How to do a Basic Wire Splice

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I didn't see this mentioned, but I just use the soldering iron to shrink the tubing.

It's already hot and you've already got it in your hand...
 
Some great info here,guys. Much appreciated to K.K, for a well displayed thread.
 
skykeith said:
Those of us whose work is approved by the FAA, American boat and yacht council, etc. have to use butt connectors, because solder splices are not approved. That may be the mark of an amateur, but there's not a single OEM vehicle manufacturer (including riding lawn mowers) that solder splice wiring.
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In my trade we use uninsulated butt connectors for splicing along with good quality shrink tubing that has the sticky sealant which is activated while heating the tubing. No issues of corrosion or bad connection, even many of our OEM replacement sensors and switches have uninsulated butt connectors and shrink for warranty approved repairs. Using an uninsulated type crimper one just has to be careful not to crimp too hard as you can cut the wire strands in the connector. This type of connector is used even in 460vac 3phase compressor wiring. I agree about butt connections looking amateur, but that's only the insulated ones.....especially when crimped with pliers...LOL, we've all seen that under the hood of old cars. I've seen many soldered connections in harnesses attract corrosion even if shrink tubed....possibly wrong type solder used.
 
macadoo1961 said:
In my trade we use uninsulated butt connectors for splicing along with good quality shrink tubing that has the sticky sealant which is activated while heating the tubing. No issues of corrosion or bad connection, even many of our OEM replacement sensors and switches have uninsulated butt connectors and shrink for warranty approved repairs. Using an uninsulated type crimper one just has to be careful not to crimp too hard as you can cut the wire strands in the connector. This type of connector is used even in 460vac 3phase compressor wiring. I agree about butt connections looking amateur, but that's only the insulated ones.....especially when crimped with pliers...LOL, we've all seen that under the hood of old cars. I've seen many soldered connections in harnesses attract corrosion even if shrink tubed....possibly wrong type solder used.
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Where do you get the shrink wrap with the "glue" in it? I have a hard time finding it and use the standard "dry"...
 
Oh, and if you have a hot glue gun, you can put some glue on the wire connection after it's soldered. When you heat the shrink tubing it'll melt the glue and get the same end result. This is how we used to do it on boats when we couldn't get get the marine grade stuff from our supplier.
 
I would add....use linerless electrical tape. Seems like it never fails that after you get everything hooked up that you find that you need to extend or shorten a wire or connect more wires to the same connector. If you use linerless tape you can easily remove it and you won't be left with all that sticky stuff all over the wires. I've always hated getting my hands/fingers covered with sticky goo when I remove old electrical tape. Then I found "linerless electrical tape". I'll never use anything else!! The linerless tape also keeps moisture out of the connection!!
Now when I work on old wiring I strip off all the old "sticky" cr@p", use electroclean to get all the sticky scum off the old wires then re-tape with linerless electrical tape.

My two cents......
treblig
 
If you want to get anal like I do - cut / splice / solder / ohm check / then heat shrink....

In most projects I ohm check across the splice to verify a good splice and that there is not a huge ohm build up... I also instead of using the twist together method I use a non-insulated butt connector and crimp that / solder it.... drastic overkill? yes.. but I am just like that when it comes to electrical...
 
Wow same here. You must have worked on aircraft also! I also give it the yank test first!:lol:
 
Word of caution....I used to also solder every single joint after crimping a butt or an eyelet connector. I stopped soldering very small wires because I've found that the wire will break if there is any movement at all. The wire will break right at the solder joint (where the solder ends and the bare wire begins). Solder is pretty rigid and very small wires can't handle much bending back and forth. Of course if you never ever move the wire it should be OK but, I've had very small wires break after I maneuvered them in place. I haven't had that problem with larger wires. I also use a super heavy duty crimper which crimps much better the the regular ones they sell at HF.
Linerless tape is another "must have", the best thing about linerless tape is that it doubles as a water seal!!

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treblig
 
dodge71demon said:
No need for flux on electrical wiring it's used more in plumbing for flow
and to help the solder adhere to a cheaper grade copper
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No need for extra flux that is... There is flux already in rosin core solder which is what should be used in electrical work.
 
When I worked on dump trucks when I was in the U.S. Army Engineers, I was shown a different way to splice wires. I would leave the wire strands untwisted and make sure they were in a fan shape and then braid them together before soldering and shrink tubing them. Does anyone else do it that way?
 
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