Crimping for hardwire ground cable?

EvanD

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Hey all,

I was having some issues with the camera turning off and on a few times while driving, but it seemed to be rectified by re-doing the ground wire's screw connection, as it seemed to be coming a little bit loose from underneath the screw. With that being said, I'd like if it had a C-shaped connection, like many other hardwire kits have:
1632327504723.png
I'm trying to find a C-shaped one that I can crimp to the end of it, similar to the plastic bit used to connect the taps to the hardwire:
1632332869107.png
Unfortunately I'm having a bit of trouble finding one that can connect this way. Does anyone have any recommendations or a place where I can find that?
 
You could also use a ring shaped one which are more common and work better as long as the screw is removable to put through the ring.

Try to get a size that matches the cable (small), otherwise it will be difficult to crimp, unless you are also going to solder it.
 
I can crimp or solder up to 350 Anderson plugs. Personally I prefer to solder (use lead/tin solder), then heatshrink. They both have advantages and disadvantages.

I have a few Japanese soldering irons, but a heat gun works really well for knocking up really large cables.

Back to small cables, chuck out the C connectors, buy a few ring connectors, solder & heatshrink.

IMG_20200817_155859116.jpg
 
All of the USA "big name" auto parts stores will have what you need (Advance, Autio Zone, O'Reileys). Also 'Tractor Supply' has a lot of this in-store. 'Harbor Freight' will have connector kits but those are the cheap stuff which will require extra care in using to ensure good long-lasting connections. If done well a crimped connection is plenty good enough for this purpose.

Phil
 
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If done well a crimped connection is plenty good enough for this purpose.
Professionally done crimps can be very good and very long lasting, but it is also easy to make a poor one, so for amateurs, soldering the crimp connector instead of crimping it is the better solution if soldering equipment is available, and probably better to buy a soldering iron than buy a crimp tool. However many people will be crimping these with pliers, hammer, or maybe just screwdriver because that is what they have, in which case matching the crimp size to the cable size becomes more important.
 
If crimping can be done properly it allows a bit of give out of the back end on the connector.

With solder you have a very rigid defined point. So you really need to run the heatshrink a bit further along the wire, even double up a bit the first cm of the wire.

Ideally there shouldn't be any tension on the wire coming out of the connector.

But we all know what happened when you turn into a pretzel installed wiring. So you need to do a proper job or you will just be doing it again.
 
It's easier for a 'newbie' to get a good connection with crimp sleeves and a cheap crimper than for them to learn soldering and possibly melt or burn something from a moment's inattention, especially with the lead-free solders commonly sold. With a crimp if you can't pull it apart it's good and will stay that way. When soldering poor tinning can lead to poor connections, wire insulation is easily melted when heated too long, and if it happens to be CCA instead of solid copper you can lose the Al-Cu bond with improper heating, plus that will degrade quickly. Heat-shrink is easy to toast until you get used to working with it. Even buying the crimpers you come out cheaper than buying soldering equipment.

I prefer soldering too, but I'm fine with a good crimp; neither will need future attention. I'm practiced with soldering though, and that makes a difference. The OP lacks experience so will be better off crimping as it takes less skill to do adequately ;)

Phil
 
Proper-battery-ring-terminal-crimp.jpg
This one (not mine, I wish all of mine looked this good) was done with a crimping tool.

14 AWG wire with a .8mm Thick 6mm ring terminal.
1 -Notice the insulation crimp does not pierce the wire insulation, but holds it nicely. And there is plenty of insulation for it the grab.
2 - The conductor/wire is extended slightly past the wire crimp.
3 - The terminal is not distorted.
4 - The conductor/wire crimp has a Bell Mouth on the top edge closest to the insulator.


This means that neither the crimp tool, or the terminal cut into the wire stranding of the conductor. (Photo and text credit:
 
View attachment 58414
This one (not mine, I wish all of mine looked this good) was done with a crimping tool.

14 AWG wire with a .8mm Thick 6mm ring terminal.
1 -Notice the insulation crimp does not pierce the wire insulation, but holds it nicely. And there is plenty of insulation for it the grab.
2 - The conductor/wire is extended slightly past the wire crimp.
3 - The terminal is not distorted.
4 - The conductor/wire crimp has a Bell Mouth on the top edge closest to the insulator.


This means that neither the crimp tool, or the terminal cut into the wire stranding of the conductor. (Photo and text credit:
If we could all make them like that using available tools then there would be a lot less problems :)

But that does need a good quality crimp tool, which will cost more than a cheap soldering iron, and it also needs good quality multi stranded wire, which is not what is used in this case. Not saying it is bad wire, but it isn't thick and doesn't have a high strand count.

Last time I made a crimp of nearly that quality was for a car main battery cable, much easier at that thickness and strand count. For lower power cables I solder them, especially if they might get wet.
 
Got to agree.

Over the years I've had some crimp pliers that were useless. Ended up getting this Draper job and it certainly allows more pressure to be applied and hasn't let me down.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/B0001K9TGA
 
Thanks everyone! I found a pack of O ring connectors at Walmart that ended up working for me. they were the heatshrink kind and I was a bit worried about just using a lighter, but it seems to have made a good connection with my ground screw! I appreciate all the help!
 
Interesting.

I have used a need nose plier to crimp my hardwire kits to the dash camera power source. Never had a connection problem with the kits this way.

I get the above is the professional means of crimping a wire. And I understand you can also put a dab of solder to hold the wire in place.

But is there anything wrong with simply using a pliers, so long as the crimp is firmly in place?
 
But is there anything wrong with simply using a pliers, so long as the crimp is firmly in place?
Nothing wrong, but it needs a little practice/skill to get a good quality joint, while if you have a really good quality crimp tool then it is almost impossible to get a poor crimp. A poor quality crimp isn't necessarily going to fail, crimps are fairly forgiving, but they can fail, especially if using thin cable with low strand counts, and they can also fail after a period of use rather than during testing.

If you have reasonable soldering equipment, it is often better to solder instead of crimp, although not all crimp connectors allow for soldering. I always solder the ring crimps, and then they retain their proper shape and strength, as they would with a top quality crimp tool, but not with the cheaper tools, and definitely not with pliers.
 
Nothing wrong, but it needs a little practice/skill to get a good quality joint, while if you have a really good quality crimp tool then it is almost impossible to get a poor crimp. A poor quality crimp isn't necessarily going to fail, crimps are fairly forgiving, but they can fail, especially if using thin cable with low strand counts, and they can also fail after a period of use rather than during testing.

If you have reasonable soldering equipment, it is often better to solder instead of crimp, although not all crimp connectors allow for soldering. I always solder the ring crimps, and then they retain their proper shape and strength, as they would with a top quality crimp tool, but not with the cheaper tools, and definitely not with pliers.

The Hardwire Kits generally have a decent amount of strand counts. But I would definitely agree that on thin wire, a poor crimp could lead to a poor connection. First Hardwire Kit I soldered. Second one though, just crimped. Neither had issues.

But I see plenty of merit in everything said here.
 
The Hardwire Kits generally have a decent amount of strand counts. But I would definitely agree that on thin wire, a poor crimp could lead to a poor connection. First Hardwire Kit I soldered. Second one though, just crimped. Neither had issues.

But I see plenty of merit in everything said here.
Your Viofo hardwire kits have much thicker cable than the Blueskysea ones.

(Doesn't necessarily make them better, the Blueskysea ones are plenty thick enough for the electrical current, but they are more delicate.)
 
What I find works best for me is not to try and just crimp the copper cable but to fold the copper back over the sheath and try to crimp both copper and plastic.

Can be tricky but it stops the cable sliding out of the crimp.
 
What I find works best for me is not to try and just crimp the copper cable but to fold the copper back over the sheath and try to crimp both copper and plastic.

Can be tricky but it stops the cable sliding out of the crimp.

That Crimp tool you linked seems pretty cool. Probably gives a more even crimp and a better crimp than the needle nose pliers I use. My crimps are good for most part, but I've screwed up a few times trying to get the wires to sit and then they fall out before crimping.

This probably would make that less an issue with crimping the hardwire kit to the fuse taps.

None the less, never had a hardwire kit I did fail luckily.
 
Yes, I've had some cheap and nasty crimp tools in the past and buying the Draper one has been a good purchase. It's more like an assisted clamp and does give a lot more pressure than the pseudo single scissors type pliers ones.
 
What I find works best for me is not to try and just crimp the copper cable but to fold the copper back over the sheath and try to crimp both copper and plastic.

Can be tricky but it stops the cable sliding out of the crimp.
That only helps when the cable is too thin for the crimp being used.

Better to strip twice as much copper and then fold it over to get double thickness copper so that the crimp has something decent to get hold of.
 
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