Wire splicing

[Jacques1960]

Have to replace some of the under dash 6 v wiring; when attaching new (cloth) to old, what is the best means of covering the splice ? I’ve read that friction tape may have been used from time to time on the assembly line, and also note the existence of what appear to be Bakelite splicing “tubes” in a couple of locations. As always, thank you.

[KiWinUS]

I would suggest “bullet” connectors.

[Kube]

My first piece of advice is to NOT splice. Rather, replace the harness. If splicing is necessary, it makes me think the harness is old and becoming brittle (not safe).
If you insist on splicing, solder the connections and use heat shrink tubing. Both easy to do and far superior to tape.
Those "tubes" you mention must be hard as a rock for you to see them as Bakelite. They are rubber sleeves over the metal connectors within.
Yes, from your description, I must ask you to please replace the harness. Your car is too nice to chance old, unsafe wiring and connections.
I'd recently purchased harnesses from Mike Driskell. Reasonably priced, shipped quickly and very good quality.

[marko39]

The best way is to solder splice covered with shrink tubing. If you need to take apart again , the bullet connector would be better.

[Jacques1960]

Thank you; wasn’t sure of “period correctness” when it comes to wiring. Sounds like safety clearly trumps authenticity in this area. The harness itself appears to have been replaced, with the exception of under dash clock light lead and cigar lighter connections. Rubber sleeves are indeed rock (!) hard at existing butt connection (1) and Y splice (1)

[big job]

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Another: strip a good 1 inch from each wire the slide shrink wrap over one. Then we
do a "line mans splice" twisting the two into flat then solder then shrink it. twisting flat
means no bulge twisting the ends out with four fingers.

[Jacques1960]

Lineman splice it is - no way that goes anywhere once soldered ����

[51woodie]

Jacques. Take heed to Kube's response. I was repairing the interior courtesy lights in my '46 Coupe, and found a real fire hazard, due to had brittle insulation. The wire runs from the glove box area through the A pillar, over the door opening to the light fixture. I found a number bare spots along the length, and the insulation just crumbled as I handled the wire. As this wire is hot at all times, I'm lucky it never shorted out.

[fourtydlx]

car is to nice replace that wire

[JSeery]

You can purchase wire by the foot from RI wiring. Should be able to find a color/tracer pattern to match what you currently have.

http://www.riwire.com/

There is a 10 ft minimum per wire style, but the cost is not that much.

[Jacques1960]

Thank you

[WBrown]

Originally Posted by 51woodie

Jacques. Take heed to Kube's response. I was repairing the interior courtesy lights in my '46 Coupe, and found a real fire hazard, due to had brittle insulation. The wire runs from the glove box area through the A pillar, over the door opening to the light fixture. I found a number bare spots along the length, and the insulation just crumbled as I handled the wire. As this wire is hot at all times, I'm lucky it never shorted out.

Can the courtesy light wire be fished through the A pillar etc? My '47 Fordor has the original headliner and alas the only wire in the harness that hasn't been replaced.

[paul2748]

Original type bullet connectors are available aftermarket. They used a special FORD size bullet. These are also available aftermarket. They usually come with a plastic cover at the wire connection point, but I removed these, connected the wire to the bare end and then used shrink wrap over it.

[Jacques1960]

Has anyone tried the new “solder seal” heat shrink connectors ?

[woodiewagon46]

Sometimes soldering two or more wires isn't possible for several reasons. Using the proper crimp butt connector is totally acceptable. The biggest issues with compression splices is using the wrong size compression connector and the wrong crimping tool. Each wire terminal or splice is color coded and specifically designed for each wire size. I have seen 20 gauge wire crimped together with a connector that should have been used for 10 gauge wire. Using a cheap $2.00 crimping tool will only result in a loose and potentially dangerous crimp. Also, if you do use shrink sleeve tubing don't use an open flame torch to shrink the tube, use a heat gun designed for shrink sleeve. If you use the correct fitting and crimping tool you will not have a problem.

[51woodie]

WBrown. If you remove the passenger courtesy light, you can disconnect the wire that comes from the dash/glovebox area. I had my glove box liner removed at the time, so it was easy to access the dash end of the wire. My wire was free to move when I pulled on it, so I connected a strong 6' piece of string to the light end, and pulled the wire out under the dash. I reversed the process to get the new wire in. Just make sure your wire/string splice is "smooth" with no knobs to get caught on anything. I hope this works for you.

[glennpm]

I've been using un-insulated barrel connectors for the last few years. I started usage on my motorcycles when I started to find failed soldered connections that aged hardened and broke due to vibration. This is normally not the case for our cars but the barrel type are very handy to use without soldering. I cover them with normally two layers of shrink tubing.


The RTL crimper and dies I bought here:


http://www.vintageconnections.com/Products


http://www.vintageconnections.com/Products/Detail/94

[woodiewagon46]

glenn, that's exactly what I meant by using the proper crimping tool, in my text. Those $2.00 one size fits all crimping tools should be outlawed. We never soldered a wire while I served in the Navy because as you correctly state a soldered joint will fail faster than a crimped joint. I cannot ever remember one aircraft I worked on with any soldered connections. They won't fail at the joint but on ether side, will be the weak point. If you want to do a test, solder terminal end on one piece of wire and crimp another. Put both in a vice and move them back and forth. The soldered one will fail and the crimped one will last much longer. Another problem with a soldered joint after it has been shrink sleeved is that the joint can fail and the shrink sleeve will hold the two ends together causing a troubleshooting nightmare. As I stated, a properly done crimp is the preferred way.

[glennpm]

Yes!

"They won't fail at the joint but on ether side, will be the weak point"
My experience in a number of soldered joints including old ones that I did on my 40 50 years ago which were all replaced a few years ago.

"Another problem with a soldered joint after it has been shrink sleeved is that the joint can fail and the shrink sleeve will hold the two ends together causing a troubleshooting nightmare."
Yup, this too on the a ground termination near the head on my Buell motorcycle. It would break the connection when the handlebars were turned a certain way. Picture of this attached ;-)

BTW, it is great fun to do the connectors like in my other pic.


Glenn

[JSeery]

This has been discussed several times, I know on the HAMB and maybe on the Barn. The consensus has always been (as I remember it) that crimping is superior to solder. There are several downsides to solder, but it does depend on the location and application.