this borders on stupid, but what is the gauge of wire running to the cigarette lighter. I want to use one of the wire splice connectors to tap into the 12V.

I know I need either the blue (14-18 gauge) or red (18-22 gauge).

thanks

 

Do yourself a favor! Do not use those 3 way wire splices. They are prone to corotion and shorting out.

What are you trying to add to your truck? Our trucks were really not designed for added load on the circuits. A much better option would be to add a fuse block under the hood. Run new fused and relayed circuits into the cab for aftermarket accessories.

 

It's for the constant 12 V (for radio station memory) for a small head unit, so not much current draw. I don't really like the quick splice connectors either and prefer solder (old school). But in my years, I have actually seen several failures on solder where either not enough heat was used or too much was used and wire was damaged. Where there's little vibration and not an external application, the quick splice should be ok.

 

Check out these add a circuit fuse adapters. You want to make sure you add it to the fused side. You can tell by popping out the fuse and using a volt meter to figure out which side is always hot. Add it to the side that isn't hot with the fuse removed.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...use-panel.html

 

Don't use fuse taps and avoid butt splices wherever possible.

Don't tap into the lighter; keep the wiring original. There is a three-terminal hot-at-all-times connector behind the glove box that accepts 0.18-inch male bullets. The original cigarette lighter (option at the time) plugs in there and this location also served the glove box lamp, etc. You should have a free spot.

 

Ashamedly, I was in a hurry and cut the yellow cigarette lighter wire to get the 12V. Thanks for letting me know about the extra socket on the connector behind the glove box. Hey, on butt connectors, I used to be dogged about never using them too. Solder was the only option for me. My dad had 32 years of experience building electronics with space and military applications. In the 70s and 80s for NASA work, hand soldering was considered the way to go. Then gradually mechanical (crimping) began to gain favor to the point where it is now considered as good.

Of course that is BS. In reality a properly done connection accomplished either way is better than another one done poorly. If done right you are good. If done poorly you are screwed no matter how it is done.

Mechanical connections are better for high current as solder connections, unless done perfectly will fail over time.

On a product that my dad used to work on, that had a 24 Volt, 100 Amp hour battery pack, he said they experienced many failures with professionally soldered connections for the battery packs. When his team met with the manufacturer of the connectors regarding the failure, they explained that on a properly crimped connection more contact occurs between the wire strands than with a soldered connection, where the solder coating the strands forms a bi-metal junction between strands.

 

There's nothing wrong with crimping; it has its place and in several instances is required over soldering. One example would be battery cable lugs, where the joint is subject to leverage and mechanical vibration.

However, insulated crimp terminals from the auto parts store (including butt splices) are easier to get wrong, especially with the plier-type crimpers most people have at home. This is because they crimp simply by smashing together, vs. an open-barrel roll-over crimp. The latter is what your dad would have used in military/space applications, not the stuff we're talking about here. I invested in a ratcheting crimper with removable dies which properly crimps open-barrel terminals and seems to do a decent job with insulated terminals because of the contour of the corresponding die. Another bonus is that I can crimp all day long without my hand getting sore.

For this type of in-cab application, it doesn't matter so much; I think my biggest gripe is that they look sloppy. But I generally recommend against them because of the risk of a weak or scissored crimp with the tools most folks use. It's also easy for the butt splice to get caught on something.

 

I only see two plugs and both are used (behind the glove compartment). One is for the glove compartment light and the other indirectly serves the cigarette lighter.

 

I only see two plugs and both are used (behind the glove compartment). One is for the glove compartment light and the other indirectly serves the cigarette lighter.