Most reliable ways of joining two wires without soldering

[ivan747]

I was wondering what are the most reliable ways of joining two wires without soldering, specially for wiring in vehicles (~16AWG or 1.25mm^2). Hand tools and connectors are okay.

Some background info: I plan to do an installation on a fleet of vehicles where I have to do a couple of T joint and a couple or regular joints (for taking power from a wiring harness to a device, and installing an in-line fuse). I really don't want them to fail because a field repair will involve lots of wasted time on our part just because of logistics.

Thanks!

[helius]

AMP PIDG butt splice are a good choice. The AMP tooling offers a lot of choices.
There are heat activated splices (Solder Seal, SolderSleeve) made specifically for the auto industry, but using a heat gun with a deflector is more awkward than a PIDG crimp tool.

[M4x]

I can recommend the 121 series from Wago.

[Nusa]

A good crimping solution is generally considered the best method for vehicle applications, since they're vibration environments. The degree of weather/water-proofing required will depend on how exposed the wiring in question is.

If your device needs to be easily removed for repair, you should include a latching connector in your harness modification. If your device needs significant amount of power, you should run wires all the way to the battery, not assume an existing harness can handle the additional load.

[GadgetBoy]

Wago connectors are awesome.

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[John B]

Crimping is the best option to avoid the cracking that can occur with soldering. Not to mention once the wire gets thick enough, soldering becomes a messy solution anyways.

16awg is borderline, but if you think you will be splicing thicker wire, these hydraulic crimping tools are great:



They can be awkard to use, ie you really need 2 pairs of hands, and can be difficult to get into tight areas, but other than that the quality of the crimp is excellent. It essentially crushes the crimping sleeve and two wires into a solid lump. Takes a bit of practice to get them just right, have to keep rotating the crimp in the die.

[georges80]

Posi-tap (google) and various joiners/tee's etc that are made by the same company. Very reliable and easy to make connection. Do not mistake them for the garbage scotchlock junk.

cheers,
george.

[JustMeHere]

Crimp.  Then use a wire tie to add strain relief.  The tie should be around both wires so that if they are pulled apart, the wire tie takes the strain.

[ivan747]

Thank you all! I'll be considering all optinos 

[Mario87]

Proper crimp tool and crimps will work well and last.

[nanofrog]

As others have said, crimp it. 

In regard to the type of terminals, I'd recommend going with a non-insulated butt splice. Then use adhesive lined heat shrink as it provides strain relief as well as seals the splice from the elements. It's also more cost effective than the heat shrink terminals (i.e Panduit BSH series; example).

Then make sure it's loomed properly (further aids strain relief).

[6PTsocket]

You mentioned T splices. What I often do is use a butt splice sized for two wires on one end and double up the single wire on the other end. This way both ends have plenty of wire to grab for a good crimp.

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[mjrandle]

I would recommend a crimping a parallel splice and then covering it in a generous length of adhesive-lined heat shrink.  The friction between the strands of each wire increases pull out force and they easily accommodate different sized wires.  I've seen too mnay wires pull out easily from butt splices.


Regards,

Mike

[nanofrog]

I've seen too mnay wires pull out easily from butt splices.

Then they weren't proper crimps.

When done properly, the wire strands literally get welded to one another as well as the terminal (cold weld). Not only is it mechanically stronger than soldering, it has better electrical characteristics as well (lower resistance than a soldered joint).

[grifftech]

lineman splice

[jagw]

If you are not equipped to do quality crimping, then I second Posi-taps ans Posi-loks (and do not substitute for this brand).