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Making battery cables

^ yeah--most I see in junked cars trunks are just wimpy gauge "cable" of less than 12 gauge and the insulation is 1/2" thick to make them look impressive..I've seen thicker cable used on subwoofers!..
Can't beat wending cable IMO..anything is better than the aluminum/copper crap the factory used..
 
diesel4me said:
^ yeah--most I see in junked cars trunks are just wimpy gauge "cable" of less than 12 gauge and the insulation is 1/2" thick to make them look impressive..I've seen thicker cable used on subwoofers!..
Can't beat wending cable IMO..anything is better than the aluminum/copper crap the factory used..
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you've never used marine cable....
 
No,Ryoken,I never have used marine cable,haven't even seen any..never been around boats much--I cant swim,so I stay away from water too!.

No doubt it must be better ,because being stranded at sea is about as much fun as being in an airplane that can't fly suddenly..:eek:..

I usually crimp & solder the lugs on,that way the corrosion has a harder time getting in between the strands..make for better conductivity too..

I read a post yesterday on another forum,about those replacement "battery terminals" that have two bolts,that pinch the cable..
The poster stated "Those "resistors",disguised as battery terminals,are only intended for temporary emergency repairs"..:haha:

Funny thing is,I've used them for years and didn't really notice any big drawbacks,so long as you don't let the "snow" pile up on them..
 
diesel4me said:
I've seen thicker cable used on subwoofers!..
Can't beat wending cable IMO..anything is better than the aluminum/copper crap the factory used..
Click to expand...

The pro car audio guys use welding cable or 0 awg. I recently redid some grounds on the Blazer using 4 gauge stereo wire and the difference was night and day

The only benefit of those stock crappy cables is they can last 40+ years, stereo cable won't last that long in engine bay conditions
 
Awhile back I was told to NEVER solder from a head of a racing team. Since then I only crimp. There are reasons behind it.

QUOTE-
While it may be painful for some people to hear, the reality is that in the automotive industry this has long ago been settled. The gold standard is to (properly) crimp wires where possible. This is what industry does, and what you should do, too. Whether you’re splicing or attaching a terminal makes no difference. To verify this just take a look under the hood and you’ll find hundreds of crimps, but virtually no soldering. As long as you have the right tools, crimping is the way to go.

https://millennialdiyer.com/articles/motorcycles/electrical-repair-crimp-or-solder/
 
Shawn said:
The gold standard is to (properly) crimp wires where possible. This is what industry does, and what you should do, too. Whether you’re splicing or attaching a terminal makes no difference. To verify this just take a look under the hood and you’ll find hundreds of crimps, but virtually no soldering.
Click to expand...

Using this logic, you could say that paper cone speakers are the gold standard for car audio and Michelins are the gold standard for tires... just look at any car at any dealership and you will have proof!
 
fordsucks! said:
Using this logic, you could say that paper cone speakers are the gold standard for car audio and Michelins are the gold standard for tires... just look at any car at any dealership and you will have proof!
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Read the link.

One factor when choosing to crimp or solder or vehicles is the repetitive wire movement. When solder gets past the insulation, the wire loses flexibility. Just try bending a soldered wire splice to see it for yourself. If you install it on a vehicle, every vibration is like bending the wire a little bit. Eventually the cables shear off little by little until there is nothing more than a few strands holding it together. As the cable’s effective diameter reduces, the intermittent failure issues start popping up. Finally, the solder-reinforced wire fails.

A properly crimped cable with good heat shrink works just as well and can stay flexible. If you disagree then keep soldering. Just pointing out my reasons to crimp only.
 
Shawn said:
Read the link.

One factor when choosing to crimp or solder or vehicles is the repetitive wire movement. When solder gets past the insulation, the wire loses flexibility. Just try bending a soldered wire splice to see it for yourself. If you install it on a vehicle, every vibration is like bending the wire a little bit. Eventually the cables shear off little by little until there is nothing more than a few strands holding it together. As the cable’s effective diameter reduces, the intermittent failure issues start popping up. Finally, the solder-reinforced wire fails.

A properly crimped cable with good heat shrink works just as well and can stay flexible. If you disagree then keep soldering. Just pointing out my reasons to crimp only.
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i've mentioned it before, it is illegal for me to solder them in boats according to ABYC and CG regulations...
 
I suppose the flux in the solder may eventually corrode the copper,but all the wires I've spliced with crimp on solderless connectors and I soldered them as well as crimping them have held up nicely in most applications..one exception is tail light wiring that's exposed to salt spray and moisture..

Must be nice to have cables that last 40 years in CA..up here many are corroded to death long before their first decade..
 
That's why it's important to have a good heat shrink tubing on to protect against the elements. I like the thicker adhesive lined stuff. For the most part, I doubt anyone will have issues with a soldered lug but just wanted to point out the vulnerability with solder going up into the insulated part of the wire where flexing may be be needed.

@ryoken I read it's illegal in aviation too.
 
Glad I stirred up a good discussion. Since I started doing it to battery cables I have had one come apart. They do indeed brake apart as stated.
 
Shawn said:
That's why it's important to have a good heat shrink tubing on to protect against the elements. I like the thicker adhesive lined stuff. For the most part, I doubt anyone will have issues with a soldered lug but just wanted to point out the vulnerability with solder going up into the insulated part of the wire where flexing may be be needed.

@ryoken I read it's illegal in aviation too.
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soldering can actually facilitate corrosion too in the surrounding area... THE only thing I solder is radar connections, cuz the manny's call for it... in the marine world, everything is about quality.. from wire jackets to shrink tube to lugs.... stuff won't last otherwise, the salt environment is brutal.... I've seen guys refit their boat with welding wire, down the road the bilge starts to get skanky with oilly water, and the jackets bloat up like a fat chick pounding Oreos...

clean, dry environment, it does ok, and certainly performs well, but it does not like oil...



Fastereddie said:
I’ve also seen soldered connections melt and come apart when drawing lots of amps for too long.
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yup, that's why it's illegal in boats... high amp draws from big dizzle motors melting them out.... now, don't get me wrong, I've done it on my own cars back in the day, and you aren't generally gonna suck those kind of amps, even thru a high comp BB... but, that is the reasoning behind it being a no-no....
 
I've read if a crimp is done with sufficient pressure,the two metals actually flow together like a weld,making it one permanent connection..
You'd probably need a hydraulic press type of crimper to achieve that though..
 
diesel4me said:
I've read if a crimp is done with sufficient pressure,the two metals actually flow together like a weld,making it one permanent connection..
You'd probably need a hydraulic press type of crimper to achieve that though..
Click to expand...
Here's the specs on the HF hydraulic crimper. Looks like 8 tons which should be enough.

20190310_135410.jpg
 
I have a hydraulic thing they use in hardware stores to cut wire rope and I think it also can be used to crimp on those metal crush sleeves they use to make loops in the cables...it is much like a bottle jack,you pump it up by hand..I think I've used it twice in 20 years..:blush:
 
diesel4me said:
I have a hydraulic thing they use in hardware stores to cut wire rope and I think it also can be used to crimp on those metal crush sleeves they use to make loops in the cables...it is much like a bottle jack,you pump it up by hand..I think I've used it twice in 20 years..:blush:
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what crimp "style" is important too... hammer smashes are basically like taking a giant flatblade or chisel to it length-wise, splitting the bundle.. you have semi-round styles too, think the HF dies are like that..... our killer compound crimps actually crush it into a square...
 
my GIANT T&B crimpers do the 4 side square crimp also . there as big as bolt cutters with 12 die sizes up to 4/0 size . you know when its tight as they bounce back a little when you undo the levers .
 
sweetk30 said:
my GIANT T&B crimpers do the 4 side square crimp also . there as big as bolt cutters with 12 die sizes up to 4/0 size . you know when its tight as they bounce back a little when you undo the levers .
Click to expand...


same...
 
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