Small issue, but what's an alternative to those shrinking plastic sleeves one uses when wiring two pieces of wire together? I could just apply electrical tape, but that doesn't sound like a very good long term solution. Maybe electrical tape and super glue?
Butt connectors crimped with a quality ratchet type crimping tool, then heat shrink over that, or silicone tape.
Based on experience, with the vibrations we have on our bikes, I am not a fan of soldered connections.
Mechanical is the way to go.
It's a power cable for an electric jacket, not on the bike itself. :good2:
Quote from: fintip on December 01, 2013, 01:41:19 AMSmall issue, but what's an alternative to those shrinking plastic sleeves one uses when wiring two pieces of wire together? I could just apply electrical tape, but that doesn't sound like a very good long term solution. Maybe electrical tape and super glue?
Fintip,
Sounds like you are using the cheap, old-style heat-shrink tubing. You need to get some of the new type heat-shrink tubing, which has a layer of hot-glue around the inside. It shrinks to fit (usually 50% smaller), so buy the correct size. The hot glue melts, and seals and bonds everything together. Use bullet connectors, crimped if you do not solder them, for connections that you need to separate at times. Make the female bullet the hot lead, and the male bullet should be the load wire. If the female bullet is not covered by insulation, the heat-shrink tubing should extend very slightly beyond the female bullet (trim to fit with small, sharp scissors). This trick helps to avoid having the connector touch a ground and short out, when unplugged.
Where you expect heavy use, do not hesitate to apply a second layer of heat-shrink tubing after the first, which means that two pieces of heat-shrink will need to be on the wiring, before you start.
Cheers,
Red
I agree. Crimping followed by good heat shrink. Throw away the electrical tape. And this is not a place for superglue. (I don't even own any electrical tape, but I do have a bunch of F-4 tape.) :music:
As a side note, aviation application don't do solder because of vibration-prone failures either, just mechanical joints.