Solder vs crimp.

[Lbetts818]

My hammer crimped is garbage. Doesn't work well. What's the pros and cons of soldering lugs vs crimp?

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[Lbetts818]

Or any diy crimped ideas vs the hammer? To cheap to buy a hydraulic one for 8 lugs...

 

[Mayhem]

I have both done in with my build.

Neither of which have failed or came off on me yet.

It will fail is if you don't solder it correctly. You have the let the solder "soak in" with the wire and the lug and then cap it.

There is a possibility of the solder melting because of the heat of the wire.

Cost is also a factor, depending on the crimper you get, it could be a lot cheaper to a map gas torch and some solder.

Some of those crimpers are expensive.

If you crimp you're doing a direct connection with the wire and the lug.

Crimping is 100 times easier to do than soldering.

Picked up one of those yellow 20 ton hydraulic crimpers. I think it was on ebay for under $30.

Works great and thats all I use now.

This is specifically going for larger gauge wire. All the small wire connections I have to do are soldered (10 gauge and up)

 

[Lbetts818]

I have a torch and solder at work and solder iron. And diy crumpets out there for ideas?

 

[Lbetts818]

Saw a guy on YouTube use small chunks of rubber and a bolt cutter. Hmmm. Could work.

 

[Popwarhomie 5,000+ posts]

I used to always solder mine. But its so much easier to crimp them. I just used a cheap $20 hammer crimper now.

 

[Lbetts818]

That's what I have but wire always comes loose. Maybe a little solder and hammer crimp??

 

[BOOMINGRANDPA 5,000+ posts]

Saw a guy on YouTube use small chunks of rubber and a bolt cutter. Hmmm. Could work.

yeah i have big dull bolt cutter worked great to crimp 4 ga anyway..

 

[Mayhem]

25 bones you can't beat that

10 Ton Hydraulic Wire Battery Cable Lug Terminal Crimper Crimping Tool 9 Dies

 

[Popwarhomie 5,000+ posts]

That's what I have but wire always comes loose. Maybe a little solder and hammer crimp??

If your wire comes loose after a hammer crimp you either need to start going to the gym or get a bigger hammer.

 

[audiobaun 5,000+ posts]

Ive always used a hammer and the concrete floor..Then take a punch and make three indentions on both sides and use heat shrink for a final finish.I have never had any wiring come loose and Always had a hell of a sturdy connection.Never an issue coming apart

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

If your wire comes loose after a hammer crimp you either need to start going to the gym or get a bigger hammer.

I got a chuckle from this.

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

I actually machined something from some aluminum I have stashed in my garage. Made a "V" block, to rest the lugs onto and another piece of aluminum with chamfered sides to hammer down the lugs. So far isn't a bad idea really.

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

EXO made a vid on Youtube long time ago about this and he used a manual hammer type crimper.....even showed himself hanging onto the wire while crimped side hanging on a big pillar!

 

[wingless]

For mine, the main radio plug was mated to the Metra 70-1817 Receiver Wiring Harness. The splices are staggered by about 1", in three groups, so that all the splices DO NOT happen at the same position. I use soldered Western Union splices, covered w/ adhesive-lined heat shrink tubing. (Never apply too much solder that wicks up under the insulation, making the wire stiff.) All of the wires are labeled for function. I use my Brady IDxpert, in these cases printing on shrink tubing or on adhesive self-laminating label stock.

The objective for a proper crimp is to use the connector barrel and the crimp tool to deform / reshape the parts from individual conductor strands surrounded by air to a homogenous mass, devoid of air, as-shown in these images.

My experience w/ the hammer tool is that it has not provided acceptable results, so I've discontinued usage and instead use high-quality crimp tools.

All of the finished crimp images from those inexpensive hydraulic tools that I have seen look horrible. They look like the crimp die sizes are totally wrong and inappropriate for the crimp connectors.

The connector manufacturers have detailed specifications for the crimp to attain acceptable results. The inexpensive tools frequently fail to satisfy the specified crimp requirements.