How to join wires

[stinkwheel]

There is nothing more annoying than spending many hours going through your bikes loom looking for a wiring fault to find that it has been caused by someone elses poor quality joints.

I will go over a couple of common ways to join wires, they have pros and cons but they should ensure a good contact.

PVC tape should only be used to insulate a join as a 'get you home' bodge or as a temporary measure prior to doing the job properly.

Solder
Ensures a good, strong, permanent and highly conductive join between two pieces of metal. There is a 'How to' on soldering on my website so I wont go into that here. It is ideal for splicing a new piece of wire in or for conecting rigidly to fixed componants. It should be noted that when one side of a soldered joint is fixed and the other end is flexible, you can get fatigue just above the joint which can cause the cable to break, in these cases, use a crimp.

Soldered joints should be insulated using shrinktube.
Soldered joint
https://www.bikechatforums.com/download.php?id=10634
Insulate with shrinktube
https://www.bikechatforums.com/download.php?id=10636

Pre-insulated crimps

These are readily available in garages and auto shops. The insulation is already attached to the crimp on terminal. Spade connectors are commonly used but bullet and ring type terminals are also available along with butt connectors for joining two pieces of wire more permanently. It is important that you strip the wire in such a way as the crimps will get hold of both the insulation AND the wire.

There are three different sizes, coloured yellow, blue, then red in decreasing order of size, match these to the size of the wire you are using.

It is ESSENTIAL to use the correct crimping tool to attach these terminals. Using a pair of pliers will NOT turn the ends of the crimp in the correct way and the connection will be loose, a correctly crimped terminal should be almost impossible to pull off by hand and the insulation remains securely attached. Cheap crimping tools cost less than three pounds (see picture) You use the colour coded bit at the open end of the pliers shown. With this type you need to aply two crimps per terminal, one over the bared ends of the wire and the other over the insulation.

If you are doing a lot of wiring, it is worth buying a specialist ratchet crimping tool, this does a much quicker and better job by applying both crimps at once.

This type of terminal is really designed for use on car wiring which is well protected from the weather, they will corrode fairly rapidly if exposed to the weather, covering them with shrink-tube will help prevent this but stops you pulling them apart. I think they are an untidy way of doing the job but are quick to put on if you have the ratchet tool and are readily available.

Pre-insulated spade connectors, butt connector and crimping tool. Note use of two crimps per wire.
https://www.bikechatforums.com/download.php?id=10637
EDIT: The female terminal shown here is only partially insulated, for a 'loose' joint you should use the type where the insulation covers all the exposed metal (I am getting short on them so I used a different type for the demonstration).

Non-insulated crimp terminals
These are what the manufacturer of your bike chose to use and are my recommendation for wiring on your bike. They are usually bullet type but spade and ring terminals are also available. A slightly different type are also available to slot into connector blocks and are attached in the same way.

Each terminal comes with a piece of silicone rubber insulation, remember to slip this over the wire before applying the terminal.. Again there are two crimps per terminal which should be applied using the correct crimping tool. This tool is different to the one for pre-insulated terminals in that it has a shaped die which curls each tag back on itself giving an extremely secure join. Again, one crimp for the end of the wire, the second for the insulation.

It is possible to apply solder to these terminals once crimped for extra security but the same applies as for soldered joints if one side is rigidly fixed. Once fixed the insulation slots into place over the top of the terminals. For added protection from corrosion, a dab of copper grease can be applied to the exposed metal of the terminals.

Non-insulated bullet connector with tool and insulation in place on the female terminal
https://www.bikechatforums.com/download.php?id=10635

Other types are available including:

Heat shrink pre-insulated where you heat the insulation after crimping to release glue that is contained within the insulation.

Pre-soldered butt connectors where you apply heat to the connector with the wires in place which releases a blob of solder into the joint whilst at the same time shrinking the insulation over the ends of the wire.

Hexagonal crimps are an old fashioned way of doing it and are a type of non-insulated terminal. The crimping tool for these is expensive.

Solder on terminals which have a 'cup' in place of the crimp which you fill with solder and insert the end of the tinned wire before it solidifies. These are quite fiddly to use and really need to be done on a bench.

Do not use 'scotchblock' Connectors, they damage the wire, often actually cutting a few strands and WILL fail by allowing corrosion to get inside the wire insulation. Screw-in 'chocolate bolck' terminals are for heavy duty mains wiring NOT vehicle wiring, they do not hold the insulation securely (or at all) and WILL break off.
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[Guest]

Nice one SW


It's worth pointing out, if you use bullet connectors, that the female (socket) connector should be used on the 'supply' side of the connection i.e. the end nearest the fuse. This is so that if the connection comes apart in use you don't have a bare bullet end floating about with volts on it.

[kasandrich]

Excellent Article Stinkwheel,

As you have stated, crimps are best as long as they are properly done, and a properly fixed crimp will not come off easily, so once done give it a firm tug, to ensure the cable is properly crimped, it is better that it comes off in your hand now, than out on the road later.
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Richard

CBR1000FM

[Ninja]

'two crimps' - ahaaaaaaa!
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James
4 wheels transport the Body ... 2 wheels transport the SOUL

[smegballs]

Obvious ancient thread resurrection but seeing as I know there is a definite place for the question.......

What would be the best way to join several live feeds together in one place.

Context is on a direct lighting bike with lights always on, so the genny output would be connected with headlights, brake lights, tail light, flasher relay +, horn +......

Obviously a few too many connection for normal piggyback spades...

[MarkJ]

Google says a wire nut. Could also try a large block connector or just a whacking great blob of solder

[Visitor Q]

My way might work. Bodge bloody tastic.

Got a cheap fuel pump from a VFR 750 as was told they are the same model. They truly are near as damn, but the connector was different and I needed the bike the next day.

Cut the wires from the pump, cut the wires from the original pump (to get the original connector) and then whacked them in one of these...

https://www.newmartelecom.com/Electrical-Installation_Accessories/SPLASH-PROOF-JUNCTION-BOX.jpg
(NB: Can't find a picture of just them on their own, but the black bit in the middle of the box -anyone know their proper name?-, cut 2 wide)

And then used liquid metal to seal the holes water tight.

Still going strong
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From September 2014 to January/February 2015 I will not be using any English, nor reading any. As such, I won't be on here. PM at will, but I won't be checking/posting unless in emergencies. Certainly not for the first couple of months. Please berate me savagely if I break that rule...

[MarkJ]

It's a block connector

[Gazdaman]

It's a 'scotchblock'

[Kickstart]

[chris-red]

Don't listen to Stinkwheel just do what I do and twist the 2 ends together and cover it in electrical tape
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[Blackwolf]

Thats a chocolate block connector.

[Gazdaman]

[Dazbo666]

Also known as a "terminal block", or "terminal connector"

(such are the joys of spending summer breaks doing casual cash-in-hand jobs with my electrician father)
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Word of the day : DILLIGAF

[lllN30lll]

[Jafmandaddy]

great thread old or otherwise. I wonder how do you connect wires when they are not long enough?

buy some generic wire and bridge the gap?

[D O G]

Remove existing wires, plant in some compost, water, feed leave outside for a season.

They should have grown by then.

[Asharin]

[Hobgoblin]

It may of once been a great thread, now its tl'dr without pictures.

What urged your to revive it from the dead?

https://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/175/315/PicardDoubleFacepalm-1.jpg?1316330080
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Plodding along on my CG

[anthony_r6]

Truly informative threads like this will never die. They're here to be used and it's always beneficial to be brought to the attention of those who were unaware it existed.
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[Charlie]

[Hobgoblin]

[james1988]

What happened to people just 'doing' things?

Hopes to god its not a troll.

[Bunny Lingus]

Mods, you might want to move this somewhere more suitable. I did do a search before I posted this but couldn't find nowt.

Sorry for resurrecting this ol' lady but it is a great source, especially to retards like me who view wiring specifically & electronics in general as a black art. As Ash from Army Of Darkness says, my 'primitive intellect wouldn't understand alloys and compositions and things with... molecular structures.'

This is probably going to sound daft but I have an old CB125s engine & a CG125 frame & some wheels & other bits such as old wiring looms. What I want to build is the most minimal bare bones cafe style bike I can get through an MOT with no electrical gubbins or wiring at all except one pilot/headlight/full beam & a tail/brake light, so no battery.

Here are the questions. The CB lump is 6volt.
1. Am I right in thinking that the 6volt geny will run both lights without a battery?
2. Do I need a reg/rec or a relay?
3. Is a blue full beam indicator lamp, green neutral indicator lamp & speedo lamp necessary for the MOT test?
4. Are fenders necessary for the MOT test?
5. Do I need to bridge any of the wires from the geny to get the engine to run?

I think that's about it but if anyone can throw some tips my way I'll be eternally grateful. If I don't hear anything I'll re-post in the workshop. Thanks in advance fellas...
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Bunny Lingus & The Flipside Faggots

[Nexus Icon]

I could be wrong but I think you'd struggle to pass an MOT running the headlight just from the magneto. In my experience the lamp would be almost invisible at tickover and then brighten noticably as the revs rise.

You'd probably be better off running zero lights at all and getting a daylight only MOT than what you're suggesting but personally I'd just run a total loss system from a small 6V battery hidden in the tail cowling and switch the lights off unless they were totally necessary.
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