electrical tape used like that is asking for issues in the long term. I would swap that for heatshrink or proper Tesa 51608 tapeView attachment 954119Rather than have a mess of wires coming off the positive terminal, a neater solution is one of these. One main fuse, then sub-fuses for hab load (only thing connected when I took the photo), solar, mains charger and B2B.
And yes, the wiring in my German van has a black wire for positive (negative is brown). And I've confused things by using red and black.
Poor quality crimping ?
- Thread starter ianto999
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- Oct 8, 2014
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With my long-handled crimps, I sometimes use one jaw of the Correct size, and one that's a size smaller. A second bite at 90 degrees tidies up the job
There's about 10mm gap. And it has a clip on cover. But yes, I won't be playing with the fuses while the battery is connected.Those terminals look very close to the negative floorpan
Does exactly what it says on the battery!
I do all my own crimps , even got this red light on my bus bar , although I haven't worked out what it means yet...
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68c
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It should have come with a colour chart indicating how much current is being drawn. Also could have saved money by putting all the wires into the same crimp, not just two.
Thanks for all the crimper suggestions. Need a heat gun too!!
I’m gradually learning that it’s probably better to buy my own stuff and try to do things rather than allowing others to bodge. Or find a decent dealer/garage locally which I can trust. I have pretty high levels of perfectionism anxiety which generally prevent me initiating stuff like this, but I’m getting more confident!
I managed some Anderson connector crimping to make some plugs for additional solar panel…
I’m gradually learning that it’s probably better to buy my own stuff and try to do things rather than allowing others to bodge. Or find a decent dealer/garage locally which I can trust. I have pretty high levels of perfectionism anxiety which generally prevent me initiating stuff like this, but I’m getting more confident!
I managed some Anderson connector crimping to make some plugs for additional solar panel…
Have a go on some scrap cable first
even if you mess one up it won't cost anything, just cut off and do it again 
As a belt and braces approach I always solder after crimping connections and make sure enough bare wire protrudes to do that. Need a powerful iron for the really meaty cables though!
Put your tin hat on, not a practise advised by many on here.
Mike.
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Crimp, heat shrink, and cable ties in my plane. No solder. Mostly small currents. I always spend time looking under the bonnet for signs of unsupported/vibrating wires which could wear through the insulation. I don't need a short to the airframe (chassis).
I don't usually bother soldering as well because my crimps are excellent, but I put a piece of heatshrink on that also acts as a strain relief, I'm sure soldering it won't do any harm.
I've soldered lots of wires on cars, bikes and van over the years and none of them have ever had a fatigue fracture.
Anybody that's had a wire break because of solder please post the photographic evidence, because at the minute I file these comments under the same label as being gassed and robbed in a motorway aire
- Sep 29, 2019
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I got a cheap crimper off eBay for the smaller crimps. My vice grips actually give a better crimp, they are rubbish!!!
For bigger stuff, I use a hammer crimper but in a vice, that works a treat.
All that said, I would be annoyed at a professional doing that, but then some professionals aren’t….
It once took a Motorhome specialist 6 attempts to fix my fridge. Every time I immediately knew it wasn’t cold enough as I checked with a thermometer. You would have thought they would have done the same.
For bigger stuff, I use a hammer crimper but in a vice, that works a treat.
All that said, I would be annoyed at a professional doing that, but then some professionals aren’t….
It once took a Motorhome specialist 6 attempts to fix my fridge. Every time I immediately knew it wasn’t cold enough as I checked with a thermometer. You would have thought they would have done the same.
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