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Thread: electrickery help needed

  1. #16

    Re: electrickery help needed

    I've used Jaycar's heavier cable for full set ups previously - no issues. Their crimps are crap as mentioned unfortunately. Their battery lugs however are ok. With crimps, I don't personally buy into the heatshrinking types unless you are talking about joiners. None of the gear at the back of a switch panel is water resistant in any way and the actual terminals will go green if its getting wet regardless - it will all need replacement if it's getting drowned on a regular basis. In some types the heatshrink will actually make the crimp retain water if the crimp is facing upwards. I do make sure the crimps I use are dual ones - if you look at the metal tube that goes around the wire, there is the internal ring and then another one piece metal collar around it - then the insulation. The easiest place for the common ones is supercheap.

    Next thing is cable tie mounts. Stick on ones are shit - end of story. The best ones are screw on re-usable ones like these https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/100pcs-S...bba20f54bb7c4f
    - available from plenty of joints on Ebay. Use plenty of them. If you don't have areas to screw too behind the dash due to glass with insufficient thickness, resin coat some plywood pads and Sikaflex them where you want to mount the cables. As you are laying the cables in, add a few at a time and just accept you are going to burn up ties by cutting and replacing them as wires get added. It's a heap easier than trying to make a neat job out of a bundled shite fight once everything is run.

    Soldering - there are 3 rules for soldering - clean, clean and clean. If your cable is new and clean it's pretty easy. As soon as it has any form of tarnish or corrosion, it's difficult at best. Unfortunately only experience and practice really helps. I crimp and solder battery lugs but only solder the end of the lug where the ring is. To do this I use a mini butane torch. Make sure you put something between the lug and your carpet (can't recommend using your leg - doesn't end well no matter how many times you do it) . After crimping, I get the lug up to temp (if you watch carefully you will see a change in the tin coating on the lug when it's hot enough) and then flow the solder into the wire until the end seals off. Don't bother with lead free solder - it is also shit. Use the real 60:40 stuff. As for the small insulated crimps - I don't bother unless they will be subject to water down the back of the boat - it will stuff the insulation though. Once it has cooled (don't force cool it) it gets a layer of dual wall heatshrink. I don't use the pre soldered heatshrink joiners - I've seen them fail when the solder hasn't flowed into the join properly. IMO you are better off with a heatshrink crimp joiner or a proper soldered, taped and heatshrunk join. The layer of tape protects the heatshrink from any solder spikes or wire ends (to a point) that can poke through the heatshrink - making it non water proof.

  2. #17

    Re: electrickery help needed

    The way i do my lugs is get a blocked lug no hole on the hole end, hold the lug woth pliers heat it with a blow torch while feeding solder into the lug than while hot push the cable in and allow to cool

    Seen a mechanic do this to one of my old jetskis and forever using his method works great

    Sent from my SM-G900I using Ausfish mobile app

  3. #18

    Re: electrickery help needed

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  4. #19

    Re: electrickery help needed

    I did omit one thing, I will use dielectric grease over my soldered joints and crimps before heatshrinking. F Crimps are much neater than tubular c

    Scott, using the very thin wire wrap before soldering eliminates wires sticking up and penetrating the heatshrink. I usually smear the joint with dielectric grease then use some plain heatshrink and overlap the lot with dual wall heatshrink.

    With solder I do have a tub of flux/resin even though I use resin cored solder, it certainly seems to help the solder flow better.
    Cheers Sam

  5. #20
    Free Membership Dirtyfuzz's Avatar
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    Re: electrickery help needed

    My old man was a sparky and I did a diesel fitter trade instead mainly so he couldn’t tell me what to do!


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    Mercury 115ct going strong😁

  6. #21

    Re: electrickery help needed

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  7. #22

    Re: electrickery help needed

    oops looks like that one disappeared too

  8. #23

    Re: electrickery help needed

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    Last edited by blacklab; 26-01-2021 at 12:09 AM. Reason: spelling

  9. #24

    Re: electrickery help needed

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  10. #25

    Re: electrickery help needed

    Hey Col u can use a multimeter to check the amp draw of your appliances than chose a fuse

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  11. #26

    Re: electrickery help needed

    Quote Originally Posted by blacklab View Post
    Just a quick question on the wiring.

    I'm gradually working thru it, however, I got some new led Nav lights a while back, plus I have an existing led strip light bar on the rocket launcher.
    I'm picking the led nav lights would draw bugga all, but cannot find any info on them or the existing led strip light on the R/launcher.
    I have some 3mm 15 amp twin core, so I was under the belief, that there's no harm in going larger ( since I have it on hand), of using this for both and as far as fusing goes on both, what would be a safe fuse rating ????...

    Col
    No issue with going bigger at all. In fact it gives a higher mechanical strength and a safety margin for corrosion should your water proofing not be quite spot on. The only time I use anything less than 4mm twin is if the fitting simply won't accept it. Fuse size is more about protecting cable than the actual fitting when it comes to electronic devices. The fuse usually blows due to device failure - not in attempt to protect it - it's just stopping the wiring from creating a fire. Anything from 5 amp down would suit most LED lights apart from lightbars ( seen one draw 22 amps but it was bloody bright) or spotlights.

  12. #27

    Re: electrickery help needed

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  13. #28

    Re: electrickery help needed

    Always fuse to protect the equipment regardless of cable size.
    I usually use bigger cables than required, if smaller then required then I cant answer that.

  14. #29

    Re: electrickery help needed

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  15. #30

    Re: electrickery help needed

    Fusing to suit the cable is the MAXIMUM sized fuse that can be used on that circuit without damaging the wire with no regard to the device. If your device calls for a smaller value fuse - use that value as then it not only protects the cable but will also prevent further damage to the device in a failure situation and in some devices like bilge pumps will prevent damage in the event the pump gets jambed with debris.

    With things like sounders, gps units and radios, a fuse does not protect the device from an initial failure. If, for example, someone hooks up a battery in reverse polarity, most times a fuse blows and any subsequent fuse blows instantly as well. The reason the fuse blows is not directly that the reverse polarity connection was made but rather that the reverse polarity protection diode (fitted for exactly that purpose) did it's job and effectively created a short circuit. When this happens, the diode almost always fails in a short circuit state and stays that way which is why any subsequent fuses also blow. If the fuse size is increased to a point where the fuse is no longer the weakest link ( trawler operators using cigarette foil paper were a special for this) the next weakest part of the circuit - usually a track on the printed circuit board will burn out - sometimes rendering the device non repairable.

    As such, if a fitted device has a fuse rating and you remove the in line fuse so there aren't fuses scattered through your loom, fit the same size fuse into your distribution device. If the device is something that doesn't have a rating for a fuse - as an example a normal incandescent light, you won't do any harm by fusing at the cables rating. That said, you do need to take a bit of a look at the fitting. If it has a short section of obviously lighter cable attached to it, that will be a potential "next weakest link" and as such the fuse size should be chosen accordingly.

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