Crimp Wiring Tool

R

rfitzpatrick

Well-known member
Snyder's has Headlamp Wire Terminal (p/n A-13076) that needs a special tool to crimp (yes-- but I don't want to solder). Where might I find that tool plz?
TKS
 
you are better off soldering those ends on. I do have a crimper for doing that. it works good on the little buttons on the light pig tails but not that nice on the head light wire ends. I solder all the ones I install.
 
jw hash said:
you are better off soldering those ends on. I do have a crimper for doing that. it works good on the little buttons on the light pig tails but not that nice on the head light wire ends. I solder all the ones I install.
Click to expand...

X2 Here. I used to just crimp years ago, but now with all connections,
I crimp & solder. Use shrink tubing to finish job.
 
4-way crimping tools are available. A person would need to know the diameter of the terminal and make sure it will fit into the crimping tool.
 
Thanks -- someone said drill a small hole is a piece of wood and place the terminal opening face-up. The wood won't take up so much heat from soldering and you can apply pressure downward. I did this and it'll work with practice.
TKS
 
The problem with soldering is that the solder can wick up the wire and create a stress point where the wire will break when repeatedly bent back and forth. The problem with crimping is that if it is not done correctly air and moisture can get into the crimp and cause corrosion. The crimp can also be not tight enough to even hold and the wire can pull out. If adjusted correctly the ratchet type crimping tool will produce a gas tight joint that will not corrode and the wire cannot pull out.

The terminals for the headlights will take a special crimping tool that Rotorwrench talked about in Post #4. This is the same type of crimping that is done on steel cable terminals for structural applications.
 
here is a four-way crimp, they do NOT work well on those ends. I put the ends one at a time in between the arms on my soldering iron, heat it up fill it with solder install wire, let the trigger off let it cool for five seconds. and move on to the next one
 

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This crimping tool and associated bullets and connectors have worked great for me.
 

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jw hash said:
here is a four-way crimp, they do NOT work well on those ends. I put the ends one at a time in between the arms on my soldering iron, heat it up fill it with solder install wire, let the trigger off let it cool for five seconds. and move on to the next one
Click to expand...

Great idea.
 
jw hash said:
here is a four-way crimp, they do NOT work well on those ends. I put the ends one at a time in between the arms on my soldering iron, heat it up fill it with solder install wire, let the trigger off let it cool for five seconds. and move on to the next one
Click to expand...

A similar but alternative method that I use. Cut a small piece of solder off the spool, put it in the end of the fitting. Heat as JW showed, once it's in liquid form, you push the wire in the fitting, let it cool and remove.

The solder in the fitting is essentially a slug you insert in the fitting. Just a simple method to do the same thing with only two hands.
 
Seems like one of those little jobs where a helper makes a big difference. Perhaps a neighbor, a son-in-law, or a grandchild.
 
When I crimp I follow by using Marine Shrink tubing to seal the connection and keep moisture and corrosion out.

I do like to solder the bullet end tho. Just a little solder on the end where the wire comes thru the hole.
 
The problem with a lot of the reproduction bullet and headlight terminals is that they are machine made in brass. The originals were generally tern plated copper or formed brass sheet which lend themselves well to crimping. The machine made stuff is too hard and may not crimp without cracking.

I generally tin the wire ends before soldering them to a terminal. I use the iron tip to tin a wire since I don't have a solder pot. Tinning will help a person control the amount of wicking that happens when soldering wire. Soldered connections tend to break over time if the wire can move at all. It's just the nature of that type of joint. After a person does it a while then they can hold wicking to a minimum. It helps to have an alligator clip holding device to aid in supporting parts while being soldered. This temporary link illustrates what I'm referring to.
https://www.amazon.com/Noah-Magnifi...ectronics/dp/B09CT7R4NY/?tag=atomicindus08-20
 
I like the soldering technique by JW, Post #8. I also like the idea of putting a slug of solder in the connector before heating as Hitman suggested in Post #11. I think if you are careful and don't use a lot of solder, you can minimize the risk of fracture by bending over time. The heat shrink tubing that Y-Blockhead talked about in Post #13 is also a good idea and will act as a strain relief.
 
I learned to solder in the navy's basic electricity & electronics school 45+ years ago. Solder wicking up a wire connection was common among new students. Many people were under the misconception that if little solder is good, more is even better. Of course this is not so. There is very little surface area where a wire terminal actually contacts the wire. Only enough solder necessary to bond these surfaces are necessary. Any more than that just wicks up the wire, making it very stiff. Tinning both the wire and terminal is good practice, as this usually supplies enough solder to the job without adding any more. I make my own wiring for the generators I restore and use ta slightly modified alligator clamp holder all the time, a very handy tool.
 
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As was previously mentioned, the reproduction terminals are solder cup type. They are too hard for crimping. This link shows the three wire ends for the headlight in a completed harness from Snyder's.
https://www.snydersantiqueauto.com/product.htm?pid=976261&cat=

The photo can be resized to see the three terminal ends. The insulation should be trimmed back just enough to bottom the wires into the terminal and get a good solder joint.

There is a Ford Service Bulletin on this subject but it only has illustrations of the three types of terminal ends for the headlight conduit plugs. It is dated May 1930 page 457.
 
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