If you were buying a new car radio and had about 20 wires you had to
match up and splice, and you were old and tired**, would you pay
Crutchfield to crimp them.
OR would you solder and shinktube them
yourself?
**Although not actually tired when sitting a desk.
For $28.
In sci.electronics.repair, on Sat, 16 May 2026 22:57:19 -0400, micky ><NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote:
If you were buying a new car radio and had about 20 wires you had to
match up and splice, and you were old and tired**, would you pay >>Crutchfield to crimp them.
They say" We use a custom-tooled industrial crimping machine" so that
it's "topnotch".
They say it wiil "eliminate time-consuming and frustrating splicing, >soldering, and crimping", so even they admit one would normally solder.
I also have no wife or kids and wonder what I am saving my money for.
OR would you solder and shinktube them
yourself?
--**Although not actually tired when sitting a desk.
For $28.
If you were buying a new car radio and had about 20 wires you had to
match up and splice, and you were old and tired**, would you pay
Crutchfield to crimp them. OR would you solder and shinktube them
yourself?
**Although not actually tired when sitting a desk.
For $28.
On 2026-05-17 04:57, micky wrote:
If you were buying a new car radio and had about 20 wires you had to
match up and splice, and you were old and tired**, would you pay
Crutchfield to crimp them. OR would you solder and shinktube them
yourself?
**Although not actually tired when sitting a desk.
For $28.
$28 is not much, and saves you soldering inside the car in a not
confortable position, one hand holding the radio, another the cable,
another the soldering iron, another the solder... oh, wait, you only
have two hands.
What type of crimping? The type that Jeff showed can not be undone, but
is neat. Heat shrink (and perhaps solder)? Needs to be done in a small >space. Ok, USA cars are big, but is yours that big, and the cables are
long enough?
In a car, I might choose connectors that can be unplugged. I had a radio >like that in the 80's, they never failed. One radio was stolen and
another lost, so I had to redo them. Radio was of the type that you
could park the car and take the radio away with you.
On Sat, 16 May 2026 23:08:38 -0400, micky <NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com>
wrote:
In sci.electronics.repair, on Sat, 16 May 2026 22:57:19 -0400, micky >><NONONOmisc07@fmguy.com> wrote:
If you were buying a new car radio and had about 20 wires you had to >>>match up and splice, and you were old and tired**, would you pay >>>Crutchfield to crimp them.
For small jobs, I don't trust vendors to do anything correctly on
their first try (while they are learning to do the work). With >do-it-thyself, you have more control.
They say" We use a custom-tooled industrial crimping machine" so that
it's "topnotch".
You don't need an automated crimping machine to do 20 wires. For
small lots, bigger is not better.
They say it wiil "eliminate time-consuming and frustrating splicing, >>soldering, and crimping", so even they admit one would normally solder.
20 wires (or 40 crimps) is not time consuming. Methinks it's likely
that the "custom-tooled industrial crimping machine" takes longer to
setup than to strip and crimp an equal number of wires by hand.
<https://www.google.com/search?udm=2&q=heat%20shrink%20butt%20splice> ><https://www.google.com/search?q=heat%20shrink%20butt%20splice%20crimper%20tool&num=10&udm=2>
I also have no wife or kids and wonder what I am saving my money for.
You're saving money so that you can pay the taxes which support my
lavish and decadent life style. Thanks for your tax contributions.
OR would you solder and shinktube them
yourself?
I would crimp and shrink tube. Soldering is nice if you're
experienced and know how to cut, strip and solder properly. Soldering
is not so nice if you have to train someone to do the work. Crimping
is easier and in some cases, stronger.
**Although not actually tired when sitting a desk.
For $28.
If you were buying a new car radio and had about 20 wiresThere is probably an adaptor available that will connect between your
For that price I'd happily get someone else to do it. My soldering
hasn't improved one iota over the last 60+ years. It was shit then and
it's shit now. Get 'em crimped!
3. a soldering iron with a quick to respond temperature controlled
tip. I use something like this:
<https://www.ebay.com/itm/366238915140>
Notice the "fast heatup" in the description. I don't need an 80 watt
iron for working on tiny SMD parts. What I need is a stable tip
temperature where the temperature doesn't drop when the tip hits the
work piece. 100 watts might be better, but I haven't tried one like
this:
<https://www.ebay.com/itm/306393210141>
On Mon, 18 May 2026 09:44:30 +0200, "Carlos E.R."
<robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
On 2026-05-17 04:57, micky wrote:
If you were buying a new car radio and had about 20 wires you had to
match up and splice, and you were old and tired**, would you pay
Crutchfield to crimp them. OR would you solder and shinktube them
yourself?
**Although not actually tired when sitting a desk.
For $28.
$28 is not much, and saves you soldering inside the car in a not
confortable position, one hand holding the radio, another the cable, >>another the soldering iron, another the solder... oh, wait, you only
have two hands.
What type of crimping? The type that Jeff showed can not be undone, but
is neat. Heat shrink (and perhaps solder)? Needs to be done in a small >>space. Ok, USA cars are big, but is yours that big, and the cables are >>long enough?
In a car, I might choose connectors that can be unplugged. I had a radio >>like that in the 80's, they never failed. One radio was stolen and
another lost, so I had to redo them. Radio was of the type that you
could park the car and take the radio away with you.
Ever notice that very few stock automotive wire connections are
soldered? There's a reason for that. Crimps, using a ratchetting
tool, can be stronger than soldering and therefore tend to not fall
apart from vibration.
"Crimping vs Soldering - Which Is Best?" ><https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAr2z6rGV7o> (6:37)
"I tested these connectors and found the best one"
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px3ZIYUOE4M> (13:08)
There's a problem on the 2nd video at 1:45: ><https://youtu.be/px3ZIYUOE4M?t=114>
The author "spins" the stranded wires so that they fit into the
connector without any loose or frayed wires. The problem is that the >diameter of the stranded wire bundle increases slightly when twisted.
If you then crimp the cable, and later untwist it so that all the
stranded wires are straight, the bundle diameter will decrease in
diameter, resulting in a loose crimp.
It's not much of a problem with
small diameter stranded wire bundles, but does cause problems with
larger diameter power cables, battery cables, welding cables, overkill >speaker cables, electrical junction boxes, relay connections, etc.
Therefore, I suggest you NOT twist stranded wires when crimping or use
a crimped wire ferrule: ><https://www.google.com/search?q=crimped%20wire%20ferrule&num=10&udm=2>
Incidentallly, my guess(tm) is the rather poor pull strength of the
"crimp and seal" type of connection was at least partly caused by
"spinning" the stranded wires.
In sci.electronics.repair, on Mon, 18 May 2026 10:24:40 -0700, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote:
On Mon, 18 May 2026 09:44:30 +0200, "Carlos E.R."
<robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
On 2026-05-17 04:57, micky wrote:
If you were buying a new car radio and had about 20 wires you had to
match up and splice, and you were old and tired**, would you pay
Crutchfield to crimp them. OR would you solder and shinktube them
yourself?
**Although not actually tired when sitting a desk.
For $28.
$28 is not much, and saves you soldering inside the car in a not
None of what they would do is soldering inside the car. After all, this
is mail-order and they don't have my car. All they would do is connect
the harness that comes with the radio to an adapter harness, the far end
of which mates with the car's speaker connectors etc.
(For a different reason, I do have two connections inside the car I need
to make, and I'm not looking forward to it. One is a T-connection so
can't crimp, but I could use those speedo-T-connectors, except I don't
trust them either and I don't want to buy 50 to make one connection.)
confortable position, one hand holding the radio, another the cable, >>another the soldering iron, another the solder... oh, wait, you only >>have two hands.
What type of crimping? The type that Jeff showed can not be undone, but >>is neat. Heat shrink (and perhaps solder)? Needs to be done in a small >>space. Ok, USA cars are big, but is yours that big, and the cables are >>long enough?
In a car, I might choose connectors that can be unplugged. I had a radio >>like that in the 80's, they never failed. One radio was stolen and >>another lost, so I had to redo them. Radio was of the type that you >>could park the car and take the radio away with you.
And I guess someone did that!
Ever notice that very few stock automotive wire connections are
soldered? There's a reason for that. Crimps, using a ratchetting
tool, can be stronger than soldering and therefore tend to not fall
apart from vibration.
In sci.electronics.repair, on Mon, 18 May 2026 10:24:40 -0700, Jeff >Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote:
In a car, I might choose connectors that can be unplugged. I had a radio >>>like that in the 80's, they never failed. One radio was stolen and >>>another lost, so I had to redo them. Radio was of the type that you >>>could park the car and take the radio away with you.
And I guess someone did that!
Ever notice that very few stock automotive wire connections are
soldered? There's a reason for that. Crimps, using a ratchetting
tool, can be stronger than soldering and therefore tend to not fall
apart from vibration.
Do soldered connections fall apart from vibration?
"Crimping vs Soldering - Which Is Best?" >><https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAr2z6rGV7o> (6:37)
This video reminds me why I doubt crimping. If the crimping metal can
be bent by the tool in the first place, i can't help thinking it will
get tired, bend back a little, and loosen. I'm only 3 minutes into the
video and I know that he, and you, will say it doesn't do that, but it's
a feeling, and feelings are hard to shake.
I finished this video and he's very firm and very clear, but maybe he's
being paid by Big Crimp. -- When you love a girl, you don't believe any
of the bad stuff they say about her. Same with solder.
"I tested these connectors and found the best one"
This doesn't help. If the best one is best because it's more convenient >somehow, that would be okay, but it it's because it stays crimped the
best that implies that others are not the best. I will watch the video
and see which one it it.
..... Well, it's about resistance and tensile strenth. Continued
below.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px3ZIYUOE4M> (13:08)
There's a problem on the 2nd video at 1:45: >><https://youtu.be/px3ZIYUOE4M?t=114>
The author "spins" the stranded wires so that they fit into the
connector without any loose or frayed wires. The problem is that the >>diameter of the stranded wire bundle increases slightly when twisted.
If you then crimp the cable, and later untwist it so that all the
stranded wires are straight, the bundle diameter will decrease in
diameter, resulting in a loose crimp.
Yes, I see what you mean. And now my faith in this video has been
shaken, and I can't trust anything he says!!.
It's not much of a problem with
small diameter stranded wire bundles, but does cause problems with
larger diameter power cables, battery cables, welding cables, overkill >>speaker cables, electrical junction boxes, relay connections, etc. >>Therefore, I suggest you NOT twist stranded wires when crimping or use
a crimped wire ferrule: >><https://www.google.com/search?q=crimped%20wire%20ferrule&num=10&udm=2>
So the voltage drop is 86.6 to 89.1 mv. Out of 12 volts. That strikes
me as one big tie for most purposes.
Or 4.3 to 8.1 mv across the splice. Almost twice, but still, out of 12
volts. Interesting that the range in the first measurement was 2.5mv,
but in the second it's 3.8.
The tensile comparison is also very intersting, but in my case they have
a whole extra 6 or 12 inch harness stuffed behind the radio so there is
next to no tension on it.
Incidentallly, my guess(tm) is the rather poor pull strength of the
"crimp and seal" type of connection was at least partly caused by >>"spinning" the stranded wires.
I can see that.
I'm looking forward to watching the video he points to at the end, Why
are relay connections numbered the way they are, 85, 86, 87, 30. I've >wondered about that a little myself. https://youtu.be/HnNYKtNW60E ---
Never mind. He just that's what DIN called it. But there is more stuff
you already know about relays there. Still, I bet other videos in his
series have things I don't know and should know.
Thanks a lot the links and the advice.
On 17/05/2026 12:57 pm, micky wrote:
If you were buying a new car radio and had about 20 wiresThere is probably an adaptor available that will connect between your
new radio and the car's existing wiring harness. That'd make a lot more >sense to me than crimping or soldering the wires.
Aerpro is one company that makes such things. https://aerpro.com
Peter
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