Making the Connection: Solder vs. Solderless Terminals

By Jerry Sussman

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The terminal itself also must be suitable for crimping. As simple as that statement may appear to be, some of the more commonly available crimp terminals have no place on a modern vehicle. The rigid insulation on some crimp terminals is brittle, and may crack during the crimping process or even may prevent a proper crimp. And far too many crimp terminals do not allow for a double crimp on insulated wire. Instead, they burden the crimp with the double duty of cold welding the wire strands to the terminal barrel for both electrical conductivity and stress relief. These connections may fail. Unfortunately, it is not always easy for the average shade tree to find crimp terminals that are suited for their intended application. Once again, there are alternatives.

Many of us are familiar with at least one variety of the solderless terminals that do not require crimping: the twist type connectors that are sold at neighborhood hardware stores. In theory, all that is necessary is to strip each end of the wires to be connected, insert the ends into the connector, and twist. No crimping, no soldering, and no additional insulation may be required. In reality, terminals such as these are better suited for household use, and traditionally have had little, if any, place in OEM or after market vehicle electrical circuits. However, new products are making inroads.

One company has come out with an entire product line of crimpless terminals that are supposed to be suitable for motor vehicle use. As is the case with the twist type connectors, all that is necessary to provide both electrical continuity and stress relief is to remove a portion of a wire's insulation, to insert the exposed wire through a threaded end into an insulated barrel, and then to screw the threaded end until tight. In addition to ease of use, we are promised superior electrical conductivity, protection against environmental hazards, and resistance to vibration, splash and unintended separation. And unlike crimp connectors, they are reusable. This sounds almost too good to be true.

In my somewhat limited experience with various of these new products, I have been both satisfied and disappointed. There is little doubt that they are convenient and relatively easy to use. However, I sometimes found that it was difficult to hold the wire in a fixed position while the threaded end was screwed into the barrel, and the wire sometimes rotated, twisted or receded during the tightening process. I could not make the threaded end flush with the connector barrel, and was unable to visually confirm the extent of the connection. Even with the twisting force limited to my own hands, the threaded end of some of the smaller connectors sometimes spun in the barrel. Moreover, though some of these products are color-coded in accordance with convention (e.g., “blue” is for 14 – 16 AWG wires), some are not. And even if a terminal matched the AWG gauge of the wire strands, the thickness of the insulation sometimes could not be accommodated. A so-called “kit” that was advertised as containing all the connectors necessary to wire an accessory light circuit contained only six tap connectors. And even with a proper connection, some plug connectors simply failed to establish electrical continuity. To be sure, my opinions only, based upon my observations. Your actual mileage may vary.

In the final analysis, a soldered connection is neither inherently better nor inherently worse than a solderless connection. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, and each may be appropriate or inappropriate for a given application. The key to a successful electrical connection is to remember that, if you choose to solder, you must be able to solder properly, and if you choose to crimp, you must use the proper tool and select a solderless terminal that is suited both for crimping and for its intended use. Time will tell whether solderless connectors that do not require crimping are an acceptable alternative.

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