Poor quality crimping ? (36 Viewers)

[Gromett]

View 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.

electrical tape used like that is asking for issues in the long term. I would swap that for heatshrink or proper Tesa 51608 tape

 

[Revolvor]

I have found you always end up using the next size down to get a great crimp.

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

 

[Guigsy]

Those terminals look very close to the negative floorpan

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.

 

[BillyJanetandBella]

That looks like one of my jobs
View attachment 954075

Does exactly what it says on the battery!

 

[Sleeveless]

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]

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...



View attachment 955301

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.

 

[ianto999]

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…

 

[Richard n Ann]

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…

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

 

[fred_jb]

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!

 

[BouncyBoatFolk]

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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[G-RMPS]

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).

 

[Richard n Ann]

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!

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

 

[Googlebot]

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.