its hard to describe the best way, but rather than hook them, mesh the wires together (kind of like meshing your fingers if that makes sense) then wrap the ends of one wire around the un meshed bit of the other wire - do the same to the ends of the other wire.

then solder and heatshrink, i tend to use glued heatshrink too

 

I always solder and heatshrink.

In an emergency I'll use crimp connectors and then insulating tape.

 

Ditto with dom, i always solder the wires together then heat shrink over. Crimps are only used if i don't have a soldering iron to hand. Never use skotch blocks.

 

With a wet tongue?

 

Flux each wire, this helps the solder run. Gives you a cracking finish and makes it piss easy, you must remember to wipe the residue off with water though as it is corrosive! Then shrink wrap as you have the ultimate conductivity and also protection from vibration.



Bugger, I was going to say that!

 

AK, your method is sound enough, normally I just hold the two wires overlapping each other approx 1/2 inch in length, side by side without hooking or twisting with each other, and then solder them together, this gives the joint a long overlap of solder and makes it really strong just as the ones where the two wires are twisted, and heat shrink sleeving to finish, the idea is that the joint won't look bulged in the middle and will be hardly noticable. Everyone will have apreffered method, TBH most are just as reliable but yes I have seen many crimped joints just fail where wires just drop out of the crimp.

 

"Tin" each wire to be joined then solder with both wires straight

 

And dont forget to put the heatshrink on one of the cables before soldering the buggers lmao

 

yes typical!! how many times I have done and with plugs and connectors where some plugs you have to insert the wire through the hole first before soldering the pins!!lmao

 

hold them together with your bare hands

 

oh dear lmao

im with the meshing method, you can get a nice thin&uber strong join, sometimes its gash having a fat join, when its too macho for the heatshrink that you've spent ages cutting to the right length lmao:doh:

 

Whats wrong with Skotchblocks???? Ive used tinning before, need to buy heat shrink, not crimmped 2 wires together as my speaker plugs keep coming off so i REALLY dont trust them at all!!tinning the best way to go tho.

 

Whats wrong with Skotchblocks????

Its not an air tight seal, so the wire will oxidise, its also a small point of contact, so when it does oxidise, the surface resistance is huge as a result.

 

I usually twist the wires together to make a spiral and then solder them together. Nice and thin, nice and strong, and then heatshrink over the top.

 

Same thing.

As for crimp connectors - if done CORRECTLY, they are very good and less likely to fail than soldered in vibration prone areas as the soldered joint will tend to have a stress raiser and failure point where the solder ends in the wire. There is a reason they, not soldered, are the specified method of connecting wires to connectors in the aviation industry.

 

I tend to crimp most joins and terminals - done right it outlasts soldering and is the method of choice for the manufacturers. Bit of hot glue down them when you're done and they're virtually indestructible and air/water tight. I also use the heatshrinkable ones prefilled with glue if I've got them.

 

I've found using molgrips on crimp terminals does the job properly. Makes them impossible to pull off even by hand! Also putting some solder where the wire comes through onto the metal part of the terminal.

How does the pre-filled glue work then?

 

"Filled" was probably the wrong way to describe them. The ends are heat shink and glue - apply heat and they shrink and bond to the wire. I think they're called duraseal or something similar.

 

Yes thats correct, if wires are cripmped following tight guidelines, and using the right tools they should never fail,or pull out of the crimp, but they do sometimes when incorrect proceduers have been applied i.e. using the wrong size jaws on the crimping tool, or incorrect size crimp for a particular wire etc, etc,


Scotch lock connector is an excellent piece of invention, it is highly reliable if the right size is is chosen for the right wire, it uses IDC (insulation displacement ) technology, which is very reliable if carried out properly, and it is the most tidiest way to tap onto existing wires without cutting them or stripping them. It is purposely designed to be like that i.e. to prevent cutting existing wires for tapping purposes.

 

A good crimp tool will cost the wrong side of £30.... where as a soldering iron that will "do the job" is about a tenner tops.

Personally where crimping is possible I will do that. If soldering is used I will put in too much cable with a bit of slack/spiral at each end to destress the joints to increase lifespan

 

The official method of joining two pieces of wire together is called splicing aptly named "mesh the wires together" by stt, this is done by stripping a 2 inch section of each wire and tightly wrapping another wire around to create a base (looks like a spring going up the wire), after this the internal wires are opened in a fan like fashion and are placed between eachother to all fit in a gap, these are then wound tightly back up the "base" winding in an opposite twist to eachother creating a joint thats stronger than the original wire, this is then tinned to stop corrosion and heatshrinked or taped.

bit of a longwinded one but thats how i was taught

 

i prefer bullet connections as solder traps a layer of oxygen inbetween wire and solder and will evendually corrode and give you a loose connection, can get bullet connectors from halfords and they are simple to fit.

 

And just in case anybody picky comes in here yes its an old thread, but why keep the old ones if nobody ever uses them? this is an interesting one as many have been so why not restart the convo? so ner

 

The bullets arent bad i agree, but i tend to just replace the whole wire and use a single bit, always better my sounds system uses no cut or spliced wires, and no connectors apart from the ends

 

thats my personnal choice as well, did have a couple of joins but ended up with loose connections so ran fresh wires, if you have the time and no how to do it then just run wires, i also used thicker gauged wires than standard tto stop the wires overheating

 

I've just recently finished my full Vibe install, and am very pleased with the new Vible flatlines cables, they can take alot of power for what they are

but as for wiring looms for engines i really wouldnt know where to start :S

 

There's a reason the Aerospace industry uses only crimped connectors - correctly done there's a cold fusion weld between the wire and the terminal.
With soldered joints, there is always the chance of a break in the wire where the solder finishes - it causes a stress riser/flex point.
However, in practice, with cars and the like I'll usually use a crimp joint (a decent crimping tool is expensive but will last forever) with a little solder at the end of the wire with a section of heatshrink over the lot.
For joining wires it's a case of winding the wires around each other, soldering and some heatshrink. Where possible, it's a good idea to secure the wire(s) so they can't vibrate and fracture.