Big_Geek
Drop Bear
Poor practices in adding/modifying vehicle wiring systems is a pet peeve of mine and I see it quite frequently in do-it-yourself articles as well as instruction manuals from respected off-road manufacturers. I will readily admit that I am a bit dogmatic about wiring systems and making sure they are rock-solid. If that is not of concern to you, go right ahead and do whatever you think is best. If you are willing to invest a little extra effort into your wiring efforts, I'll take you through what I have found to be the best wiring methods to ensure a secure and reliable wiring system. I'm not sure if this is already covered here, but I'm going to break this down in a few posts as I continue modifying my Tacoma.
Let's start off with a few "Dont's" of vehicle wiring:
1. Quick Splice Connectors
Never use these. I don't often say never, and I could be convinced that there are emergency situations where this would be appropriate, but I'm not aware of any. Having said that, there are several problems with these connectors - the first being that they destroy the weatherproofing of the wiring jacket and do nothing to replace that seal. This leads to corrosion of the wire and, over time, poor connection to whatever you are attempting to splice in. The second problem is that they often cut individual wire strands in the original wire upon installation. This reduces the number of strands that are capable of carrying the electrical load of the system and can cause heating in the wires, or failure of the connection. The third is that, over time, these connectors can continue to cut away at individual wire strands and further weaken the original circuit into which you are splicing. I was a bit shocked to see my new bumper lighting kit from a very respected off-road manufacturer included these as part of the installation kit.
2. Butt Splice Connectors
Again, never use these. The fact that you're reaching for one likely means that you should be reaching for a soldering iron and heat-shrink tubing instead. These connectors are mechanically and electrically poor (and continue to degrade on both counts over time), they are not weatherproof or even weather resistant, and are prone to failure at the least opportune times.
3. Crimp Connectors
Don't get me wrong, I love a good crimp-on connector, but there is a right way (detailed later) and a wrong way to use them. If you follow the instructions on the packaging and only use mechanical crimping force to secure the connector, you are asking for intermittent electrical problems as well as potential connection failures. This could lead to inconvenience, blown fuses, or (worst case) electrical/battery failures.
Here is an example of what I see with crimp connectors that drives me bonkers:
I'm sure the creator of this configuration is perfectly happy, but I see twelve opportunities for electrical failure added into this circuit (two crimps on each butt splice, plus another crimp on the female blade connector).
4. Connecting to a Power Source Without Circuit Protection
Unless you are installing a device that consumes an incredible amount of power (such as a winch), never connect to the battery without a fuse, fusible link or circuit breaker. In most cases, to make this happen, you actually have to cut off a fuse holder that the manufacturer installed.
5. Weatherproofing
If a connection is installed outside of the cabin of the vehicle (and sometimes even inside the cabin), you really need to consider weatherproofing that connection. This can be in the form of solder, heat shrink tubing, a combination of the two, electrical tape (often the least elegant solution), or weatherproof connectors.
This is a weatherproof connector:
Again, my bumper lighting kit came with non-weatherproof connectors, so I will be cutting those off, sliding on the rubber "gaskets" in the picture, stripping the wires, crimping AND soldering the connectors, installing them in the housing, sliding up the gaskets, then clipping down the plastic cover to keep everything in place. The total cost will be somewhere in the $15 range to fix both sides of the bumper which is a price I'm very willing to pay for peace of mind.
Please feel free to add poor wiring practices that I have omitted. In the next installment, I will start showing my preferred way of splicing wires and installing connectors.
Let's start off with a few "Dont's" of vehicle wiring:
1. Quick Splice Connectors
Never use these. I don't often say never, and I could be convinced that there are emergency situations where this would be appropriate, but I'm not aware of any. Having said that, there are several problems with these connectors - the first being that they destroy the weatherproofing of the wiring jacket and do nothing to replace that seal. This leads to corrosion of the wire and, over time, poor connection to whatever you are attempting to splice in. The second problem is that they often cut individual wire strands in the original wire upon installation. This reduces the number of strands that are capable of carrying the electrical load of the system and can cause heating in the wires, or failure of the connection. The third is that, over time, these connectors can continue to cut away at individual wire strands and further weaken the original circuit into which you are splicing. I was a bit shocked to see my new bumper lighting kit from a very respected off-road manufacturer included these as part of the installation kit.
2. Butt Splice Connectors
Again, never use these. The fact that you're reaching for one likely means that you should be reaching for a soldering iron and heat-shrink tubing instead. These connectors are mechanically and electrically poor (and continue to degrade on both counts over time), they are not weatherproof or even weather resistant, and are prone to failure at the least opportune times.
3. Crimp Connectors
Don't get me wrong, I love a good crimp-on connector, but there is a right way (detailed later) and a wrong way to use them. If you follow the instructions on the packaging and only use mechanical crimping force to secure the connector, you are asking for intermittent electrical problems as well as potential connection failures. This could lead to inconvenience, blown fuses, or (worst case) electrical/battery failures.
Here is an example of what I see with crimp connectors that drives me bonkers:
I'm sure the creator of this configuration is perfectly happy, but I see twelve opportunities for electrical failure added into this circuit (two crimps on each butt splice, plus another crimp on the female blade connector).
4. Connecting to a Power Source Without Circuit Protection
Unless you are installing a device that consumes an incredible amount of power (such as a winch), never connect to the battery without a fuse, fusible link or circuit breaker. In most cases, to make this happen, you actually have to cut off a fuse holder that the manufacturer installed.
5. Weatherproofing
If a connection is installed outside of the cabin of the vehicle (and sometimes even inside the cabin), you really need to consider weatherproofing that connection. This can be in the form of solder, heat shrink tubing, a combination of the two, electrical tape (often the least elegant solution), or weatherproof connectors.
This is a weatherproof connector:
Again, my bumper lighting kit came with non-weatherproof connectors, so I will be cutting those off, sliding on the rubber "gaskets" in the picture, stripping the wires, crimping AND soldering the connectors, installing them in the housing, sliding up the gaskets, then clipping down the plastic cover to keep everything in place. The total cost will be somewhere in the $15 range to fix both sides of the bumper which is a price I'm very willing to pay for peace of mind.
Please feel free to add poor wiring practices that I have omitted. In the next installment, I will start showing my preferred way of splicing wires and installing connectors.