crimpers magic?

[jalapeño]

Bought crimpers, similar to these. When I attempt to crimp a connector, all it does is bend the connector into a triangle. I figured the splice in the connector goes toward the number/ M side. Am I wrong or is there a magic trick to these things?

 

[hannibal61577]

I can't really see what kind of crimpers those are, but I messed around with the cheapies for years before finally getting a good set of crimpers. I don't regret spending the money on these (not that they're all that expensive) and I don't think you will either:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/OTC-4497/?rtype=10

 

[markperry]

X2 on the proper crimpers....It's kind of hard to explain but you need the crimpers that have a pointed side to them so they will push one side of the connector and a portion of the wire most of the way through the connector.

 

[71broncman]

X3. After dealing with PO's bad crimps on a few different trucks I like to solder but do crimp sometimes. When I do crimp, a quality crimper is worth every cent.
Mark.

 

[Pa PITT]

I gave up on crimpers even bought good ones but I no longer have the strength in my hands to get the jib done .. So the last Lowes had vise grips on sale, I just bought 2 or 3 new vise grips that are supposed to be dedicated to crimping only. This way the tips stay flat . Seems to work good for me.

 

[Steve83]

Your pic is pretty small - it almost looks like coax crimpers. %) This is the type I prefer, and they're VERY affordable.

<-Clicky

To get a good crimp, set the connector into the jaw (small for bare or red; large for blue or yellow) with the tooth pointing DEAD-center of the seam in the metal. Insert the wire & crush the edges of the tube so they dig into the wire. Then move the crimp to the inner jaw (the round one) with the depression pointing OUT of the plier jaws, and RE-crush it so the first crimp is forced even tighter. Then test it by pulling the wire reasonably hard. If it slips, either you did it wrong, or the connector is junk.

If you look closely, those pliers also have a small square jaw (between the large & small toothed jaws) for straightening heavy wire or final-crimping small bare connectors. It's also good for shaping soldered joints so they don't puncture heat-shrink.

 

[ransil]

he is crimping weatherpacks

 

[Bay0726]

If you can, it's better to solder and use heat shrink over the joint. Better for a long term fix.

 

[jalapeño]

Cool, thanks. I think I was using wrong crimpers for wrong connector.