  I have priced out 
another pair for $1000 for a special Amp crimp but I could not justify the 
expenditure.  We outsourced that part of the work to a cable house.

These crimpers will work with what you will typically find but be careful.  
These crimpers will not crimp all the crimps.  Find what types of crimps your 
crimpers will work with and stick with those.   

Dave