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General advice on replacing wiring
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52classic



Joined: 02 Oct 2008
Posts: 493
Location: Cardiff.

PostPosted: Sat Oct 19, 2013 10:47 pm    Post subject: General advice on replacing wiring Reply with quote

Just wanted to canvass the general consensus of the OCC team....

I just hate the look, durabilty and even the tooling for crimped connections but what alternatives are there?

I want to replace a mass of wiring on some winter projects and I do want it to look right.

If I go for soldering, can I get pre-tinned connectors? Do you think that shrink is OK to look 'in period' for 60/70's?

What sort of power do I need in a soldering iron?
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kevin2306



Joined: 01 Jul 2013
Posts: 1359
Location: nr Llangollen, north wales

PostPosted: Sun Oct 20, 2013 9:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

watching this with interest.
my vogue has several blue crimped connectors that will be taken off and replaced with soldered items. i agree that the modern crimped items look total crap and usually perform poorly too.
last week (im currently refurbing the brake system on the vogue) having bled the caliper with my easibleed i put the master cylinder cap back on. all was fine except the red brake light in the dash was on permanently. the first owner retro fitted a different cap with an integral fluid level (or rather 'low level') float. seemed that the fluid had dipped below that level except on taking the cap off it was full. on inspection, of the 2 connectors fitted, the wire into one looked perfectly fine but wasnt attached..hence the indicator light.
the only others i can see are on the retro fitted electronic ignition, these are to be replaced.
i dont buy pretinned fittings, just good quality solder, bought my little iron from maplins and get the heat shrink from there too. i havnt looked but id bet they sell the connectors?

kev
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peppiB



Joined: 30 Jun 2008
Posts: 686
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

PostPosted: Sun Oct 20, 2013 9:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes maplins sell the connectors. I bought some to replace the hideous modern crimp things on the Landcrab
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peter scott



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
Posts: 7113
Location: Edinburgh

PostPosted: Sun Oct 20, 2013 10:40 am    Post subject: Re: General advice on replacing wiring Reply with quote

52classic wrote:

Do you think that shrink is OK to look 'in period' for 60/70's?

What sort of power do I need in a soldering iron?


Yes, heat shrink was definitely used in the 60/70s.

A temperature controlled 50 watt iron will do most wiring jobs.

Peter
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ukdave2002



Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 4100
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Sun Oct 20, 2013 11:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The crimp connectors that are sold in Maplin and the DIY shops are the "insulated" type and we're never used on vehicles. The original Lucas type are uninsulated, with plastic sleeves, they can be bought together with the crimping tool from places like Vehicle Wiring Products.

The main 2 reasons that crimped joints fail is; firstly the crimp and wire size need to be compatible, they are not a one size fits all !, secondly they get water in them, especially the bullet connectors that are found on the end of looms for headlamps, an application of Contralube 770 on the joints will offer better protection than when the car came out of the factory.

Dave
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kevin2306



Joined: 01 Jul 2013
Posts: 1359
Location: nr Llangollen, north wales

PostPosted: Sun Oct 20, 2013 7:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ukdave2002 wrote:
The crimp connectors that are sold in Maplin and the DIY shops are the "insulated" type and we're never used on vehicles. The original Lucas type are uninsulated, with plastic sleeves, they can be bought together with the crimping tool from places like Vehicle Wiring Products.

The main 2 reasons that crimped joints fail is; firstly the crimp and wire size need to be compatible, they are not a one size fits all !, secondly they get water in them, especially the bullet connectors that are found on the end of looms for headlamps, an application of Contralube 770 on the joints will offer better protection than when the car came out of the factory.

Dave


great advice there dave, ive ordered some of the contralube and a set of the uninsulated connectors from vwp.
as well as crimping, would you put a drop of solder on them?

kev
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ukdave2002



Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 4100
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Mon Oct 21, 2013 8:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

kevin2306 wrote:
ukdave2002 wrote:
The crimp connectors that are sold in Maplin and the DIY shops are the "insulated" type and we're never used on vehicles. The original Lucas type are uninsulated, with plastic sleeves, they can be bought together with the crimping tool from places like Vehicle Wiring Products.

The main 2 reasons that crimped joints fail is; firstly the crimp and wire size need to be compatible, they are not a one size fits all !, secondly they get water in them, especially the bullet connectors that are found on the end of looms for headlamps, an application of Contralube 770 on the joints will offer better protection than when the car came out of the factory.

Dave


great advice there dave, ive ordered some of the contralube and a set of the uninsulated connectors from vwp.
as well as crimping, would you put a drop of solder on them?

kev


Hi Kev

If you use the right size crimp (for the wire gauge) and use the right tool, there is no need to solder. The crimping tool I bought from VWP crimps on the wire and the insulation in exactly the same way that the original Lucas connectors did.

One thing to remember is to put the plastic insulator on the cable first, I can't tell you how many times I have forgotten to do it, so have to cut the crimp off and start again Embarassed

Dave
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52classic



Joined: 02 Oct 2008
Posts: 493
Location: Cardiff.

PostPosted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 6:29 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks gents, some useful ideas there. That VWP website is a big help too.

Must make a note to check this out at NEC next month. Never given much thought to it before but there is a lot of wiring to do.
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