Joining Wires (loom Conversion)

[Ethos 0]

Hi guys,

 

Looking to get the mi16 loom sorted this week now this can be done two ways (the the 2 ways i'd consider anyway).

 

1st way;

Spade connections with a good crimp;

 

 

Then cover up with electrical tape;

 

 

 

 

2nd way;

 

Straight solder them together and heatwrap around the wires.

 

Views/experiences?

 

[Toddy 7]

Solder and 3M heat shrink conduit, if you want your conversion to be trouble free

[welshpug 1,626]

on a similar vein to heatshrink and solder, bottom of this page -

 

http://www.vehicle-wiring-products.eu/VWP-...atsealterms.php

[Ethos 0]

Thanks for the replies.

 

I like the look of those welshpug, makes it alot easier as it's a kind of "all in one" solution. I'd still probably put some electrical tape where the cable goes in though.

 

Do you have experience of using that system?

[welshpug 1,626]

not those exact ones personally, I think it was Sean Mckeown that pointed those out and his loom looked so much Tidier than my effort

 

I've used the ones without solder in them, I will be re-doing my loom with these soldered ones when the car is off the road over the winter as I want to tidy the installation up.

Edited June 23, 2008 by welshpug

[Ethos 0]

Cool, i'm tempted to give them a go. Just need to work out how many i'll need now

 

Guess there'll be a fine line between melting the solder and melting the plastic......Solder needs 120-140 degrees to melt iirc!

Edited June 23, 2008 by Ethos

[Alastairh 47]

Number 2 is my favorite. But when doing number 1, you can buy fully insulated crimps which leaves no need for tape.

 

Al

[Ryan 99]

If you go with #1 then consider using uninsulated terminals, and taping over them. The uninsulated terminals have a couple of teeth that bite into the insulation and are MUCH better at stopping the wire from being pulled out.

Edited June 23, 2008 by Ryan

[M@tt 77]

electrical tape will go manky after a while of engine grime and heat. The tape will fall off and leave the connectors covered in a lovely sticky residue

[Ethos 0]

Good thinking Matt!

[pug_ham 241 3 Cars]

I use aviation spec Raychem environmental crimps on all looms I do but I have used the same solder sleeves that welshpug linked to (also free from work) but they don't give much solder out & I was advised against soldering joints when joining old wires because the can go brittle & break.

 

Graham.

[Ethos 0]

I use aviation spec Raychem environmental crimps on all looms I do but I have used the same solder sleeves that welshpug linked to (also free from work) but they don't give much solder out & I was advised against soldering joints when joining old wires because the can go brittle & break.

 

Graham.

 

Thanks mate. I think i'm going to buy a good crimper and go down this route now.... plus half of the connections on the mi16 loom already have the male spade

[Paintguy 0]

Belt & braces here.

 

I use the solder shrink connections quite a lot, but in critical positions I also cover them with an extended piece of heatshrink as extra insurance. Those connectors actually go quite stiff when heated, so they flex very little, which helps to guard against the well known problem Graham mentions

 

Nothing wrong with the crimping method though, as long as you use the correct size connector for the gauge of wire you're using (a common mistake), and a decent pair of ratchet crimpers. But I still prefer heatshrink to tape.

[Ethos 0]

Yes, I'm guessing most of the thinner cables will be the "red" size, but I will try and get a selection to choose from.

 

I bought some crimpers today so I think i'll go down this route.

 

Any ideas where I can get the thin "cable protection" / ribbed plastic covers for the cable? Think I'll get some of those to protect the wires too.

 

[newdean0 0]

I've just recently had to re-do my loom after I managed to wind it into the steering column on a trackday. The original loom was soldered and had been very reliable. I remade the connections using the butt connectors on this page:

Vehicle wiring products page

 

Those connectors make it pretty fast to assemble the loom though I gave each connection a good yank after I had made it and about 1 in 20 would come loose. I think it was more a fault of the crappy crimping tool I was using rather than the connectors though.

 

I found soldering loom wire is normally difficult as the solder doesn't seem to take to it very well. Don't know what the reliability of these connectors is like yet though.

[Grim.Badger 15]

If the connection is going to be in the engine bay then I would personally use the weather proof connections Here (VWP); but as I've not done this yet maybe I'm not the best person to ask Not as if they cost much though.

If you want the tubing look Here (VWP again )

[boombang 2]

If you can find someone who works as a BT jointer, they use very simple clips to join wires.

 

It's basically a plastic case with a hing front. You put wires in, snap shut and thats it done. The thing itself is filled with a conductive gel with metal backing and makes a very neat and reliable joint!

[Ethos 0]

Thanks Grim, that's exactly the type of piping I want. Probably best to go for the heat resistant shielding... or possibly the flexible stuff below.

 

Boom, that sounds pretty good- my friends dad is retiring as a BT engineer in 2 days so might ask him!

 

Just want to make it look as factory/reliable as possible really

 

Thinking about getting some inline slices but the ones with the adhesive, but crimp the center. Basically the same ones as were first suggested but crimp instead of solder.

Edited June 26, 2008 by Ethos

[Tom Fenton 1,526]

Personally I prefer heat shrink sleeve and a decent soldered joint. Any kind of crimps when bunched together end up a bulky mess.

 

Electrical tape is not ideal for use on cars, definately not to be used in the engine bay. Heatshrink is a much better.

[Ethos 0]

Well I'm thinking something like;

 

 

But with the adhesive/shrink ends so went heated they bond to the cable.

 

Should make it pretty waterproof.

[Ethos 0]

First time i've ever really done this sort of thing, so bare with me and my changing decisions every 5 minutes

[jackherer 543]

Electrical tape is not ideal for use on cars, definately not to be used in the engine bay. Heatshrink is a much better.

 

Shame nobody told Peugeot

[Ethos 0]

Well I bought some of the "red" size in line splice with the shrink ends tonight from halfords.

 

They are rated up to 5amps, which is fine?

 

Was going to do a test crimp/heat tonight but it's just start raining. Boooohooo.

Edited June 26, 2008 by Ethos

[Ethos 0]

Well did one side tonight for the reverse connector. Dad had a heat gun, it's pretty intense!!

 

This was my first attempt. It's very solid, I can yank the cable very hard and it won't move at all so confident this is the way to go with the loom.....

 

Oh, it's crimped in the middle too of course!

 

[Alastairh 47]

Personally I prefer heat shrink sleeve and a decent soldered joint. Any kind of crimps when bunched together end up a bulky mess.

 

Electrical tape is not ideal for use on cars, definately not to be used in the engine bay. Heatshrink is a much better.

 

Totally agree.