Re: to crimp or to solder?

[I6941tb@aol.com]

> Absolutely, but, military connections are well protected from exposure
>  and well "strain reliefed".  I have had many connections on my cars fail
>  from vibration and corrosion and poor crimping.  Military crimpers are
>  rather precise and $$$$.  I too prefer to solder wires to some connectors
>  as it prevents corrosion between the wire and the connector and it
stiffens
>  the wire at the connector, which is where it will break.
>  
>  An alternative is to cover the wire/connector junction with heat
>  shrink tubing.  This will inhibit penetration by the elements and
>  stiffen the wire at it's most vulnerable point.
>  
>  When my car was new I potted the back of every plastic connector in the
>  engine bay with RTV.  None of them has failed in over 14 years.

I achieve the same results by using the special crimping terminals, encased
in the heat shrink jackets. The jackets are made out of a rather thick and
stiff vinil tubing and come in standard colours: i.e. red, blue, yellow etc.
When you heat them up, the glue(hermetic compound?) they are prefilled with,
starts to flow, sealing the crimp joint tight. Excellent stuff!. Expensive
though...

Sources:
Digi-key, Mouser, New Ark, MCM Electronics.

Igor Kessel