Electrical connections

I'm about to rewire my whole 74 cj5 258 using the ez wire 12 circuit mini kit. Just wondering what the best way to do it is. I was gonna twist the wires, put on some dielectric grease, then barrel clamp over it; but now I want to twist the wires, drop in solder and heat shrink over it. Can I still use dielectric grease if I heat shrink the connection, or does heat shrink tubing eliminate the need for dielectric grease. Give me some ideas, whats the best way to make these connections?

 

you do not need to use both dielectric grease and shrink tubing together. i perfer to use solider/shrink tube verus dielectric grease/crimp butt splices.

 

I never have bought a kit, but when you do it yourself you make all your wires long enough that you don't have to solder them together. I use terminal blocks where I need to make some common connections.

 

What about places like the headlight sockets and gauge panel??

 

IMHO butt splices will eventually corrode. When I rebuilt my 30 year old
boat's electrical, I soldered everything. It's really not that much work once you get the technique down. The key is using a soldering iron that has enough watts.

 

Get the heat shrink that is made for underwater connections. It has a sealant in it that is heat activated. Its called dual wall polyolefin heatshrink with adhesive. I use it on submersible wells with connection 150’+ underwater

 

I'd avoid dielectric grease. Eeeyew.

Barrel conectors are said to provide your best mechanical connection. You must use the proper crimping tool and enough pressure though. If you use the adhesive heatshrink, you should have no trouble with corrosion.

You can get the adhesive heatshrink at electronics supplies - data sheets here http://www.raychem.com/US/datasheets/1654025_Sec_3/3-043_3-044_HTAT.pdf
and here http://www.raychem.com/US/datasheets/1654025_Sec_3/3-045_3-046_RPPM.pdf

Do it right and buy a heat gun, crimping tool and the right tubing. You can buy the uninsulated barrel connectors at Mouser electronics and probably other places. Mouser is a good place to buy because they handle small orders well.

You can solder if you want to, but the solder joint is said to embrittle the end of the connection, and it is inferior electrically to a crimped joint. Plus, you can't just drip solder on - it has to be done right, with the right iron and a minimum amount of heat. Use a good quality electronics solder (Kester) of the right diameter, and keep everything clean. The fat wire solder they sell in hardware stores is inferior, old and will melt too slowly and be hard to control. I use Kester 0.050" "44" for most hardwire apps (that's too big for PCBs though). Hot clean iron, get in, apply solder, get out, done.

 

More - regarding soldering.

Don't use a pencil iron for large wires (like automotive wiring). The wire will sink too much heat and you'll melt the insulation off before you get the joint hot enough.

I use a Weller soldering gun for large wires: http://www.action-electronics.com/weguns.htm I have the D550 gun. Works well, except that you need to keep the nuts that hold the tip tight. If it's not getting hot as fast as it was, tighten the nuts.