electrical 101?

[fogcity]

Okay, I'd like to fix, or better connect, some wires going to senders and such. I also ordered one of Marcus' relays and will be needing to install that. I'm beginning to get the concept of how these electrical componets work, I bought a kit containing a bunch of crimps and connectors, etc, but I have a few really dumb questions:

1) How exactly do you use shrink wrap?
2) For crimps, do you just feed the two ends of the wires into the thing and squeeze the center with the crimper?
3) I'm going to buy a soldering gun (most likely from Home Depo) and was wondering if I need to look for anything special and what kind of solder should I get?
4) Should a person solder AND crimp?
5) The rule is that you can extend a wire by attaching another piece of wire that is equal or THICKER in gauge, right?
6) Anything fundamental I'm leaving out?

This is all in an effort to advance from my former repairs by just twisting the wires together and wrapping them with lots of electrical tape, to creating fine and masterful connections which would convince even the most trained eye that I know what I'm doing.

Thanks,
Dylan

[eion]

1) By 'shrink wrap' I assume you mean heat shrink (tubing). If not, you've got the wrong stuff, unless you're wrapping something up to put in the fridge . For heat shrink, well, it should say on the packet how much it's going to shrink - choose your tubing accordingly. It may well not be the smallest tubing that can fit over the connection. Then, fit the tubing over the connection and use a hairdrier (heat gun etc. is too harsh, or it is the way I handle tools) to heat it. Watch it shrink.

2) there should be instructions on the packet showing where to crimp. For what it's worth, you might want to consider using detachable connectors like spade terminals or similar - I personally find them much easier to work with (cos you don't have to hold two wires in place as you crimp, for a start). More expensive, yes, but it's not really that big a deal IMO.

3) Dunno about the soldering gun, but there are (at least) two different types of solder - get solder labelled as being suitable for electrical use, rosin-core sounds familiar.

4) Not at the same time.

5) Makes sense to me, but... depending on the type of wire, if resistance is a factor (for example, for sensor wire), you may run into problems, if my A-level physics serves.

6) This is all common-sense stuff, but it's also stuff that I wish I'd known when I first started tinkering...
- Got a multimeter? If you're gonna be doing anything more involved than changing a bulb or a fuse (and sometimes even then :P) you're going to pretty much need one. Get a decent one so you trust the readings.
- Get a good set of wire-cutters so that you'll get nice clean cuts, makes life *so* much easier.
- Have a bunch of different colours of insulating tape handy (you'll thank me for this at some point, I'm sure).
- Have a selection of different gauges of wire so you won't have to substitute a different (possibly thinner in an emergency, which could be bad) gauge all the time.
- Contact cleaner can be a handy thing to have around.
- If you're going to be working with anything static-sensitive, get a grounding strap - in fact, they're so cheap, you may as well get one anyway (and whatever you do, don't wear a nylon fleece while working with static-sensitive bits - ask me how I know this).
- If in doubt as to whether a part is static-sensitive, it is.
- If in doubt as to whether something is live, it is. If you have to touch it (and it may be high voltage), touch it with the back of your fingers, that way if it's live your hand will jerk away rather than grip said live object.
- Last but not least, gloves - electric shocks to the body are (usually) not pleasant.

Hope this helps

[john70t]

The quick strippers from Radio Shack are nice to use and a good set of heavy duty crimpers are a must. Also, use the insulated jaws.
It's worth it to go the extra step and make sure the connections are airtight and exposed wire is coated with a grease or liquid electrical tape (messy)to prevent corrosion. The butt connectors with the shrink tubing are better than the hard plastic if you can find them.

[sammyg2]

I really like my wire stripper, I got it and my crimper at harbor freight tools. They work good and didn't cost much. I also have an assortment of spade locks and other assorted connectors that come in handy.

Soldering wire is sometimes a bad idea on automotive wiring because it can become brittle and break right next to the solder joint when exposed to vibration, most connectors on cars are crimped. Of course there are exceptions to this rule.

I used to have a book on automotive electrical systems and components, I'll check and see if I can find it when i get home. If I can find it I'll let it go for almost free if you're interested. I found it very useful when I started messing with ths stuff.

[RallyJon]

I love the weaterproof heat shrink connectors. You crimp them, then hit them with the heat gun and they melt some kind of fluid around the crimp, plus shrink a layer of tough outer tubing around the whole thing.

Also, I found a really nice black rubber-like fuel-resistant elastomer heat shrink tubing to cover the wires. It's pretty thick walled and should protect the wires where they go through the fender into the wheelwell.

[cab83_750]

Rally/Jon,

Where did you buy your kit?

[RallyJon]

www.mcmaster.com but don't buy the kit if you already have a crimper. The kit doesn't have a great assortment and I ended up supplementing it with "a la carte" packets.

[cab83_750]

Thanks for the advice. You're correct....I already have crimperS (plural). I thought the box contains multi-multi-multi assortments.

Thanks!

[fogcity]

Eion - thanks for a great explaination and looking out for me.
Sam - super nice offer about the book, but I don't think I'll get too involved in the electrical stuff after all. Shoot, I should return the soldering gun to Home Depo and just use crimps.
Where's the best place to buy all these types of heat shrink and crimps and such?
Thanks,
Dylan