Britbike forum Forums British Motorcycle specific Brands Triumph bulletin board Bullet connectors, crimp or solder...?

I need to replace the plastic connectors in the headlight shell of the T-140-V as they are prone to becoming compromised, overheating etc... 

My usual purveyor supplied me with a bag of replacement male bullets and female bullet connectors. 

Now I have soldered some connections on the bench but these will need to be done in place, in the headlight shell. 

The original bullet connectors all over the harness appear to have been crimped.  Are they soldered as well...?  
Wondering if there is a specific style crimping tool to crimp these or in fact, do I solder them...?  

Thanks much,
Rob

No.  




https://www.classicbritishspares.co...nector-crimping-tool-900269-hex-cbs-0394

Cheaper alternative
https://www.vehiclewiringproducts.co.uk/p-273-bullet-crimping-tool

If you want easy, better, faster and don't care about original try these;
https://www.posi-products.com/index.html
I replaced all the connectors on my 72 over twenty years ago.

My preference is crimping. I went the solder route once and didn't like it. Unless you're a crackerjack solderer and you have the right equipment, soldering those bullets can be problematic. I won't bore you with the details here.

Note that there are two types of those terminals; one type is "solder only". So if you're going to crimp, make sure you have the right type of terminals.

Thanks,
The first option seems to be out of stock and the second is from the UK and I do not know whether they ship to the US, I'll inquire.






I used those on an alternator upgrade on a Guzzi a few years ago, nice stuff but a bit large, I want to stuff all these in the shell. Besides I have already purchased the bullets.

Thanks




Exactly my concern, I would need to make a Helping Hand to hold the bullet or wire or both... interesting.

Plus I do not know whether these are solder only or whether I can crimp them, take a look at the photo in the first post, they look to be fairly thick walls, I'll measure them in the morning. The supplier did tell me that they were solder type in a one word reply when asked.

I looked around at hardware supply places on line near here and I may go see if I can find something locally, take a bullet with me to see if it will work.

Thanks,
Rob

Hi Rob,


The picture of the bullets on your bike now shows two hex. crimps, one next to the wire insulation, the other part-way along the bullet. Your new bullets couldn't form the crimp next to the wire insulation properly and I'm doubtful they could form the crimp part-way along correctly too.

In addition, the internal diameter of the new bullets is too large for crimping on the wires on your bike.



Ime, you are highly-unlikely to find the correct bullets anywhere, and your "usual purveyor" has been pretty useless.

Regrettably, you can't simply crimp on any old bullet. The correct crimping tool collapses correct bullets only a certain amount, that amount should form an interference-fit between the crimped bullet ID and the wire conductor (not insulation) OD, the fit tight enough to prevent the wire pulling out of the bullet when you try to pull a bullet out of a snap connector.

The correct-looking crimping bullets are available in the US from British Wiring - http://www.britishwiring.com/Crimping-Bullet-for-14-Strand-PVC-Wire-p/c314.htm

However, the "14 Strand" are modern metric strands; if your T140's wiring harness is original, it'll have Imperial Standard Wire Gauge strands, which are slightly smaller than modern metric; collectively, the wires' conductors are smaller enough that bullets sized for modern metric conductors don't make a tight-enough interference-fit when crimped and wires do pull out of bullets when you're trying to pull the bullets out of snap connectors.

Crimp-on bullets for original Imperial SWG wire haven't been available for decades. If your T140's harness is original (or an old replacement that still has Imperial-size wires), I'd advise against trying to change the bullets unless you're changing to completely-different connectors. Fwiw, ime the problems you detailed in your first post ("they are prone to becoming compromised, overheating etc.") are just the old snap connectors, rarely/not the bullets. Try replacing just the snap connectors and see if the problems go away; worst-case, all you've wasted is a little time before replacing all connectors with something completely different?

Otoh, if your bike's harness is a new enough replacement that it does have metric-size wires, in addition to the bullets, British Wiring also sell both the crimping tool and the "closing tool" - http://www.britishwiring.com/Tools-s/42.htm.

Hth.

Regards,

"I looked around at hardware supply places on line near here and I may go see if I can find something locally, take a bullet with me to see if it will work."

British Wiring in Bally, PA. has it all: https://www.britishwiring.com/

Oh... I see now, this has been covered above.

I just finished reading Stuart's reply. Hmm, yes, the i.d. of the terminals can be a problem. I recall that the fellow at British Wiring said they had at least two different sizes though, so it may be prudent to call and ask.

Good advice about just replacing the connectors if you can. The metal inside them corrodes and loses its resiliency after a while; new ones work much better. Using dielectric grease on the new ones will extend their life.

If you do wind up soldering, one technique for keeping the wire in place is to push the wire out through the hole in the end of the terminal and splay the ends. After soldering, snip off the excess wire.

The links I posted were only examples.

http://www.britishwiring.com/product-p/bw-ast23.htm

Don't forget some of this;

https://images.app.goo.gl/vVF1FL3MsA1mQR1L8

Bullet connectors are quite elegant when you think about it - they're compact, simple, and, in my experience, highly reliable. Of course I don't live next to an ocean and my Bonnie lives in a nice dry workshop.

The problem with soldering bullets is that if too much solder is applied it runs down the strands and effectively turns the stranded wire into solid wire. The solid mass is way more prone to breaking off than strands due to vibration stresses at the point where the wire enters the bullet. That's how I see it anyway.

Mark Z's tip on splaying the ends of the strands at the tip of the bullet and then cutting them off afterwards is a good one and works well whether you are crimping or soldering or both.

I made my custom harness with bullets and I crimped them first and then applied the tiniest amount of solder possible to the tip of the bullets and the protruding wires before snipping off the excess wire. This provides the benefits of good electrical and mechanical connections, and strands of wire to absorb vibrations where the wire joins the bullet. In my experience, new bullets take the solder very well.

I'll be over at my workshop later today and I'm going to crimp a British Wiring bullet onto a 14-strand conductor in the original imperial wiring harness for my '69 Bonnie. I'll report back.

Cheers!

Hm, I’ve always soldered mine. I have always assumed this makes a better and more lasting connection but it does take a bit more time. Melt a touch of .060 resin core solder to the end of the wire first to tin it, then put bullet in a shallow 3/16 hole drilled in a scrap 2x4, insert wire, apply solder gun to the plug to heat, and hold solder against it at top until it runs into the plug. Done. The scrap 2x4 is a lot cheaper than the crimping tool.

I’ve soldered headlamp leads in place that way. It helps to have a helper to do that, but I’ve also done it alone, the small scrap 2x4 holds things.

When you have new or cleaned plugs and connectors, put a little dielectric grease on each one before reassembling to help prevent corrosion and keep the problem from coming back.

Although I’ve never tried that, I sort of like the idea of trying replacing the connectors first, assuming the crimped end of the wire and the crimped plug aren’t internally corroded enough to create resistance. I suppose you could measure the resistance with your multimeter, and maybe clean the old bullet with OOO fine steel wool?

Crisis averted... Soldering the bullet connectors. 

I had made more of this than I should have, not knowing just which way to go regarding crimping or soldering I went out and made up one test soldered connection.  It came out better than good so I did three of them in the headlight. 
All good.  

Thanks for the input from you all, great idea to push the wire through the end of the bullet and splaying the ends, helps considerably to help keep the bullet in place while soldering. 

Much appreciate the assistance from you all. 

Best,
Rob

CORRECTION TO EARLIER POST

In what I originally posted here I said that I had successfully crimped contemporary bullets (as supplied by British Wiring) on imperial conductors (an original 1969 T120 wiring harness).

When I went over to the shop today I realized that the harness laying on the bench, the one I used for my bullet experiment, was NOT the original, but a British Wiring reproduction! No wonder those conductors went in so snug and crimped down so tight.

When I retrieved the original harness and crimped a #14 bullet onto one if its 14-strand conductors I discovered that:

A) The wires did not fit so snugly in the bullet, they were actually quite loose
B) It didn't take too much of a yank to pull the strands right out of the bullet.

Which is exactly what Stuart said in his post above

Apologies for confusion I created. Thanks to koan58 for heads-up.

.
those soldered connections look like hell ... thought the may last a good many years .

the wire should be tinned first , as lurker suggested ... and then the insulation goes up .. half way , or more ... inside the bullet .
the pre-tinned wire end supplies the bulk of the solder needed ... and just a smidge more is added after the solder re-flows
with the application of the solder iron .

tinning first controls how deeply the solder wicks to the wires insulation .
you dont want solder wicked up to where it will stiffens the flexibility of the wire strands .

your solder connection is probably fine ... but with how the wire is stripped to far , you've lost the strain relief
of the insulation being inside the bullet . ( that shrink wrap thats already coming off ...isnt necessary if done correctly )

mmm... your empirical evidence seems contrary to some other very assured advice. Interesting! and thanks for the effort.

(Hermit's post I was referring to)

One of the problems I encountered in soldering was, in trying to keep a bit of insulation inside the terminal, on a couple of terminals I inadvertently melted some insulation and thus contaminated the solder joint. What was particularly insidious about this flaw was that it took a couple of months for the joints to fail, and when they did it was difficult to find the points of failure.

This was probably due to a not-hot-enough iron, and staying on the terminal too long. Again, avoidable if you know your soldering beans.

You can also do what Rob did and substitute shrink tubing for the insulation. (Rob, that IS shrink tubing and not electrical tape, right?)

Hey Mark,
Same here, I was worried about contaminating the solder with the insulation so I kept it back just enough to ensure that I would not chance it. Hence the reason for the shrink tubing to both seal the end of the bullet and act as a bit of a strain relief... hopefully. I trimmed that end that looks like a bit of foreskin...

These connections are in the headlight shell and really not much movement in there plus I think I will bundle and tie them together. There is the bent tab restraint that captures the bit of wiring as it enters the shell as well.

Best,
Rob

there is a fair amount of vibration all over the bike .
those new soldered bullets could last forever ... or not .
thinking about the the possibility , as you have done , is a good step .

there is more than one way to skin a cat ... those foreskinned bullets loose points
for appearance ...

( a tip that no one asked for )
the insulation over the wire can be stretched and compresssed ... up to a point .
and it will eventually return to its natural length .
i use this to an advantage when soldering bullets

how i solder a bullet .

the wire can be stripped , to say 1/4 "
tinned for 3/16" ... ( old wire may need cleaning to expose fresh copper )
the tinned end in then pulled out of the insulation ... so 3/8" of wire shows .
insulation during soldering is just barely engaged inside or at the edge of the bullet .
tinned wire end is snipped so only 1/16 sticks out
bullet soldered... only a dab of solder added ... when tinned-end re-liquefies ... completely covering the end of the bullet , making it gas tight
... and then the compressed insulation is pushed back fully inside the bullet .

Seems to me the most problems I've had with wires breaking from the vibration are the ones to the taillight. I ended up just splicing the wires and getting rid of the bullet connectors there altogether.
I try to strap down any loose wires and connectors. It strain relieves them and reduces problems from fractured solder joints.
Perhaps there is no perfect solution. The Japanese bikes went to very small diameter wires and tiny, jewel like connectors with no solder joints at all. Seems to work pretty good.
But I think crimped connectors aren't any more reliable than soldered ones. They can corrode and have high resistance. I'm chasing one of those now on my Honda. When it gets wet, the motor cuts out and that can be very risky. I'm not interested in riding in the rain at the moment and won't wash my bike until I find the culprit.
Unfortunately, I live in a place where it is raining somewhere every minute of every day.
Ride fast and dodge raindrops!
Cheers,
Bill

Hi... I lean toward a crimp and heat shrink.Often a patch joint will have bind crawling up the wire making it excessively inflexible so it snaps off with vibration.Most joints I make are pleated and pvc taped to hold it together.Heat shrivel is somewhat current.

hmmm, would appear a very apt username 😉 ....

For anyone interested, this is what Lucas themselves supplied back in the day.....



Source : Lucas trade catalogue "Cable and cable products" 1982

Note that there is just one listed for soldering (#900269) and 4 different sizes for crimping - these vary by the internal dia. to accommodate different cable conductor sizes.

Lucas terminals require a special crimper tool iirc, I solder.

So I went with the new, correct Lucas crimpers. I use both the 1.0 mm and 2.0 mm crimps and I am getting good at it.

The next project in the wings is a '71 Daytona that I know needs some electrical attention. I no long fear that.

Best,
Rob