How to: Battery Terminal Install. Better than Factory. 

Same for maritime applications

I have hand crimped thousands of these working in the semi truck parts business. 99.9% of those mechanics wouldn't consider a solder joint nor would they have time. With the addition of a small heat shrink tube it makes the crimp joint nearly impervious.

Come to think of it, maybe he knows this and is just doing it for views

@@gtcam723 My 1970 EggHarbor 37, OEM 2/0 wires have all the lugs soldered on. They then wrapped it with black electrical tape. In 50 years, it never overheated and fell apart. Mostly though I agree the crimped cables are technically superior. Other thing is these large cables are very naturally stiff, a small hard spot in the end from solder has no effect on it breaking. Not in my experience. I have also made some of my own copper lugs from small sections of copper pipe. Made them to look like typical lugs, but have also simply put the copper tube 2 inches onto the striped wire, then used a 3 lb sledge hammer to smash them together. Drill a 3/8 hole in the end and sometimes solder sealed the end only. Now of course if your going to stack lugs, might be an issue cause the lugs you make that way will be 2 to 3 times thick where the stud bolts on. I have also used a tubing flare tool to crimp copper tubing onto wires. Works amazingly well, tighten it down and smash the flare tool with a sledge hammer. May have to rotate the crimp in the flare tool and hit it a few times. This can work very well if the copper tubing is a close fit for the wire gauge. If the copper tube is slightly too small for the wire gauge, you can heat the copper to anneal the tube, then run a drift into it with a hammer to expand it, then use it for the crimp. I did that recently for a 6 gauge wire and 1/4 copper tubing crimp.

@@TheBluegoatman Yes well that is a business. My time is my own time. heatshrink is a good idea. Also sealing the copper to the wire with tape first, then heat shrink is better. Truth is get this, blue painters tape, wrap a few turns around the joint, then heat shrink seals the water out. I find it better than black vinyl electric tape which over time leaks out this stick goo and it also fails to stick. And you can get adhesive lined heat shrink tubing, for a price... Anyway the blue painters tape actually holds up for years and years. Many wires in the past had paper liners under the insulation, same idea using paper tape, but not masking tape, that is no good.

Yes and if it shorts it will melt that solder faster than shit through a goose.

Plumbing technique and materials should not be used for electical connections.

If it's a bad job for solder in the engine bay it will break up but he is using a different type of solder into solder needs more heat than a RadioShack heat gun

Correct!

👍

Not To mention that crimping provides less resistance than Solder due to copper being a better conductor

I agree. Crimp & then solder.

@@pedrorojascervantes3928 you both are incorrect there's no need to solder after a hydraulic crimp it already creates a fusion cold weld

Tuyệt vời

Yes wanted to say same and solder can contaminate copper which will lead to oxidizing and corrosion. IMO mechanical crimping is the best way, can be done with heavy hammer and dull chisel.

bRAVO VOUS AVEZ RAISON.

Thanks for the heads up

That is not what NASA has proved, or perfers.

@@bowez9source?

@@henmich NMEA recommendation is to crimp. Industry best practice (Google it) also recommends crimp.

Corroding due to environmental reasons (salts and water, dissimilar metals, H2So4 gas) and your new cables have protection from heat shrink and I bet coatings too.

If that wire ever gets hot enough to melt the solder , there will be much bigger things wrong .

@@kennethnevel3263

@@njineermike Soldering is allowed by code in electrical work but isn't commonly used because it takes too much time and labor.

@@LV_CRAZY Depends on the usage.

If the wire end gets hot enough to melt the solder. then you have a bad connection at the wire end. or possibly too much load caused by a faulty starter. providing it's in a starting circuit. on a good connection it should never get hot enough to melt the solder.

Crimp first then fill gaps with solder to prevent oxidation.

A crimp is a mechanical connection 👍. Belt and braces 👍

If you solder anything its become solid, If you try to move that copper wire, It will brake little by little. Crimping connectors with RIGHT tool, will do the job.

@@milanmilicevic4618 only if it vibrates and is held perfectly rigid. With a slight amount of slack the oscillations can not propagate, have you ever tried to push a chain.

@@bowez9 you assume only the wire vibrates and wire has stiffness so vibrations are transmitted to connection.

Grow up. It’s fine

right on with the shrink tube, i been doing it too, customers like it and coment on it as well

@@barryross1191 sure

@@barryross1191 You don’t understand soldering.

@@barryross1191 100% on the heat shrink tubing if using solder connections. Working in the marine field, any bare wire exposed to moisture can and will corrode.

In that case metal fatigue would sent in an would fail no matter what, either the cable, crimp, or connection.

Brillant idea. Complète pain when dealing with expensive cables and you nick one of the inner wire's insulation.

As a 25yr sparkie, I've never used a safety razor blade, the last 20yrs I haven't used a utility knife. A well kept splicers knife or edc pocket knife is actually preferred for higher voltage or amperage. Not going to knock the military members, but the training they give you sucks. 2 trips to Afghanistan as a civ to fix wiring done by our military.

@@Boreamear- Gotcha, That sound like bigger stuff than what I deal with. 22-16ga typically the smaller end of that range. Zero stretch allowed on the insulation, zero nicks on the conductors. Inspected and “bought off” by an inspector typically with a 10x magnifier. I’m sure none of my work has been redone because of quality.

I always used electricians scissors. It was always the fastest way for me to strip wires.

Took the words out of my mouth. We're not sweating copper pipe here...

I think this is just for millennia and Prius.

Thank you for posting your reply. In my mind this seems like a good idea at first but what you said makes much more sense. I am grateful for people like you that take the time to reply with correct information. It just saves a lot of hassle later on.

@@tonyfontes8935 Also, we use a wire brush on the inside of the terminal, CRC QD Contact Cleaner to clean the components, and then Deoxit before assembly and crimping to eliminate the corrosion that happens between different copper alloys, and then spray it with CRC 2-26 to protect it. Or, CRC Battery Terminal spray will protect it from moisture and other contaminants.

It's crazy how many absolutely terribly DIY repair videos become some of the most viewed

YEP

Solder will break. It make the connection rigid and susceptible to cracking from vibration.

Had that happen. I too crimp, then soldier.

Yeah agreed.

Not supposed to solder crimps.

Rosin core solder for electrical. Acid for plumbing. Used this technic for years.

I doubt the melting point will be an issue, but 63/37 solder would be best just because it's eutectic. It goes completely from liquid to solid at a single temperature. Still, even non-eutectic is OK but the joint must be kept completely still until completely solidified.

This works

@@zoobrizz sure it works but no one dares to try it for their own cars.

@@zoobrizz ...WITH THE CORRECT SOLDER AND NO ACID TYPE FLUX!

@@tonyr8443 I have over 15yrs ago without issue, while factory cable rotted.

But what if you only need a couple of crimps for a small basic off grid solar system ?

BUT DO NOT USE THAT DAMNED SOLDER OR THE FLUX!!! ITS THE WRONG KIND FOR ELECTRICAL CABLES AND WILL CAUSE MASSIVE CORROSION!!! YOU MUST USE 'ELECTRICAL' SOLDER!!! AND NO NEED FOR THE FLUX IF YOU CLEAN THE INSIDE IF THE TERMINAL CUP WITH A BRASS BRUSH OR A GREEN SCRUBY PAD!!! I HAVE BEEN MAKING BATTERY RELOCATION HARNESSES FOR 20 YEARS AND I HAVE MADE HUNDREDS, AND THIS IS THE WRONG SOLDER AND FLUX BEING USED HERE!!!

@@ssnerd583 thank you for that heads up

I have trouble drilling the copper, seems to grab. Any tips?

True!

I really hope you're lying about being an electrician.

@@studog7851 not at all

@@studog7851 I gave the video poster his accalaids and said I wouldn't have a problem installing his style. What was it?, the part about I dont have time for it or that a crimp is more of a permanent mechanical connection? Where's the disbelief?

@@studog7851 oh I see what your comment was about the solder material and that this guy is an idiot. I was trying to be diplomatic with the poster and not be too rude. I agree that people who don't know what their doing shouldn't give demonstrations of the wrong way to do something. Most people take these videos with a grain of salt and may still educate themselves before trusting the poster, I hope.

@@Jzzonem Hey Scott, I just have a sure point about people demonstrating poor electrical work on RU-vid, its not responsible and can be deadly. Not sure where you're from but it is illegal to do your own electrical work in my country without a licence and the amount of rubbish on RU-vid and misinformation is not helpful. And it just takes one person to not take advise with a grain on salt. In response to "I wouldn't have any problem installing it". I would not install a cold soldered connection on anything (boat, house, toy car or whatever), and I am not an electrician but as a licensed builder, if I sure this on my job site the sparky would be out on his arse, no question.

Lol.. I can hear him right enough..

.

It won't be unless you heat the wire before shoving it in there. If you don't heat it first you had better heat lug really good after it's in the molten solder or it will be a cold weld

@@rmblwgn you need more heat than just a short, few seconds, of flame to heat the wire enough to really soak in the solder.

@@FlexDRG I know that's what I was saying. ppl who only heat up Lug just until solder melrs are going to have a cold joint

@@rmblwgn i usually tin the wire first, then the lug with some solder and with the warm lug i insert the wire and keep the heat going a while longer to remelt the tin on the wire. But I also at times, crimp the lug onto the wire and then add solder for better electrical contact. (At least in my mind)

If you have heated the solder up enough, it flows nicely into the cable strands. I have been making batter relocation harnesses for 20 years and I have never had one fail. Cars have been in accidents where they were totaled, and the cables have parted or the terminal lugs have broken at the attach point, but the cable has NEVER come out of the cup. THIS GUY HAS IT ALMOST RIGHT!!!! NO FLUX AND USE THE RIGHT SOLDER, AND YA GOLDEN!!!

People are shock because it's not correct. If I seen this done to my car I would never return. Jerry rig everything. True sign of no education. This guy is what we technician call a Shady Tree Mechanic. They give us a bad reputation because they have convinced themselves that they know what they are doing.

@@jasonk795 can you please explain what he did wrong?

@@sanpepsiman1277 no crimp. Crank in the starter too long and the cable heats up from the resistance and melts the low temp solder. There goes the cable at the connector. There are shops that will crimp it for you if you don't have the correct tool. People giving bad repair lessons. Now others are going to do this. Creating more problems.

@@jasonk795 Thanks fam, dodged a big one here

Same here, it literally freaks people out. The only thing I do different is I prep the copper with a wire brush, and then crimp it a bit before soldering.

Crimp before soldering just soldering is a no go the solder is electrically resistive and will heat up during high current loading (60+amps) and can melt causing a partial connection causing additional heating and full failure possibly even starting the wire insulation on fire. Crimping first prevents this possibility... My trick is I take an engineers hammer place the connector on a hard flat surface with the cable and flux already inserted give a good wack or 2 to the terminal socket crimping it solidly (my crimps are strong enough that either the cable or the terminal eye will fail when pulled across the crimp(had a guy test one when he pulled an engine I had replaced the cable on 5yrs prior and forgot to remove the engine to chassis ground cable I made actually picking the front end of the 91 Dodge d350(1ton diesel) from the ground by that OO gauge copper cable). Then I give it some electrical solder and sleeve it with 2 layers of marine electical shrink tubing shorter piece first covering the connection second overlaps the ends of the first and reinforces/protects the connection from flexing (the marine grade heat shrink tubing contains a heat set epoxy that adds an extra layer of water penetration protection). This is the proper way to make a professional battery cable eye connection. (However because it takes too long most mechanics don't do this heck you're lucky if they don't use the cheap non permanent/temporary use clamp on battery cable ends).

Hey Kevin, I’ll try and make one in the next few days. Thanks for the comment.

@@First_Class_Amateur In Colorado we do a lot of back-packing and camping and boating and I would love to see a quick can stove out of recycled pop cans into a "jet-stove" with your "special twist" as always Thank brother.. (Btw: Brent, you sure must be doing something right, I'm looking at a few of the "hater comments" just jealous because they do NOT have the 'drive and ambition" to make great simple videos!)

Yes, that can happen. Even below the actual "melting point" comes the "softening point" for any material that can phase change between solid and liquid. When it softens, it can come loose even without actually melting. That's why all cables are crimped inside of a car's engine bay and never soldered. In aircraft, that extra hold of a crimp during high heat could give pilot enough time to land the craft in case of some on-board fire or other overheat situation. I read that solder, as strong as it is, was never meant to provide mechanical hold. Solder starts softening at 90°C too. High power machines like combustion engines, turbines, can get that hot too in their bays. Not impossible to reach those temps from high amperage either. This solder-only solution is asking for trouble. But, for my Anderson Powerpoles connectors, I've actually crimped first and then flowed in some solder into the crimped wire. Not sure that could work in extra thick cables like this though.

ALWAYS CRIMP

That joint MUST BE TIGHT, No solder needed, A heavy gauge wire like that must be crimped.

If your cable gets to 300+ deg F you have much bigger problems. But crimping is often better because it doesn't create a brittle strain point right next to the connector, which is where the cable will fail from fatigue stress.

Friend, you and I are twin sons from different mothers; I have commented on many videos exactly the way you did on this one. I despise and detest overpowering, overly loud, inappropriate, and annoying background music in videos like this… Or for any other videos for that matter. Background music is WAY OVERRATED.

@@adobemastr way cool bro! I actually have the text saved so I don't have to type it out every time. Sometimes I make minor mods for a particular video creator. So far I only remember one creator replying to me. He said he has poor command of the English language, & I tried to give him some confidence to give it a try anyway. Best to you, say hi to mom.

Hi my name is Jorge

Wrong

A half moon back dye with a center tooth crimp is the best mechanical connection you can get.. solder attracts corrosion.. I repaired locomotives for 12 years and saw all types of failures.. quality crimps never failed on 1000 amp motors... the crimp shape is very important though..

Careful on factory replacement cables, they are typically copper coated aluminum.

Yea you don't have a clue how electricity and current works....You will break the wire before you dislodge that tip. Soldering is the BEST electrical connection you can make PERIOD.

@@whpony96 sure guy, sure.

@@turdhurdler8926 I have a masters in electrical engineering degree on my wall , I'm 100% sure you don't..

@@whpony96 you got it Skippy 👍🏼.

What a bad repair that will fail? Monkey see money do. Do it right or don't do it at all.

Ничего гениального. Такие соединения не паяются из-за возможного нагрева до температуры плавления припоя, и тогда будет проблема.