Electrical connectors

[Stu]

Never touched car electrics in my life, other than plumbing in the odd stereo and speakers in my yoof, so about to start learning as want to go through the electrics on my car.

As a starter for 10, I’m moving my tach and ancillary gauges in the next week or two, so will have to disconnect them. T’interweb is a mass of conflicting opinions, so help please. I want to do the correct job when I reconnect them, so what sort of connectors should i be using to do a professional job connecting the tach back to the wiring loom?

I was looking at heat shrink connectors, but flummoxed as to what type or if they are even right for the job.

Can someone ease me in gently and advise please? I only really have screwfix or toolstation near me, so any links there would be good if they do the right kit?

Ta!

[Pete]

Opinions vary on this as much as they do on choice of oil!

Personally, I do not like Crimp connectors - millions swear by them!

I do not like the Aluminium ones as they can go high resistance over time - they can react to the conductor material and moisture.

I prefer to solder connectors and then Shrink Wrap them at the base for strength and tidiness.

Again - Personally - Wherever possible I do not use connectors at all - I solder the conductors together neatly and then use (pre-installed!!!) Shrink Wrap over the join for insulation properties as well as neatness and strength.

If you have devices that need to be connected / disconnected, then you do need connectors.
In this case if the connectors have pre-installed short sleeves on them, I take them off and use Shrink Wrap.

Blue will be along shortly to give his version, though we did work together to re-wire the Challenger completely, and I think that turned out nicely.

Whatever time you budget for the job - at least double it, and if you are inexperienced then treble it!

[Pete]

... and BTW, eBay is your friend - ignore Screwfix, etc.

[Blue]

I'm quite keen on a multi plug if there's a few wires involved. Otherwise I use the regular crimp on connectors with the plastic bit removed, crimp on, solder and cover with heat shrink. Vehicle wiring products carry a whole bunch of stuff.

[Pete]

https://www.vehiclewiringproducts.co.uk/

https://www.carbuilder.com/uk/electrical

[Dave999]

i use a decent crimper https://www.vehiclewiringproducts.co.uk ... ping-tools
as my car holds a candle to lucas the god of darkness everything is a varaition of spade connectors

i chose a crimping tool for use on connectors without ready installed plastic insulation (alhough i think i have the other type as well, my methods have improved as ive got older : )

i avoid the big bucket of misery, (pre insulated tat and scotch locks) that you can buy from halfords, for all but emergencies

so i tend to buy lucas spades male female or when appropriate the right angled type or latching type (water temp sender) with no insulation in the 2 widths my car uses
i buy the little rubber boots to go with them
i have taken to removing the odd imperial bullet and socket connetor becasue my car uses so few, and spades are easier for me.
i buy the ones with a lock key if they need to be fitted into a modular plastic connector, 2 way 3 way ...n way
some odd shaped american stuff can be replaced with male and female modular connectors but many on my car were still availbale new from AES or VWP listed below


i use

https://www.aes.group/catalogue/
or
https://www.vehiclewiringproducts.co.uk/


suggest the following if you are doing the lot

multimeter with volts resistance and continuity tester
soldering iron anything of decent wattage
proper lead/tin flux cored solder not the lead free stuff. its harder to melt and it just don't wanna stick.
small tin of soldering flux use it on the wire first heat then add solder the flux acid-washes the metal for good solder adhesion and flow.
roll of none adheasive cling tape for making looms the way the factory did https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111575073545

heat shrink tube https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393236686681 ... %3A2334524

i have no heat gun so a hair dryer with half the inlet blocked works for me on the heat shrink front.

don't use household adhesive backed insulating tape the adhesive turns funny and wet if exposed oil or petrol and stops the cling tape clinging

if in doubt with any bit of loom
take the connector off the device
find out connector type
get new contacts for it or new contacts and plastic connector

find some wire the same colours crimp your connector contacts to the wires off the car. then fit the rubbery boots or if "keyed" insert them into the plastic connector
fit new contatact or connector to the device

STAND BACK and admire your new wires...... cup of tea....

then run the new wire to half way down whats avilable sticking out of the loom. peel back cling wrap if necessary, looking for the point where the insulation is no longer cracking and discoloured and the copper inside is bright, bind off the cling tape nearby with a few rounds of new and then overlap that when re doing the final loom.

having some wire stripers helps but i like to use a worn and splayed out pair of hair dresseres scsisors, cos i do and they work well....

Use the linemans splice to join the wires after slipping some shrink tube over. With stranded wire you will need to twist each free end to make it more like solid core. see below you should end up with a join no fatter than the wire and insulation either side, so you can slip the heat shrink over and shrink it

its all they did in the factory (minus the heat shrink) never wasted even the smallest length of wire. just hid it and its joins in the middle under the wrap where you can't see it. see pictures

shrink the tube over the join
re wrap loom with cling tape and fat shrink tube over the end or a double up of the cling tape

95% of a loom is usually fine if the car has never seen a catastrophic short. its the last 6 inches and its connector that casues the problems, heat oil, UV or 50 years of stuff in the boot crushing and wearing the insulation and yanking on the wires is what mucks it all up

a clean of fuses, fuse box connectors, and the bulkhead connector with contact cleaner and a brass wire brush also works wonders
a smear vasaline applied after helps keep it that way. but beware it is a dust magnet.

just buy the tools and what you need when you need it to avoid undue expense and a massive box of bits you didn't need

if you don't need to rpelace any wires you won't need the soldering iron etc
and if you are methodical everything that works now should still work after, and you negate the need for the multi meter.

crimp tool specific to your chosen style of connector is necessary
try to get wires of similar size

if doing battery and starter motor wires get it off ebay.... halfords pre formed lengths are no use
if you are doing/ soldering battery clamps you need a blow torch

if doing the medium fat wires that can't be seen 40 or 60 amp chocky block sealed in heat shrink tube works. Connect wires by lightly "tinning" them with solder once twisted, passing both through both ends so that 2 screws act on both exposed ends, do em up tight, or bung on some locktite, use a 2 -3 inch length of fat shrink tube over the lot, shrink it good. It will do the job but do not tell anyone, escpecially Pete...they (he) will think you are some kind of animal, and that would never do......

https://www.cef.co.uk/catalogue/product ... lsrc=aw.ds

good enough to be shoved into the wall behind your power shower and not cause a fire good enough if protected from damp with shrink tube hidden under the dash. shhhhhhhh ! you are basically emulating a big fat linemans' splice with bolts holding it together, choccy block bore needs to be double that of the wire. so you can shove both ends right through boh sides power shower and oven stuff only for a 36 -50 amp sensible sized alternator car. not nice but it works, saves drilling a hole to mount a nut and stud junction box.


anyway ,your tach probably has 1 wire to coil negative
1 wire to a switched + 12 volt from the fuse box
1 wire or its body in contact with the dash/car body which acts as its negative

it may have 1 wire spliced into the loom that lights up the dash guages when the headlmaps are lit so that the tach lights up

so epxect at least 3 added wires to check out, unless you had a factory tach and that feed was used. so your job will be to make sure their connectors are good or any splices into existing wires for illumination are good.

try to get manual for the guages so you know what connector is what.

Dave

[Stu]

Thanks Gents, that’s my bedtime reading sorted.

[Stu]

anyway ,your tach probably has 1 wire to coil negative
1 wire to a switched + 12 volt from the fuse box
1 wire or its body in contact with the dash/car body which acts as its negative

it may have 1 wire spliced into the loom that lights up the dash guages when the headlmaps are lit so that the tach lights up

so epxect at least 3 added wires to check out, unless you had a factory tach and that feed was used. so your job will be to make sure their connectors are good or any splices into existing wires for illumination are good.

try to get manual for the guages so you know what connector is what.

Dave

Here’s what I’ve got at the moment, I had planned to basically cut the joints, route the tach up through the dash speaker hole and rejoin the wires to the same ones they came from.

I’ve no radio or speaker and no plans to get one, I plan to mount mini gauges where the radio was, but I’ll start a workshop thread on that.

I'm quite keen on a multi plug if there's a few wires involved. Otherwise I use the regular crimp on connectors with the plastic bit removed, crimp on, solder and cover with heat shrink. Vehicle wiring products carry a whole bunch of stuff.

Got a pic of the connectors you’re talking about please Blue? I can only envisage the straight through Halfords specials we used to use. Need to get some before Friday night if I’m going to get it done on Saturday morning, planning a trip out in the afternoon.

Heat shrink and crimping tool on order.

[Dave999]

this will do the job complete

http://www.britishwiring.com/4-Way-1-4- ... p/c844.htm

or here
https://www.autoelectricsupplies.co.uk/product/37

but will need to buy spades/blades and female bits with lock keys in seperate bags

need none insulated crimp tool


leaves you with a guage you can connect and remove and reconnect

other option would be to solder and shrink wrap after cutting wires.... soldering iron, heat shrink and linemans splice necessray

use the option that gets you the tool you think will be most useful going forward

Dave

[Stu]

[Dave999]

that picture you have is a perfect wireing diagram so you can connect the coloured wires the correct way.... store it off in a folder somehwre called wireing my car


Dave

[Stu]

that picture you have is a perfect wireing diagram so you can connect the coloured wires the correct way.... store it off in a folder somehwre called wireing my car


Dave

Yep, I figured it was the easiest way. Snip, reroute, reconnect to same colours (note to self, try and remember 20 years ago soldering lessons) and cross fingers it still works.

[Stu]

P.S. I now have two sets of crimpers on order as I didn’t read it properly first time and didn’t realise they were different for non insulated…

[Stu]

I’ve found my books out for a bit more bedtime reading. Do I need to get a gigantic diagnostic machine like the one on the cover.

[Blue]

I think Matt has one of those big Sun Machines Stu…