Proper use of old style hand crimpers

Proper use of old style hand crimpers

agreed. To me at least, chasing electrical problems is frustrating. Some people actually enjoy it. I don't. That's why I try to be as exact and consistent as possible when it comes to anything electrical. There's really not much extra work involved to do things the right way to begin with. I have about $100 invested in my go-to crimping tools and wire strippers and if it saved me at least one of the ever so common occurrences of electrical gremlins that I read about on these old mopars it's worth to me at least double that amount. I'll just be blunt here...IMO that crimp tool in the OP is garbage and good for nothing except maybe cutting or stripping a wire in a pinch when you can't reach your better tool. There's a reason it's $5 or even free from harbor freight. I understand when money is tight, but like I said before for a few bucks more the klein, or similar would be much better. I've also read where people think the harder you squeeze the wire/connnector the better...not so. Copper does have a strain limit that when reached can lead to failure. That becomes important places where there is vibration, pulling, etc. The proper crimp tool will give you consistent pressures on the crimp as many tend to squeeze the life out of it. Some cover the damage on an insulated terminal with a wrap and while that's better than punching a hole and leaving it, it's not the best way to go about it especially if that's what is holding the connection together. I can have a piss poor connection and put 6 inches of shrink wrap on each side and pull hard and say "oh yea this is strong"..when actually I might have only a fraction of the wires making contact. Then multiply that over many connections and there is a "snowball effect" that in the best scenario leads to a inefficient and imbalanced electrical system.

oldskool979 said
Case in point. Just finished replacing elec fans on my Shelby Dakota. Had to pull radiator. Wouldn't start afterward. Seemed to be an ignition issue with MSD box. Power showed on LED but no spark. After a lot of head scratching and fussing I tracked the problem to the master ground wire from the MSD. It terminated on a marine ground strip behind the battery. The wire routed across the core support had pulled out of the terminal when I pulled the radiator, but the bare end of the wire was still resting on the terminal end. Carried enough current to show power on the MSD but not to start. Using a better connector with a strain relief or soldering the terminal would have saved a lot of aggravation. Live and learn.