Meindert Sprang wrote:

"Brent Geery" wrote in message
...

On Tue, 17 Aug 2004 09:06:49 -0400, Jack Erbes
wrote:


Some people will argue about doing it but my preference is to strip and
tin all wires before crimping the terminals on as it gives one solid
bundle for the crimp to act on.

That's not a smart thing to do. If the connection ever overheats for
some reason,


It doesn't even have to get overheated. Solder flows, also in cold
condition. You can test that yourself: tin the end of a stranded wire, put
it into a screwterminal and tighten it. After a week or so, check if the
screw is still tight: it isn't.

Crimp first. Then apply some solder if you like.


Like I said, some people will argue about it... :)

If the wires are hot enough to melt solder the insulation is also
probably starting to melt away and you have more problems than a simple
loose connection. Also, in a marine environment, a tinned end will
arguably oxidize less and corrode less over time than an untinned end.

Look at the untinned copper wire connections on terminal strips in a 50
year old boat if you don't believe me. Soldering can be a bad choice
(like if acid core solder is used) but it has some good points too.

And I described crimping a spade lug onto the tinned end and putting
that under the terminal screw, not putting the tinned strands under the
screw.

Some crimpers leave a flattened clamping area that will let untinned
wires shift around in it and then the crimped spade terminal can lose
its grip. I was talking about the average hardware store terminal, put
on with the average hardware store crimping tool, by a non-professional
doing his own work. I know a little about four point crimpers, full
contact compression or swaged crimps, and other ways to get both good
contact and high pull strengths but the terminals and tools are not
found in the average hardware store.

As far as trying to solder on terminal lugs that have already been
crimped on? That sounds nothing short of bizarre to me. To each their
own I guess.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jacker at midmaine dot com