Another basic wiring question

[jlroberts280]

How do people deal with the transition from a 16 guage wire run to a unit like my GPS that has VERY small wires (Im not even sure the guage)? I know they make step down butt connectors but I have not seen them cover this much change in size. Would you make several "step downs" with a short amount of another wire size in between each connector to get to the correct size? Sorry if it's been covered already.

[Tim]

Usually the step-down connectors cover only one "step" --that is, say, from 16-14 to 18-20, etc.

To connect the annoyingly tiny wires that electronics manufacturers insist on using (usually 22-24 gauge, it seems, despite the fact that all boats use much larger wire gauges in genera), the easiest way to deal with the connections is to strip extra insulation off the annoyingly tiny wire and fold the stripped part in half (sometimes even in half twice, for the really itsy-bitsy ones) before inserting it in the larger butt connector. This provides enough bulk for a decent crimp.

Another option would be to connect the wires through a terminal block, allowing the proper-sized connector to be used on each wire. But this seems excessive and unnecessary; I have never done this.

[Oscar]

Generally I take the very thin wire, double it up on itself a few times and then solder a blob on it. This will go into a connector with 16g and stay put. If you REALLY want to be sure you slide on a crimp tube, solder the two together and then seal it with the tube. Another solution is to use a small bus bar and use the appropriate connectors for the size wire and connect them on the bar.

[Figment]

I have on occasion cut the skimpy wire back close to the device, and done a twist-solder-heatshrink splice to a normal size wire (all on a bench), and then brought this to the boat, enabling whatever butt/stake/terminal crimp connections were needed at the other end.
I know it seems like I'm introducing another connection and another potential point of failure, but it makes things SO much less frustrating!

[jlroberts280]

Thanks for the ideas and sorry for the spelling. (gauge not guage)

[Hirilondë]

Generally I take the very thin wire, double it up on itself a few times and then solder a blob on it.

I'm not so sure it matters in reality, but ABYC does not condone soldering at all. The theory is that it makes the wire brittle and hence it may break from vibration. This is why marine wire has so many and fine strands, they make the wire more flexible and less prone to breaking.

[Oscar]

ABYC does not condone soldering at all

Didn't know that. Will have to keep that in the back of my mind as I explore....

[Quetzalsailor]

I vote with the 'terminal block' bloc for joining severely dissimilarly-sized wires. All the small stuff on instruments, etc., in Q was done that way. I've never been happy with the doubling, or adding a short scrap of wire alongside too-small stuff when crimping.

I've been easily unsatisfied with crimp connections at the best of times and with the beast of care. There was an great writeup with photos on this site a couple years ago covering the correct tools and methods. Few of us have the correct crimper.

However wrongly, I have always been likely to solder permanent crimped connections; at the least, they cannot readily corrode or pull apart. At the worst, which I would not have realized, the transition between soldered and not soldered might create a stress riser (curable by adequate cabling, I think). Interestingly, land-based house wiring is no longer soldered, but I thought that the issue was cold joints (bad workmanship) where the internal resistance would end up higher. (Certainly, all the knob and tube wiring in my house had soldered splices and they all looked pretty darned good when it was removed.)

[Capn_Tom]

I have a single breaker for instruments led to a Blue Sea fuse block with cover to which I led all of the instruments.

[Figment]

I'm not so sure it matters in reality, but ABYC does not condone soldering at all. The theory is that it makes the wire brittle and hence it may break from vibration. This is why marine wire has so many and fine strands, they make the wire more flexible and less prone to breaking.

I keep coming back to the (probably reasonable) assumption that the wire is almost certainly soldered at the first connection within whatever electronic unit we happen to be talking about.

[Tim]

I think the solder vs. quality crimp debate is nonsensical and probably goes back to whatever an individual learned from the getgo.

Those who learned to run wire with soldered joints will likely solder. Those who learned to make crimps will likely do so. So be it.

One should do what works for them and that with which they're comfortable and skilled. As with all things, however, it's the quality of the joint and the attention to detail of installation that determines its longevity and success, not solely its means of connection.

For the record, here is what ABYC specifically states regarding solder. The language is clear and one can make of it what they choose:

Solder shall not be the sole means of mechanical connection in any circuit. If soldered, the connection shall be so located or supported as to minimize flexing of the conductor where the solder changes the flexible conductor into a solid conductor.

EXCEPTION: Battery lugs with a solder contact of not less than 1.5 times the diameter of the conductor.

NOTE: When a stranded conductor is soldered, the soldered portion of the conductor becomes a solid strand conductor, and flexing can cause the conductor to break at the end of the solder joint unless adequate additional support is provided.

[Figment]

well, duh!

[mitiempo]

Here's a very good pictorial how-to on proper crimping: http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/wire_termination
The site of Mainesail also covers many other subjects concerning various maintenance items.
Brian