General Chat
Q:
(Yes, I have searched.)
This is not Z specific, hence the Car Talk post. I have just installed a battery isolation switch in my old Ford because of a recent incident with a faulty starter motor. I want the wife to be able to cut power in case this happens again.
I cut the heavy duty positive cable which feeds directly from the battery to the starter (and from there the rest of the car's wiring). I was able to crimp a new lug onto the short piece of cable that I had cut, because I was able to take it out of the car and smack it with a hammer. It took a lot of smacking to get a nice crimp, trust me.
The other lug has taken me a lot of effort, as it is not as easy to take out of the car. I am trying to be lazy and avoid removing this cable. Even with my biggest pair of Channellock pliers I am not able to get a nice tight crimp (too much flex in the handles).
Anyone got a hint on crimping these large cables?
A:
They make a tool for crimping battery lugs , which I dont own myself but have used. What I usually do is solder, flux the lug and the wire then fill lug about half way with solder and then stick the wire in. I been doing it this way a long time now with no issue's and it does not seem to corrode a bad as a crimp connection......
Jimmy
83ZX Turbo
A:
If you'd rather not go that route (which is a really good one) I would suggest using vice grips and towel to keep the teeth from ripping up the connector. Then again it is a Ford, doubt anyone would notice.
______________________________________________________________________________
77 280Z - TEC3 Engine Management, Coil Packs, 3.1 Stroker, 550CC injectors, tripple throttle body FI intake, MSA Stage II Cam, etc...etc...
79 Fairlady - Rusty
81 280ZX - DD
A:
nothing beats soldering them. been doing it that way for a longtime and they dont corrode as bad as crimped ends.
Post Edited (Jan 11, 8:51am)
A:
If you don't have the crimpers, or the hammer crimper for the lugs, you can do the following:
Take a Center Punch, and use it to make a depression in the bottom of the lug with the gable in it. Next move to a larger punch or rod about 1/4" and do it again so you have a decent dimple. If you can stick the lug down inside a piece of pipe to support the backside to keep it from flattening all the better (usually 3/8 or 1/2" Sch 40 Short nipples ground down for access).
Finally, take a vice grips, and use a 1/4" ball bearing in the dimple, and that half piece of pipe on the backshell to support it, and progressively crimp the thing till it holds the cable tightly. This is almost as good as a real crimper.
If you want to, then solder it.
You can also make multiple punch marks while supporting the backside in the pipe, and this will also work. With a simple center-punch you can really ram down three to five little punctures through the lug into the cable, and that will hold it really well. It also lets flux flow into the cable when you solder it later. If you plan on soldering it, I prefer the punch through in several places method over the ball bearing. The ball bearing will make a depression that looks just like the pro crimpers.
The important this is keeping the backside supported and preventing it from distorting so the cable stays bunched up below where you are punching through or crimping. When they flatten out, it generally ends up in a bad connection unless you solder it very well.
I, of course have those damnable expensive ratcheting lug crimpers good for like 4/0 welding cable and smaller because I had to terminate motor lugs on 480V A.C. motors and starters. Like three feet long with interchangable jaws. Buying one of those is not an option. If you can get welding cable, though---even small stuff, it's TONS better at transferring battery voltage than most "battery cables" you buy for the car!
The smaller "hammer crimper" that is a "C" shaped thing has a back support which you hammer on, and a small trapezoidal thing that punches up into the bottom of hte lug when you are beating on it. I've used it before, but find you usually need two or three of those kind of crimps to hold the cable securely. For the money they want for that tool (anywhere from 9 to 25$, you can do just as good a job with a cut piece of pipe, a punch, a ball bearing, and a vice or vice grips.
Oh yeah, after you put the dimple in it, it you have access to a vise, just stick the whole thing in the vise jaws: back support, lug, cable, ball bearing, and tighten it down...that makes it easier than repeatedly crimping a bit at a time in a vice-grips!
Good Luck!
People Are Idiots, Just look around here and you will see!
Tony D: "Knowledgeable but Caustic"... rationull
My brother from another mother calls himself "Willie D"
A:
If you do the solder thing, you should put something on the insulation to keep it from melting when the heat hits the wire, like a strip of wet rag; then put some shrink-tube on.
Rusty but running.
Polish cell phone and two tubes of Aluma-seal.
And, now we are historic.
A:
Thanks for all of your advice guys. I will give it another go today.
I tried soldering the first connection that I made but I will have to buy a better soldering iron. All I was able to do was 'tin' the copper cable strands, and even that didn't work that well. (I have a piss-weak iron designed for small electronics.)
As Tony D said of ratcheting lug crimpers "Buying one of those is not an option". I priced them on the web before I made my original post and they are damn expensive. Since this is not the sort of thing that I will be doing daily, using some of the slower techniques will be fine. The lugs are only worth a couple of dollars each so if I ruin a couple I wont cry too much.
A:
No soldering iron, gotta use a propane torch! The copper wires will just suck up the heat capacity of the soldering iron.
1983 280ZX N/A: 98% rust free, 118,000 actual miles.
1982 280ZX Turbo. $250 Parts car that was better than the rustbucket.
1983 280ZX Turbo. Hopeless rust case. The more I fixed, the more I found.
A:
You need a torch to do the lugs, I don't think there is any iron pig enough available for home use...
I have a MAPP Gas Torch.
People Are Idiots, Just look around here and you will see!
Tony D: "Knowledgeable but Caustic"... rationull
My brother from another mother calls himself "Willie D"
A:
I was going to borrow the old man's giant soldering iron, but a torch will cost me less than the drive to his house. I'll pick up the torch in the morning and give it a try.
My 'lazy option' has failed, as usual . I'm going to have to pull the cables out of the car to do this properly.
A:
I'm lucky. My Dad's an electrician. He has some Huge Ass crimpers that'll crimp just about anything (even pipe) and they have interchangable jaws so you can do whatever sizes you need. I've used them a couple of times for different things. Sounds a lot like what Tony D is talking about except without the ratcheting part. My dad uses them for splice 480V wires to motor lugs too. When he bought them about 10 years ago he said they cost him around $100.
'60 Chevrolet Apache 10 235cid Stovebolt 6
'79 N/A MT (My Dad's but I drive it)
'81 Turbo (Mine)
FSM: $60
Shop Manual: $20
Reading the manual: Priceless
A:
They've gone up in price since then!
People Are Idiots, Just look around here and you will see!
Tony D: "Knowledgeable but Caustic"... rationull
My brother from another mother calls himself "Willie D"
A:
Yep. I priced them at around $450 Australian. I can buy a lot of other tools for that sort of money.
A:
Sometimes the utility company lineman will crimp the lugs on for you if you can find him out on a job (and slip him some cash). You didn't hear it from me.
Rusty but running.
Polish cell phone and two tubes of Aluma-seal.
And, now we are historic.
A:
Ripped cables from car. Hammered new lugs mostly flat. Also used centre punch to get the lug to 'bite' into the cable.
Used the wet rag trick to protect the insulation.
Nice brass BernzoMatic Propane torch - $20, including tank. Heated up the lugs and let the solder suck in. Filled them up completely. Once cool, the connection was rock solid.
A metre of heat-shrink cost me nearly as much as the torch. My local electronics store is a rip-off! Five seconds with the heat gun and my messy soldering is hidden forever.
Thanks for all of your tips guys, the old '65 cranks over beautifully now.
(MAPP torch was 6 times more expensive. Might get one later, but I'm looking to invest in an Oxy set-up, so will probably not need to. Don't need the portability.)
A:
Subject Line says it all...
People Are Idiots, Just look around here and you will see!
Tony D: "Knowledgeable but Caustic"... rationull
My brother from another mother calls himself "Willie D"
A:
Sorry for the confusion. If you look way up to to my original post I mentioned that I was working on my old Ford.
1965 Ford XP Fairmont - wife's daily driver
1973 Datsun 240Z - my car that is two days work from being registered, but I can never find that two days because I am either trying to earn a living or lying under the Ford
The train - my transport
A:
Did I miss it?
"(Yes, I have searched.)
This is not Z specific, hence the Car Talk post. I have just installed a battery isolation switch in my old Ford because of a recent incident with a faulty starter motor. I want the wife to be able to cut power in case this happens again.
I cut the heavy duty positive cable which feeds directly from the battery to the starter (and from there the rest of the car's wiring). I was able to crimp a new lug onto the short piece of cable that I had cut, because I was able to take it out of the car and smack it with a hammer. It took a lot of smacking to get a nice crimp, trust me.
The other lug has taken me a lot of effort, as it is not as easy to take out of the car. I am trying to be lazy and avoid removing this cable. Even with my biggest pair of Channellock pliers I am not able to get a nice tight crimp (too much flex in the handles).
Anyone got a hint on crimping these large cables?"
I didn't think I missed it! LOL
Fairmont XP, ahhhh. Comprende!
People Are Idiots, Just look around here and you will see!
Tony D: "Knowledgeable but Caustic"... rationull
My brother from another mother calls himself "Willie D"