Wiring Connectors As Factory

[Clatter]

Nice.

Thanks for all of the help, gentlemen.

Ended up ordering these connectors here,
Because they are supposedly actual factory connectors.
http://www.volksbolts.com/electrical.htm

They are on a slow boat across the Atlantic right now,
But we'll report our findings when we know for sure.


Since we're here on a tangent,
Any of you guys ever pull a switch apart?

How to best pry open these little crimps here?

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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[raygreenwood]

I use small needle nose pliers. Have to be careful.

Virtually all or this thread is type 3 and 4 switches but some of the details may help you.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=658907&highlight=411-412+headlight+switch


But....it depends on what the switch body is made of. Its the pot metal/zinc cast version....they cannot be recrimped. If its stamped steel or aluminum it can be recrimped.
Ray

[orwell84]

You probably already know this but the original style plastic connectors are still available new. I bought a bunch here:

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1755915

Originals are also available in the classifieds.

After welding new sections into the washer bottle panel of my bus, I mixed up my left signal light and wiper park wires in their y connectors. Took me forever to figure it out. At that point I decided I was done with hacked wiring and bought a gazillion of the OEM connectors from digikey as well as the correct crumpets. It’s the only way to go. Nothing wrong with hardware store connectors for a roadside repair, but when you get a whole bus full...

[ToolBox]

[Clatter]

Just to follow up..

I got the crimpers Telford linked to, and the ends Xevin showed me from the UK.

Such a joy using these tools!

Makes a tidy crimp in one step - identical to the factory.

Thanks for all of your help, gentlemen.
Very nice to have these things work right.

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Bus Motor Build

What’s That Noise?!?

[notchboy]

Good you got the nice crimpers. I love the lock hold feature. Telford hooked me up on this same stuff after my 10 year desire to get it right.
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[chimneyfish]

[raygreenwood]

For those who are going to be shopping crimping tools.....The crimper frames and dies that Telford Dorr set you up with from Del city wire (by the way I am 5 miles from Del City as we speak...its a suburb of Oklahoma city. Been to Del City wire many times)......look just like the Paladin crimpers...because they are.

The crimpers sold through Del City wire are "RS Pro" brand. RS Pro in Taiwan is owned by Electrocomponents in the UK.

Electrocomponents and its subsidiary RS Pro...have the US dealer network of "Allied Electronics" under their belt....which used to be part of Tandy/Radio Shack and have been owned by Electrocomponents since 1999.....and are also a major partner ....of Greenlee....which owns Paladin tools......so you can bet that Tempo (owned by Greenlee) who makes the dies and tools...is manufacturing these under license in Taiwan...for RS Pro.

Buy the best crimper frames and dies you can. The fit and finish is important to the crimp quality. Ray

[blatzer]

i started working on my fried instrument panel circuit (its the tiny terminal on the lights socket) and reached a dead end = anyone find one that fits, my source (us) were slightly too small

[andybla]

very nice crimping over here

[sodbuster]

won't do all the leg work for you. but I've had good luck with these guys.
https://belmetric.com/electrical/electrical-connectors/non-insulated-connectors/

When I did my bus I removed all the red blue yellow FLAPS stuff and went back to the original double crimp style.

[blatzer]

thx i searched and found crimps that were supposed to fit but did not- will try belmetric

[KTPhil]

Yes, and mind the difference between the locking and non-locking female connectors. There is a tab on the locking ones that engages in the plastic shell like on the headlight connectors. They came in handy when I rewired the relay panel on my fastback (or like the mini ones on the FI harnessing). Worked like a charm!

[SGKent]

Digi-key and Mouser used to have brass crimps of all types. That is where I got mine. Scott also has some of the more unusual ones.
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“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[vwmerckx]

My saved "Digi-Key" links. Hover over the picture and get an enlarged picture

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/filter/connectors-interconnects/392

F-Shaped Terminals:
https://www.digikey.com/en/products/filter/connect...2PsgYLs6gA

[KTPhil]

Man, those 2097 die sets are hard to find! Out of stock all over. I found one and it came to about $50. I hope it was in stock as they say!
Not cheap, but neither is towing due to a damn wire crimp!
I tried the smallest on my standard set but it couldn't properly crimp onto the small wire and these new connector pins... which his the whole point of the exercise! And these tiny connectors are used all over in later models and in my '68 Bus behind the dash, so I'll get use out of it...
When (if?) it arrives I'll take lots of photos of my crimping (hopefully) success!
And I bet I then get inundated with local VW club members needing these connector pigtails!
Cross your fingers!

EDIT:
Yes, too good to be true, it's out of stock.
DAMN!

Further EDIT:
I took a chance, and these might be cheap (given the price):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YGLKBSK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&th=1

The 2-position dies seem to be for smaller wire like we use:

...whereas my smallest 3-position was still too large:

[raygreenwood]

Yep....the die sets can be hard to find.

A couple of notes that may help to add to this thread.

I am on the road and will not be back until tomorrow so I cannot start the thread I have been working on but.....I am building a D-jet harness that my car will not need for a year or two....but not very far off...hopefully June, I will be breaking in the 1.8L I have building for a friend (forever)....with one of my D-jet systems.

The thread I am starting is as much about a harness build as it is a "How to" for crimping.

As far as the 2097 die goes....do not jump through too many hoops yet. It really is the good die for crimping the ultra fine L-jet female terminals.

But....how well it works is going to be as much about what wire you select and what strand diameter and strand count that wire has....and what insulation thickness it has.

As was mentioned earlier in this thread....yes....its IDEAL to have metric vs AWG wire....but not perfect. Thousands of companies make wire and they are ALL different.

Just saying a wire is 18AWG....means nothing exact. Its more of an equivalence.

The big issue with AWG numbers is that they are NOT actually for stranded wire. They are for SOLID wire. And metric standards for wire dose not mean that metric wire is any more correct for what you need.

When you are shopping wire you need to ask whomever is selling it to you:

1. What is the OD of the complete wire?
2. How many strands does it have?
3. What is the individual strand diameter?
4. Bonus question....is the wire bundle inside of the insulation straight or helically twisted?

Reasons for all for this stuff?

Give you an example:
So, I went through four complete D-jet systems to map out what wire gauge each pin number is to see if there are issues or differences. I save the ECU plugs complete with about a 1 foot long pigtail of each wire so I have a pile of them for building harnesses if I cannot get the ECU connectors.

I found that while the strand diameter is pretty consistent and the strand count is pretty consistent the actual OD of the wires is not that consistent.

In a nutshell there are the “crude” (caliper) measurements of the wire diameters I see in common across numerous factory harnesses:
0.075” to ~0.078” (~20 AWG)
0.086” to ~0.090” (~18 AWG)
0.081” no variation (~18 AWG) meaning these measure 0.081" everywhere
0.090” no variation (~18AWG)

The OD variation is what will fight with your strain relief crimps on any of the EFI terminals.....in the crimpers we have with teh dies that are available.

The internal wire bundle as noted of the stock wires is pretty consistent and is the same on both 20 and 18 gauge wires. The main crimp barrel works pretty well.



Back to the dies.....the 2097 will have problems with some terminals...depending on the wire you have. Typically my go to...otherwise ...has been the 2096. The 2096 set I have are actual Paladin brand and have mirror polished anvil areas inside.

BUT...on some recent crimping of D-jet terminals I found that it was not quite getting the crimp done perfect. So i went to the same cavity size and design in my 2033 die set. The 2033 and 2096 are "supposed" to be identical with the only difference being that 2033 has one more larger gauge die cavity.

Just changing to a different die of the same design fixed it. Thats how much die quality means. We are talking thousandths and ten-thousandths of difference.

Also...be prepared. The standard size wire terminals like we see in our fuse blocks will crimp really well with these die sets. But....the fuel injection terminals....many of them...none of these die sets are actually anywhere near what these terminals are crimped with at the factory. And unless you have exact factory wire .....its not going to crimp correctly or easily.

I have found as many others have that these fuel injection terminals can require a multi-stage crimp.

For example....crimping the ECU end connectors on either 18 or 20 gauge Teflon coated wire....this is what I found in a recent crimping session

1. The strain relief must be partially set with a small pair of jewelers pliers so that the terminal stays still on the slick insulation while you install it in the die. This also helps on vinyl insulation.

2. The main barrel crimp "flaps" must be narrowed with the jewelers pliers to help the terminal to fit all the way into the die so it will not twist as you squeeze the pliers.

3. There are two sections/steps to each die cavity. The higher step is for the crimp barrel and the lower step is for the strain relief.
I only use the higher step to make both crimps because the length of the terminal is not exact enough to crimp both areas in one pass without bending the terminal.

4. So the strain relief is crimped first. AND...AND....I have the crimp depth wheel set on #1 for 18 AWG and #3 for 20 AWG.....AND.....I insert the terminal and close the pliers to the first click ONLY. This holds the terminal in place while I make any position adjustments that may be needed.

THEN....with the strain relief....only on Teflon wire....I only close the pliers to the third click on 18 AWG and only the 4th click on 20 AWG....then trigger the release lever or else it crushes and cracks the insulation.

5. Then change the crimp depth wheel again (3 on 18 and 4 on 20), insert the terminal in the same cavity section you just used for the strain relief...close to the first click to lock the terminal in place....hold the terminal square with hemostats....and run the pliers through a complete cycle.

So....with fuel injection terminals....its not just "throw in in the die and ratchet".

Also....keep a note book of all of these crimper settings for each type of wire or you will go through a LOT of expensive terminals trying to get this right.

This is a tease just for KTPhil

Look what came in the mail last week!

Brand new....selectively gold plated...120 of them!

Yes...this particular part # is still available. Only in groups of 60. 120 of them ran me about $55.
The caveat....is that they are 20-22 AWG barrels....and will take a little work to properly crimp (already got that worked out)...but can be crimped.

The other item is that I have a method for recycling the ECU terminals that looks and works pretty much like factory (two different methods actually) so do not throw your old ones away. They can be reused.

Here is a recycled ECU terminal with brand New silver plated copper/Teflon wire.

When I get my thread up and running in the 411/412 forum I will post a link in this thread.

Ray

[sodbuster]

Here is what I use for non insulated wire ends. No markings as to manufacturer. Pretty basic crimping tool. I got them through my job, supplied either through Grainger or MSC. Inexpensive and work well. I'll look into these to see if I can find out who makes them.

[notchboy]

Ray - great info my man
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[KTPhil]

I'll test my cheapie crimper on my non-ideal wire, and see if I am getting close.

Final tooling and material will wait, but this may give me something to use as an emergency repair.

Those pins look wonderful, lol!