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A Crimp In Time Saves Nine

Crimping Closed Barrel Terminals Fire
Upon proving the quality of... 
   
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Crimping Closed Barrel Terminals Fire
Upon proving the quality of your crimps, slide the shrink wrap back over the terminal's barrel and apply heat. Probably the most reliable source is a heat gun; however, heat from a butane lighter or a propane torch works just as well. Make sure to use only the heat, and not the flame itself. For what it's worth, adhesive-lined tubing very effectively seals the joint from moisture.
Crimping Closed Barrel Terminals Crimping Sizes
Due to their greater crimp... 
   
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Crimping Closed Barrel Terminals Crimping Sizes
Due to their greater crimp pressure capacity, ratchet-style dies often feature wider jaw contact area than pliers-type tools. Furthermore, each station in most ratchet-style dies also features a secondary station with rounded jaws. They crimp the extended barrels exclusive to double-crimp terminals.
Crimping Closed Barrel Terminals Crimping Tool
Insulated-barrel terminals... 
   
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Crimping Closed Barrel Terminals Crimping Tool
Insulated-barrel terminals operate on the same crimping principle as their bare brethren, but the tooling differs. In this case, they rely on pliers with shallower jaws, similar to those on this Molex pliers-style multi-function tool. While these simple pliers will get the job done in a pinch, they're not necessarily the tool you'd reach for to wire a whole car.
Crimping Closed Barrel Terminals Terminals
Most people refer to double-crimp... 
   
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Crimping Closed Barrel Terminals Terminals
Most people refer to double-crimp terminals as strain-relief terminals, since their secondary larger barrel crimps to the wire's insulation, thereby relieving the strain on the unsupported conductor. From left to right are a standard vinyl-insulated terminal, a double-crimp terminal with its nylon insulation intact, and a similar terminal stripped of its insulation. Ken Whitney suggested we pay the small premium for nylon-insulated terminals; nylon resists higher temperatures and doesn't become brittle, as PVC (vinyl) insulation often does.
Crimping Closed Barrel Terminals Wire In Terminal
Once again, give the terminal... 
   
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Crimping Closed Barrel Terminals Wire In Terminal
Once again, give the terminal a good tug to verify its installation. For what it's worth, this editor never considered using insulated terminals in the past specifically because ordinary pliers-type tools generated unreliable crimps despite the wrist-damaging hand pressure they require. Suffice it to say, shop time spent with a ratcheting crimp tool changed that.
Crimping Closed Barrel Terminals Crimping
Orient the terminal over the... 
   
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Crimping Closed Barrel Terminals Crimping
Orient the terminal over the stripped wire (same method as described earlier) so either of the die's jaws squarely strikes the seamed side of the barrel. If using a ratchet-style tool with secondary crimping pockets, make sure the primary jaws, or the flatter of the two sets, generate the actual crimp close to the terminal's working end. In such cases, ensure that the secondary jaws crimp the remainder of the barrel.
Affordable Street Rods Klein Tools
American Autowire/Factory Fit
Bellmawr
NJ

americanautowire.com
Molex
Centech Painless Performance Products
817/244-6212

painlessperformance.com
The Detail Zone Ron Francis Wiring
EZ Wiring
P.O. Box 67
Bunnell
FL  32110
TPI Tech
Haywire
1415 Prairie View Rd., Dept. CRM
Joplin
MO  64804
Watson's StreetWorks
860-859-0513

www.watsons-streetworks.com
Howell Engine Development Wire 1 Hot Rod
3477 Old Conejo Rd., Unit D-7
Newbury Park
CA  91320

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