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Has anyone messed with the reproduction bullet terminals, mainly crimping them? They barely seem to be soft enough to crimp. The first couple I tried crimping broke apart. Then I got to looking, and I was crimping the wrong spot (the outer end instead of where it dips in). Anyone ran into this? Is there any better ones out there, or are they pretty much all the same?
Post some pictures of the terminals you're using and the crimping tool you're using. with the old type terminal you I'm pretty sure you need the type of crimping tool with four fingers.
I personally like soldering wire ends to the wire.
Yea, I figured there was a special tool, so I just tried using the smallest crimpers I could find in my box…that tool or anything like it is probably unobtainium by now. I’ll have to experiment with soldering them.
I own an industrial control panel shop and on some days I can terminate 200-300 wires. Most are just stripped of insulation and inserted into a terminal block, but some projects require me to crimp wire ends on. Some need specialized tools, I have a drawer full of special crimpers I have had to buy over the years. Most are in the $150-200 range and most I only used for one project. I think you can still buy the tool you need, you just have to search for it. I rewired my panel truck from scratch, I have literally thousands of feet of wire on rolls in my shop, and I soldered all connections making my own factory looking connections using black shrink tube.
NAPA near me had a selection of crimp-on bullets in different diameters on a Belknap rack. I measured a female connector and was able to get a good match. Theirs have the same crimps as spade and ring connectors.
Ideally, use the correct crimper for the terminal. They are specific so make sure the crimper is designed for the terminal you're using or you can over or under crimp. The male terminal can be soldered and I've done that in the past. Never solder a female terminal since the heat of soldering has a high probability of impacting the contact material (particularly if it is brass) that will decrease interface normal force.
While on the topic of the connectors, I'm a big advocate for contact lubricants on bare and tin plated connections. Fretting corrosion in tin plated electrical contacts is especially problematic and results from unlubricated contacts subjected to thermally induced microscopic motions in the contact interface. These mirco-motions result from current on-off cycling. As the interface moves ever so slightly during a current carrying/heating cycle, a tin oxide builds on the freshly exposed tin. When the current is switched off, the contact interface microscopically moves back and rides up on these oxides. These cyclically build up over time and increase the interface resistance. If you're running a 6V system, regardless if it is carrying high or low current, this is bad since every fraction of a volt is critical in these systems. In low current applications, that eventually results in an open circuit. In higher current applications, it gets more dramatic since the interface resistance gradually increases and that, in turn, heats up the interface as the current goes through it. This increasing temperature eventually builds up to the point where the contact material anneals and you lose contact force in the connector system. Without adequate contact force and combined with the insulating oxides, the result is a nasty thermal cycle that means that the contact burns up or at a minimum the insulation on the wire going to the connector melts. Lubricating the connector interface of these connectors with a quality contact lubricant prevents these oxides from building up and prevents or at least delays this nasty cycle. I had to add this comment on lubricants and contact performance since I have a background of 35 years of experience in the connector and switch industry.
Ideally, use the correct crimper for the terminal. They are specific so make sure the crimper is designed for the terminal you're using or you can over or under crimp. The male terminal can be soldered and I've done that in the past. Never solder a female terminal since the heat of soldering has a high probability of impacting the contact material (particularly if it is brass) that will decrease interface normal force.
While on the topic of the connectors, I'm a big advocate for contact lubricants on bare and tin plated connections. Fretting corrosion in tin plated electrical contacts is especially problematic and results from unlubricated contacts subjected to thermally induced microscopic motions in the contact interface. These mirco-motions result from current on-off cycling. As the interface moves ever so slightly during a current carrying/heating cycle, a tin oxide builds on the freshly exposed tin. When the current is switched off, the contact interface microscopically moves back and rides up on these oxides. These cyclically build up over time and increase the interface resistance. If you're running a 6V system, regardless if it is carrying high or low current, this is bad since every fraction of a volt is critical in these systems. In low current applications, that eventually results in an open circuit. In higher current applications, it gets more dramatic since the interface resistance gradually increases and that, in turn, heats up the interface as the current goes through it. This increasing temperature eventually builds up to the point where the contact material anneals and you lose contact force in the connector system. Without adequate contact force and combined with the insulating oxides, the result is a nasty thermal cycle that means that the contact burns up or at a minimum the insulation on the wire going to the connector melts. Lubricating the connector interface of these connectors with a quality contact lubricant prevents these oxides from building up and prevents or at least delays this nasty cycle. I had to add this comment on lubricants and contact performance since I have a background of 35 years of experience in the connector and switch industry.
Ron
I had about a decade stint at a Harley dealership, so I’m pretty familiar with the ‘fancy’ crimpers specific to the various types of terminals, since they rotate types of terminals fairly often. We also (and I still do) used dialectic grease religiously. I spent a lot of time straightening out rat nest wiring complete with black tape, speaker wire/ solid wire, and wire nuts, lol!
It’s sooo much easier to be able to use the right crimper, but as a demoted joe blow, it’s a little more difficult to obtain the correct crimper since nothing really tells you the right crimper to use, and there are countless styles of terminals out there most needing a specific one. Obsolete-ish terminals like the ones in question, really make it that much harder. I do plan on tackling this issue in the near future, and would like to go on the hunt for one that has changeable adapters, so I don’t have to buy so many different sets of tools. Not sure if that’s a feasible thing yet, cause honestly I haven’t poked around much yet on this topic.
There’s a number of contact cleaner/lubes available commercially. Use of any is better than nothing. Caig Labs, Nye Lubricants, Miller-Stephenson, and MG Chemicals are a few brands I know with good contact lubes.
The best (and most expensive) contain polyphenylether lubricant. This is arguably the best contact lube since it stays in place over a wide range of temperatures, requires only a very light film, and is pretty inert. That’s what I use and recommend. Avoid any silicone lubricants since they have the potential to make things worse.
