Electical Connectors.

Hello,
Im going to be building a dash soon, and theres going to be a lot of wiring,
im going to need to "Splice" into Lives, such as warning lights and back lights.
Im also going to be Extending current wiring.
Theres going to be a lot of sharing of common earths..good idea?

Now i know that the more wiring there is, the more there is to go wrong, and i know that electrical fires, are something that has to be concidered.

So i need to be doing this wiring in the safest way.

I would like you opinions on the best type of electrical connectors for the above jobs. The old Bullet and Tunnel connectors arent really ideal. I have a crimping tool, but there are a lot of electrical connectors available on the market

Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Alastair.

Im currently just thinking for wire extensions just a spade on one end, the female connector on the new extension piece of wiring.
But i dont know whats best for joining a live to a new piece of wiring.

Hi!

first of all, avoid the terminals you can buy which are pre-insulated, they suck. Go for good metal crimp terminals with appropriate sleeving and heat shrink wrap aswell. I always actually crimp, then sodler, the heat shrink, then sleeve when I am doing stuff, though the jury does seem to be out on the benefit of soldering as it can cause 'dry joints' if not done well (I have had LOTS iof practice now ).

When it comes to splicing wires into wires without the need for a terminal as such, I do use bullets, but I am careful in my selection.... you can get bullets sized for the wire you are using. I usually get mine from polevolt (talk to Neil there, he's really helpful). However, I don't use the standard sleeves you sometimes find:

http://www.autospark...roducts_id=1115

I find they seem to be a bit loose. I do take the rubber sleeve from them, then use it to sleeve this:

http://www.autospark...roducts_id=1113

If I need to join 2 wires into one, crimp the pair of wires in the female, and only use the bullet on the single wire. Invest in some good bullet crimps and a bullet closing tool for good measure and practice a bit first by crimping a wire in a bullet and then trying to pull it out... it should take quite a load before coming out, if at all.

Hope that helps!

thankyou very much for this advice.
So bullets are still quite well used. OK,
So Just ensure everthing is Wrapped well, and sleeved.

ok, what is the maximum amount of times you would be able to safely splice a cable, without having to use a more extravagent way to split the current,

Alastair

I just did a 1-4 split for a centre loom, but I did it in 2 stages, 1-2, then 2-4... if you work out what is needed and think it through in advance, you can usually avoind too much splicing close together... if pushed I would try 1-3 split, but those female bullet crimps aren't designed for too thick a wire...

How many times you split a wire is irrelevant, how much current you draw down it is extremely important.

Cheers for that
hmm, well most of my wiring is going to be warning, lights and switches.
The thing that will take the most will be my Fogs and Spots, but i can relay that.
Dont know about the Reverse Spot Yet.
im just trying to keep it safe as possible, seen what can happen after an electrical fire.

Alastair

If wherever suitable you can use a relay it will dramatically reduce the loading on the wiring... you can then be confident just using pretty small thinwall wire which is rated at 11amps very safely and protect your switches too.

So if i use a relay on teh following it would be better:
Fogs
Spots
Rear Spots
Fuel Pump
Air Horns
Ignition Switch?
Push start

Alastair

So if i use a relay on teh following it would be better:
Fogs
Spots
Rear Spots
Fuel Pump
Air Horns
Ignition Switch?
Push start

Alastair

For the fuel pump you don't need a normal switch, so wire directly from an ignition on only point on the fusebox, add an inline fuse and if possible an inertia cutoff switch for safety.

Ignition switch loading comes from the starter drawing current, so if you put a relay on the starter circuit you should be fine. The others I would say yes to all, apart from rear spots which sound peculiar to me!

I dont need a normal switch for the fuel pump, but i need to be able to cut it and have the ignition run it..also its part of a security measure.
Cheers for all the advise.

I dont need a normal switch for the fuel pump, but i need to be able to cut it and have the ignition run it..also its part of a security measure.
Cheers for all the advise.

That's why I was recommending an inertia switch... about £20 from minispares, I think