Options for splicing wires

Kieran_Burns

I'm doing a bodge job with a Hope vision 2 and a 'aftermarket' battery pack - the connectors are incompatible so I'm going to splice the wires together using a spare Hope 3 way cable (cut just after the spiral bit).

Now I can just cut, strip and twist the wires together, then use a bit of insulating tapes to cover it, but it's a bit of an ugly fix and it'll most likely fail at some important moment, so what are the options?

I have considered a spade connector and soldering the wires to two of these, but again: ugly and liable to corrosion.

I do have a soldering iron and a 'reasonable' ability to solder, so I could just solder each wire in place but what about covering them?

R4skob

ive used this stuff before, though not on the bike

http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/rolson-127-pi ... ment-n03ft

looks neater than electrical tape

tgotb

Soldered joints will be more resistant to corrosion than any connector; when I've done the same thing in the past I've soldered, using electrical tape to keep the conductors separate, and then covered the whole thing with heatshrink.

The soldered connection will be stiffer than the rest of the cable, creating a weak point at either end where the cable flexes more and ultimately fatigues. Making sure the heatshrink goes 10mm or so beyond either the end of the stiff part should help to mitigate that.

veronese68

What he said ^.

graham.

As the others say, Heat shrink.

Thin stuff for the individual wires (soldered) and remember to thread on the heat shrink before you solder!*
Silicone sealer over the joined wires then more heat shrink over the finished join while the silicone is still wet to force it out of the ends.

* Don't forget to thread on ALL of the heat shrink before ANY joining!
Learn by your mistakes...better still learn by mine!

kiwimatt

Remember to slip the heatshrink down over the cable before soldering the wires! - I can't think of anyone daft enough to have soldered wires together and then be stood looking at a tube of heatshrink and having to start all over again oh no not me sir :roll:

[EDIT: oh good not just me then...]

vermin

TGOTB wrote:

I've soldered, using electrical tape to keep the conductors separate

What do you mean here?

graham.

kiwimatt wrote:

Remember to slip the heatshrink down over the cable before soldering the wires! - I can't think of anyone daft enough to have soldered wires together and then be stood looking at a tube of heatshrink and having to start all over again oh no not me sir :roll:

[EDIT: oh good not just me then...]

Indeed not!

veronese68

Graham. wrote:

kiwimatt wrote:

Remember to slip the heatshrink down over the cable before soldering the wires! - I can't think of anyone daft enough to have soldered wires together and then be stood looking at a tube of heatshrink and having to start all over again oh no not me sir :roll:

[EDIT: oh good not just me then...]

Indeed not!

:oops:
What are the chances that KB does forget even though we've told him?

graham.

Veronese68 wrote:

Graham. wrote:

kiwimatt wrote:

Remember to slip the heatshrink down over the cable before soldering the wires! - I can't think of anyone daft enough to have soldered wires together and then be stood looking at a tube of heatshrink and having to start all over again oh no not me sir :roll:

[EDIT: oh good not just me then...]

Indeed not!

:oops:
What are the chances that KB does forget even though we've told him?

Very good. I'd go so far as to say highly likely!

tgotb

vermin wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

I've soldered, using electrical tape to keep the conductors separate

What do you mean here?

I'm assuming you're joining a cable with multiple conductors. Electrical tape round each individual conductor, then heatshrink over the whole thing.

Heatshrink over individual conductors is a bit more elegant, but can get quite fiddly (and ends up with a longer join).

And yes, I've forgotten to thread heatshrink and connector hoods onto cables too :-)

Wheelspinner

Final tip: when you've done the heat shrink thing over the soldered joint, can be useful to paint the end of that tubing where it overlaps the insulation of the wires with a bit of nail polish.Just a small amount, acts as a good seal against corrosion inside.

Kieran_Burns

Graham. wrote:

Veronese68 wrote:

Graham. wrote:

kiwimatt wrote:

Remember to slip the heatshrink down over the cable before soldering the wires! - I can't think of anyone daft enough to have soldered wires together and then be stood looking at a tube of heatshrink and having to start all over again oh no not me sir :roll:

[EDIT: oh good not just me then...]

Indeed not!

:oops:
What are the chances that KB does forget even though we've told him?

Very good. I'd go so far as to say highly likely!

Never!


Well okay... probably...


for absolutely bloody sure