What's the proper way to attach a wire to say a spade lug? Should I solder it in or use some sort of press to crunch the metal around the wire?

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-Typos courtesy of my mobile phone.

Kind of depends on the size of it.

The small ones can be crushed with pliers.

For the ultimate durability, I like to solder them. I recently did the eyelets on the SD's alternator...........crushed them in place.........then soldered.

Thanks Brian, I've just been crushing them and soldering a bit of the tip. I figured it was that easy.

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-Typos courtesy of my mobile phone.

Actually there are 3 ways:
Crimp
Solder
Crimp and solder

I say crimp because crushing can make a marginal connection, one that must be soldered for longevity. A good test is to give it a good hard tug have the lug is attached. Crimpers rather fold the lug material around the wire which does make a super connection done correctly.


Ohh..BTW... there are NO stupid questions! If you didnt want to know you wouldnt ask. Pls dont ask about 'stupid answers'

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1985 300D 198K sold
1982 300D 202K
1989 300E 125K
1992 940T

"If you dont have time to do it safely, you dont have time to do it"

"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."

Vibration in an automotive application is a problem for crushing, they come loose eventually. Any moisture will soon kill the connection unless it is soldered.
crimp/crush & then solder. Dont use the c##p non lead solder like they now use in the new acer laptops, it just doesnt go the distance, fails after a couple of years.

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Grumpy Old Diesel Owners Club group

I no longer question authority, I annoy authority. More effect, less effort....

1967 230-6 auto parts car. rust bucket.
1980 300D now parts car 800k miles
1984 300D 500k miles
1987 250td 160k miles English import
2001 jeep turbo diesel 130k miles
1998 jeep tdi ~ followed me home. Needs a turbo.
1968 Ford F750 truck. 6-354 diesel conversion.
Other toys ~J.D.,Cat & GM ~ mainly earth moving

Get a good crimper. One that has puts a "dimple" into one side while holding the other side round, like a Klein. Crimpers which merely smash the connection down are almost useless.

A proper crimp is much better than a solder joint for conductivity and longevity.

About 99% of every problem involving a wire connection to a board has been either 1.) a poor crimp, or 2.) a poor solder joint, or 3.) the screw holding the connector has worked loose.

*1.) Crimp your wire into the connector as best you can...trim all stray wires.

*2.) SOLDER the connection...get a "shiney" look to the finished product. If it appears dull, redo it.

*3.) Regardless how the finished connection is attached to the other item, ALWAYS check, check and re-check your connections.

On my 4 transmitters, each year, my assistant and I go through EVERY terminal strip and with the appropriate tool, we tighten each and every connection. Through the heating up and cooling down processes, the connection DO COME LOOSE. GAW-RAWN-TEED!!!!

Anyone that tells you different is blowing hot air up your arse. They don't know, or have experienced it in real life.

Does it get better? Each time, we find fewer loose wires, but then, we start breaking some terminals in the process, so sometimes we create a problem that wasn't there...then we just go and blame the terminal strip as "...being old and brittle...it WAS going to break soon...we 'just found it' before it became a PIOA (pain in our @55) at 2AM."

REMEMBER...

*1.) Crimp
*2.) Solder
*3.) Check-Check-and Re-check your work.

Good luck!

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M. G. Burg
'10 - Dakota SXT - Daily Ride / ≈ 172.5K
.'76 - 450SLC - 107.024.12 / < .89.20 K
..'77 - 280E - 123.033.12 / > 128.20 K
...'67 - El Camino - 283ci / > 207.00 K
....'75 - Yamaha - 650XS / < 21.00 K
.....'87 - G20 Sportvan / > 206.00 K
......'85 - 4WINNS 160 I.O. / 140hp
.......'74 - Honda CT70 / Real 125
.
“I didn’t really say everything I said.”
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ~ Yogi Berra ~

I use un-insulated spade lugs because I can't stand the way the plastic covered ones look when they're been crimped. Use the crimpers that put the dimple in the connector as stated above, put a touch of solder on the exposed end of the wire and then slip some heat shrink tubing over the connection. Actually, you have to put the heat shrink on the wire first...

For extra weather proof-ness, you can get the kind of heat shrink that has "goo" built into it and it smashes out when heat is applied.

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-Evan


Benz Fleet:
1968 UNIMOG 404.114
1998 E300
2008 E63


Non-Benz Fleet:
1992 Aerostar
1993 MR2
2000 F250

I do crimp + solder

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-diesel is not just a fuel, its a way of life-
'15 GLK250 Bluetec 118k - mine - (OC-123,800)
'17 Metris(VITO!) - 37k - wifes (OC-41k)
'09 Sprinter 3500 Winnebago View - 62k (OC - 67k)
'13 ML350 Bluetec - 95k - dad's (OC-98k)
'01 SL500 - 103k(km) - dad's (OC-110,000km)
'16 E400 4matic Sedan - 148k - Brothers (OC-155k)

Adam, you should know better....


no 'dumb' questions are ever 'quick'.

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