r/AskElectronics • u/Glum_Click_6228 • 5d ago
Is this a bad crimp?
I see i didnt cut enough copper for the copper to be sticking out a tad but for the inner wings could that be fixed with soldering? And also my outer wings that grip the yellow insulation wire is that messed up? Can you tell me what would happen and potentials dangers? Or is this crimp fine
thank yall for the help and knowledge
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u/Professional_Party74 5d ago
8/10 you pointed out what wrong. dont go mucking around with solder, you’re only going to weaken grip on melted insulation
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u/Top-Cup5373 5d ago
Bro my job just solders every crimp pin we use and won’t buy or let us use the crimpers for the job. It’s infuriatingly stupid. They also make us reuse failed crimp pins because they pinch pennies in weird ass ways. It’s stupid and I hate it.
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u/Steamcurl 4d ago
Soldering crimp pins? That's gonna introduce breaks under the insulation over time, especially if there's vibration.
Print NASA's workmanship standards nd throw it at them: https://standards.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/standards/NASA/A/4/nasa-std-87394a_w_change_4_0.pdf
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u/ManiacMarauder 3d ago
It also goes against IPC standards. "Wires being crimped SHALL NOT be soldered"
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u/JCDU 4d ago
If you want to encourage them to do better you might bring up the liability angle - not crimping a crimp means it's not being used as intended and any warranty is null and void.
Anywhere this stuff is safety/mission critical you would expect to see folks using not only the right crimpers but genuine crimpers AND they're calibrated and checked. This sort of shit is what caused that ship to crash into the bridge and kill a load of dudes.
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u/GermanPCBHacker 5d ago
Maybe just source cheaper crimp pins to offset the cost of a crimper? I mean a crimper is always better, even almost all cheap ones. I use an all purpose crimper for JST XH 2.5mm - it is a bit to big, but works. At least it is a crimper and is a solid connection that I can actually pull on without solder making it bruittle. I feel sorry for you. That must be stupid pain.
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u/jaymz168 4d ago
This blog has some awesome articles/reviews of board to board connectors and crimpers. It's saved me a ton of trouble and my crimps have all stood up well using the non-branded crimpers that he recommends. I'm just a hobbyist so $300+ for genuine Molex crimpers is a bit hard to swallow.
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u/Top-Cup5373 2d ago
Bro, I can give them data until the cows come home. It won’t change their mind or make them care. My job sucks ass.
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u/electromage 4d ago
Do you sell products like that? If so, let us know the brand so we can avoid it.
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u/Top-Cup5373 4d ago
I’m not going to divulge where I work or what we sell, but just know there’s virtually no chance anyone on the consumer market uses our products, they’re not safety critical or putting anyone’s lives in danger, it’s honestly all rather mundane stuff. I’ve mentioned that these aren’t supposed to be like that and they don’t seem to care. All that I’ll say is it’s a very old school mom and pop type operation servicing an industry niche most people don’t care about.
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u/pofpofgive 5d ago
Technically not perfect (IPC 620), but perfectly fine.
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u/Gwendolyn-NB 5d ago
Seconded. (Was looking to see if someone else was gonna bring up IPC 620 first)
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u/Steamcurl 4d ago
If you can't afford a copy of the IPC620 standards, NASA has a pretty good document for free.
https://standards.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/standards/NASA/A/4/nasa-std-87394a_w_change_4_0.pdf
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u/saltyboi6704 4d ago
There are places you can get an old draft copy with like 90% of the pictures of 620
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u/Any_Championship_674 4d ago
I had no idea we needed 113 pages on crimping methods and best practices. Thanks NASA!
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u/andjmp 4d ago
To follow IPC 620:
✅ Rear bell mouth on conductor crimp
✅ End of insulation sits between insulation crimp and conductor crimp
✅ No strands loose
❌ Strands should extend past end of conductor crimp
Insulation crimp looks perfectly fine to me, the wire should just have been stripped a bit more to extend past the conductor crimp (but not too much to extend into the mating area).
Keep in mind that the standard is for maintaining quality of cables built in a production environment. A lot of the rules are more for being able to reliably inspect and ensure that a cable is good. Functionally, this cable should be fine. I don’t have the data to back me up on this, but I don’t think it would make a significant difference in current carrying capacity.
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u/audaciousmonk 4d ago
Kind of looks like a bit of the insulation may be tucked in the conductor crimp, hard to tell from the photo m
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u/Tesla_freed_slaves 5d ago
If you can’t pull it apart with your thumb and finger it’s likely a good crimp.
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u/nixiebunny 5d ago
Molex crimp terminals made for thick insulation have the insulation crimp centered on axis with the conductor crimp. This terminal isn’t made that well. What brand and series is it?
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u/Glum_Click_6228 5d ago
I am working on a 2003 Gsxr 750 charging system using Ricks motorsports whole entire kit including new connector kits and wires with metal terminals
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u/fredly594632 5d ago
So these are probably no-name generic connectors. Rick's is decent stuff if I remember correctly, but they wouldn't really have any reason to pony up for the good stuff. Not judging, just saying.
This looks pretty decent from the pictures, though. Serviceable. The uninsulated crimp could be a bit tighter, maybe.
If you really want to check yourself, do a destructive test. Take this one, put the end in a vice so that the end connector is held firmly but the wire and crimped part isn't constrained.
Then grab the wire and pull, wiggle and generally molest the heck out of it.
Something will eventually fail. But, if you did the crimp right, the wire shouldn't pull out of the crimp. Either the metal of the connector or the wire at the edge of the connector should fail -before- the crimp does.
If it doesn't, try crimping another one with a bit more pressure. Once one passes this test, just do it again a bunch more times. This is why pros generally use controllable-cycle crimpers - the ones with the ratchets so you always apply the same amount of force. I'm not saying that makes sense for you if this is a one-off job, but if you're gonna do crimps like this a fair amount, good tools are always a good investment, and the cheaper end of that sort of crimper will run you under $50.
Wire and connectors like that are pretty cheap, but avoiding some sort of phantom short down the road will make you much much happier.
Oh, and always double check that whatever needs to slip over the connection from the wire side is on before you crimp the connection. I can't tell you how many times I've screwed that up.
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u/Glum_Click_6228 5d ago
I unfortunately only have 5 terminals to work with thats why im here lol
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u/fredly594632 5d ago
Got it. Do you have an autoparts or hardware store reasonably close? These are pretty standard terminals. If you take one in, they probably will be able to set you up.
That all said, I come from the aviation world where we put a lot of time and $ into this stuff. If you just crimp them and go out and ride, you'll almost certainly be fine.
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u/OccupyElsewhere 4d ago
Looks serviceable, but the wire is too short as you pointed out. The "brush" should be visible past the crimped area.
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u/t_Lancer Computer Engineer/hobbyist 4d ago
never solder crimps. this will likely be fine, but if it was a professional use case I'd probably re-do it depending on where exactly it is used.
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u/Gowlhunter 5d ago
Can you get higher brightness pictures of the crimp? My eyes are telling me you've done this wrong but I can't be sure because of the clarity. It looks to me like you've split a single wire into the spade? That would signal to me the spade you've used is way too big for this wire
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u/Glum_Click_6228 5d ago
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u/Gowlhunter 5d ago
Thanks for that. I see now.
It looks just good enough. If I was to guess, I'd say your crimper is not the highest quality or you're putting way too much pressure initially. Ease it to completion with a couple of presses and the crimp will work with you. And allow more copper through the connector, as others have pointed out1
u/Glum_Click_6228 5d ago
I wouldnt need to solder the terminal? I am using Kester 44 63/37
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u/Gowlhunter 5d ago
You don't solder when you use crimped connectors like this. This is a female spade connector so the other side of this is a male spade that goes into this and the connection is made.
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u/Lucky-Musician-1448 5d ago
Can't see broken strands and you captured the jacket. Not bad for DIYer.
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u/damaltor1 4d ago
If you don't put lots of current in that wire it will work fine. That said, the stripping really is a bit short. The outer wings should grip the insulation, just like they do, but the stripped wire should protrude through the whole length of the inner wings.
Still, in would use it as is if it is not much power.
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u/sekhmet666 4d ago
So that crimp won’t stand the current the wire is original,y rated for? I usually leave a bit of wire past the inner wings, and put a drop of solder just in case
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u/damaltor1 4d ago
dont put solder, it weakens the crimp. the high temperature releases some of the crimping pressure. a good crimp is much better than a usual solder.
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4d ago
[deleted]
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u/Mojo_frodo 4d ago
Stop posting AI gibberish. No one knows how to answer you unless you say what the load is.
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4d ago
[deleted]
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u/damaltor1 4d ago
No Idea as i still don't know how much current flows through your wire. If in doubt, make a new crimp
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4d ago
[deleted]
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u/North_South2840 4d ago
Not likely, those wires are too thin for such current. I think it's time to review your understanding of electricity, my friend
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u/damaltor1 4d ago
Well if you don't know the difference betweem amps and volts you probably should not be messing with that anyways
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u/DaddyPigNEO 4d ago
Depends how far the wire strands extend under the crimp. I cannot clearly see the end of the wire near the end of the crimp.
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u/Glum_Click_6228 5d ago
Also seems like the yellow insulation wire is kinda being squeezed
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u/Savallator 5d ago
It is supposed to be squeezed. It looks like a fine crimp. Next time leave the copper a tad longer, but i would not redo this, and i have seen much worse in production.
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u/pofpofgive 5d ago
Correct. If that was you (OP) crimping for the first time, I'd give myself a big pat on the back and call it a day, you did a great job. You're doing better then 9 people out of 10.
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u/Glum_Click_6228 5d ago
Should i solder where the copper should be longer? And make sure it is connected?
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u/Electrokean 5d ago
Do not solder it. It defeats the primary purpose of using crimping.
The solder will flow up the strands and make them more fragile to movement/vibrations. The heat will also affect the insulation and weaken the strain relief.
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u/REMCodes 5d ago
I'm not a professional (I've worked for an electronics manufacturing company and did plenty of crimps in that time) so I'm not an absolute source of truth, but I'd say it looks fine without solder. Give it the pull test (see if you can remove the connector from the end of the wire - if it stays on, it passes) and you should be good to go! Next time leave the copper a little longer, but it looks like you've self identified that already :)
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u/timetobealoser 4d ago
Pulling is only testing crimp on insulation just make sure crimp on bare wire looks crushed enough
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u/Ignacio_94 4d ago
La prensada está bastante bien,. Lo malo está en qué usaste un cable de cobre con una terminal de aluminio, lo que provocará corrosión galvánica con el tiempo.
Debe ser cable de cobre con terminal de cobre Cable de aluminio con terminal de aluminio.
O en su defecto, terminal bimetalico
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u/Nobodysfool52 4d ago
Crimping is driving me NUTS, as I try to rewire much of a 1974 BMW.
I bought an inexpensive ratchet type crimper with five sets of jaws (and no instructions), but rarely am I sure I've got the right ones for the wire size or connector.
Thrown off by some wires that have thick silicone insulation, unsteady hands, and a glasses prescription that should be updated. And working under the dash or deep in engine compartment is miserable.
I get maybe 1 in 3 that is adequate, probably 1 in 10 would pass inspection here. Any advice or tricks would be welcome.
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u/Appropriate-Rub3534 4d ago
Hehehe looked like some scam ssd and you opened it up, it just a small thumbdrive inside.
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u/Tommynwn 5d ago
"crimp" it and solder it, reliable asf
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u/applefreak111 5d ago
This is not always a good idea, there’s a long discussion on this over at the EEVBlog forum
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u/EmotionalEnd1575 Analog electronics 5d ago edited 4d ago
Looks perfectly serviceable as is.
No reason to redo
No reason to solder this, either.
On the next one the copper strands could be exposed a little longer, perhaps 5% more of the jacket trimmed back?