What is a quality crimping system for electrical terminals?

[joegreen]

Thanks for all the suggestions

 

[JHZR2]

They have some rosin but they need a good amount of concentrated heat to really melt the solder. I see a lot of people have cut them apart and complain the solder doesnt flow well but they are not using enough heat in the right place, a bic lighter isn't doing it.
These do not saturate solder like a full soldered joint but perfectly well suited for stuff like car stereo, horn, and other small diameter wires that don't have tension on them, they have a very thin profile. For higher amp wires I like crimp/solder/shrink connectors.
The last thing I will use are the crimp only plastic covered connectors, I never liked them and do not use them.

The shrink/solder will have no problem with under the hood temps in any climate. These are crimp solder connectors.

https://www.grote.com/electrical-co...connectors/crimp-solder-seal-butt-connectors/

Ive used a heat gun on these with mixed success. Does it have to be in a flame?

 

[Trav]

No but it needs high heat in a very small area, I use the butane soldering iron/heat gun as it has a very small diameter heat gun tip.

 

[zzyzzx]

I always solder these things. Pro Tip: Get a high wattage soldering gun if you don't already have one. I use a Made in USA Craftsman one. I got by for a long time with just a soldering iron, but I mostly use the gun because it gets hotter quicker, and works outdoors in cold weather.

 

[wag123]

I have an old VACO 1900 that I have been using for many years. It works perfectly with both insulated and non-insulated connectors and the wires NEVER pull out, corrode, or break. Unfortunately VACO is gone and the tool is not made anymore, but these can be found used. If you see one of these at a flea market or estate sale, grab it!
In it's absence, find something that looks like this...

 

[RooflessVW]

No but it needs high heat in a very small area, I use the butane soldering iron/heat gun as it has a very small diameter heat gun tip.

The shrink solders work great. If you have enough heat you can watch the solder "burst" then flow into the joint as they shrink. The ones I have also have glue to seal the wires. They cool to be very rigid and there's no pulling them apart.

I use a pencil tip with shroud on my full-size heat gun.

 

[RooflessVW]

That said, I do love me some environmental splices.

 

[dfarr67]

I'm doing some fine ecu connector work, bought a simple but good quality jap crimper with a little lube to the fitting works surprisingly well.

 

[wtd]

I have an old VACO 1900 that I have been using for many years. It works perfectly with both insulated and non-insulated connectors and the wires NEVER pull out, corrode, or break. Unfortunately VACO is gone and the tool is not made anymore, but these can be found used. If you see one of these at a flea market or estate sale, grab it!
In it's absence, find something that looks like this...
View attachment 192684

I bought a set of VACO 1902 crimpers on Ebay the other day that look like that after seeing your post. I should get them soon.

 

[RooflessVW]

JRReady makes some nice stuff

 

[ElectroMechanoMan]

I’ve been doing electrical work for 46 years. I find that most folks that are early in their career don’t know how to properly crimp a connector. I hate it when someone uses a crimper for uninsulated terminals on insulated terminals. They crush the insulation and break it. I can’t count the number of times I’ve found loose insulation on a terminal by getting bit! Also, they don’t tug on the wire after terminating the connection to assure the crimp and the screw holds. Use the right tool on the right connector and tug the connection when completed and your good, every time.

 

[fantastic]

I’ve been doing electrical work for 46 years. I find that most folks that are early in their career don’t know how to properly crimp a connector. I hate it when someone uses a crimper for uninsulated terminals on insulated terminals. They crush the insulation and break it. I can’t count the number of times I’ve found loose insulation on a terminal by getting bit! Also, they don’t tug on the wire after terminating the connection to assure the crimp and the screw holds. Use the right tool on the right connector and tug the connection when completed and your good, every time.

I'm guilty of doing this. I figured the regular crimpers would work for the small terminal connectors but that was a big fail & they're always getting chewed up after the crimp. Need to get proper ones.

 

[Pablo]

Thread 'Crimped electrical connections'

Jan 12, 2025

I have done some reading about crimped electrical connections. Knew some, learned some

A few things I learned:
1) cheap connectors don't have the seam brazed.
2) cheap connectors may say 3M and that's kind of true but in reality only the insulator was made by 3M nor the entire connection. 3m
3) most or many of the crimping tools are cheap. The good ones have wide jaws and ratchet.

Here are my observations:
1) good are heat sink adhesive connectors that you single crimp.
2) also good are connectors that are made to be double crimped. Assuming you have a double crimper.
3) a plain...

• Donald
• Replies: 41
• Forum: Tool Time

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[4329]

All qualified electrical trades people are trained to use the correct crimpers and terminals, the issue with some diy people is a not reading the supplied instructions for the crimper and terminals or using super cheap items.

If new to crimping I suggest going to AMP and other web sites including Boeing and Airbus standard practices rather than listen to some guy in the pub.