heat shrink tubing

grumpyvette

Administrator
Staff member
now if you've got an older corvette or muscle car this tubing allows you to make rather nice looking repair splices in the cars wiring without nasty looking electrical tapes that tends to unroll after awhile , example, if youve got a defective fuel injector connector you can slip some onto the old wiring after cutting off the defective connector and before installing the new connector, and after splicing in the new connector the tubing is slipped over the splice, a hair drier or heat gun will shrink it in place, in fact just a trip on a hot day will allow engine temps under the hood to shrink it into place.
find the break in the wire and solder it with quality flux and tin/lead solder,to a solid electrical connection then use shrink tube to cover the splice
wirecar.jpg

having a wire roll caddy , thats easy to access or fabricating one for working around the cars helpful
THIS IS A GOOD VALUE
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https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200356620_200356620?cm_mmc=Google-pla&utm_source=Google_PLA&utm_medium=Electrical > Terminal Kits + Organizers&utm_campaign=Northern Industrial Tools&utm_content=163443&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIq4Gj3qeW2AIVVrXACh3l2QRxEAYYCCABEgK4afD_BwE



16dbd753-4d4c-40ea-9451-0dbc27426fe0_300.jpg

http://www.homedepot.com/s/wire+stripper?NCNI-5
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Ideal-Stripm ... 819657-_-N
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http://www.alliedelec.com/search/produc ... U=70222843
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http://www.sears.com/craftsman-professional-dual-heat-soldering-gun/p-00927320000P

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http://www.electricalhub.com/heat-shrink-connectors?gclid=CIXF4ta8660CFU2b7QodzwEn6A

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http://www.harborfreight.com/120-piece- ... 67530.html

http://www.electricalhub.com/heat-shrink-tubing

solder gun, selection, things like computer chip replacement or minor circuit board repairs will require a soldering gun with much smaller tips and far less watts than a gun designed to repair 14-10 gage automotive connectors and relay repairs so youll need different tools. copper fittings on pipe requires a small torch not a soldering gun, so be aware of what each tool does.
you can use some toy like this yellow version,posted but it makes you crazy, a good solder gun will heat wires up to 10 gauge in seconds to the point that well fluxed solder flows very easily, you really want to look over the soldering gun specs it have the ability to reach at least 1000F in seconds and have 220 plus watts
http://www.amazon.com/Wall-Lenk-WG9...omotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1325012778&sr=1-2-catcorr
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solder
http://www.amazon.com/Mobilespec-Ro...0?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1325012844&sr=1-10

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flux
http://www.amazon.com/Dorman-9-1309..._1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1325012899&sr=1-1

http://www.heatshrinktubing.net/

http://cableorganizer.com/heat-shrink/c ... shrink.htm

http://www.heatshrinktubingdirect.com/? ... 2godCA44bA

http://www.aerostich.com/prevent-or-rep ... -kits.html

Weller D550PK 120-volt Professional Soldering Gun Kit 260/200 Watts

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat-shrink_tubing

http://cableorganizer.com/heat-shrink/

http://cableorganizer.com/heat-shrink/h ... m?src=life

http://www.nutsandbolts.com/electrical-c-32.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=66729

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/d ... mber=98713

viewtopic.php?f=42&t=2230&p=5999#p5999

adding thermal spark plug shields for the ignition wires near the headers helps protect the ignition efficiency and reduce problems
http://cableorganizer.com/insultherm-sp ... 020801mw/1

viewtopic.php?f=36&t=627

BTW theres a HUGE variation in SOLDERING GUN CAPABILITY
anything rated at less than about 140 watts is almost useless for some automotive applications
150 watts (up to 950°F) for electrical, hobby and general soldering
230-280 watts (up to 1100°F) for soldering metals such as copper, tin or brass with ease


Weller D550PK 120-volt Professional Soldering Gun Kit 260/200 Watts

THIS WORKS BUT ITS NOT IDEAL, IN EVERY APPLICATION BUT ITS FAR SUPERIOR TO THE SMALLER VERSION POSTED EARLIER

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00002 ... ative=9325

basically a waste of money on automotive wiring but might be fine on computer boards
 
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thanks for posting the link, I.ve been doing similar solder jobs for decades,
don't forget too slip the correct size of shrink tube over one end of the two wires too be soldered,

I thought that electrical wire wrap, then solder the two together skill was common knowledge
the secret is to strip and carefully clean the copper wire surface, then dip it in the flux
your chances of getting a good electrical bond on a soldered connection increases a significant percentage if you use clean copper paste flux and a high quality 300-400 watt solder gun,

flux.jpg

a good deal of flux on the copper and real tin/lead solder does wonders,
220px-Stranded_lamp_wire.jpg
in making a great low resistance ,electrical connection, after both exposed wire tips are carefully cleaned wrap then tightly together as in the diagram below, re-coat with flux then heat until solder flows easily over the surfaces and between strand, then slip the heat shrink tube in place and use the solder gun placed close too, but not touching the heat shrink tubing to shrink it into place
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it has become rather obvious to me, after watching my neighbor try to repair his older muscle cars under dash wiring, that many guys have no concept of how to correctly make a wire splice repair so i figure IL post the basics here.
TOOLS YOULL NEED


http://stellartechnical.com/d650gun.aspx

http://www.harborfreight.com/127-piece- ... 67524.html


Just a tip when using shrink tube, as a protective cover,
over wires leaving an electrical socket or sensor,
Ive generally found adding some silicone sealant,
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on the electrical connection to wire exit areas, to the area the shrink tube covers is a good idea to further reduce moisture damage
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wirestripper.jpg

a DECENT QUALITY WIRE STRIPPER
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http://www.bing.com/shopping/weller-wel ... ORM=CMSPEE
anything under about 200 watts rating is basically a P.I.T.A. to use and a TOY in my opinion,
(and an electric soldering gun with 250-300 plus watts is much easier to use)

http://www.cpooutlets.com/wall-lenk-lg400c-150-400w-soldering-gun/walnlg400c,default,pd.html?ref=bingpla&zmam=31282435&zmas=47&zmac=748&zmap=walnlg400c&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=CPO Outlets - PLA - Updated&utm_term=4582008550901832&utm_content=All Products

a 150/400 watt gun makes soldering much easier

walnlg400c.jpg

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wall-Lenk-...750?_trksid=p2349526.m4383.l4275.c10#viTabs_0


simply because you can't quickly bring the wire and solder up to the correct temps,
with anything less than 200 watts rapidly

solderinggun.jpg

http://stellartechnical.com/d650gun.aspx
good 60/40 lead/tin solder
http://www.bing.com/shopping/4-oz-40-60 ... ux&FORM=EG
solderv.jpg


http://www.sears.com/seismic-audio-sa-s ... tType=SRDT
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... d=12582872
fluxz.jpg

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READ THRU THIS LINK
http://www.aaroncake.net/electronics/solder.htm

the process is rather easy and simple top do with practice, assuming the standard 14ga-12 ga under dash wiring ,you simple strip off about 1.25" of insulation on each end of the two wires, larger ga wire will require a longer section, of insulation be removed, once thats done , you slide on a section of heat shrink tube. dip the bare copper ends in flux, you spin the stranded wire end between your fingers
220px-Stranded_lamp_wire.jpg

WesternUnionWireSplice.jpg

to twist it tightly so it won,t leave exposed copper wire ends and then slide on a 2.5" to 3" long section of heat shrink tube , (don,t forget to do this) now dip both the twisted copper wire ends in the flux, then twist them both together tightly in a spiral so they won,t easily separate, now add a dab of flux because much of its most likely been removed during the twist process but if you don,t do it before you twist its not going to get full coverage on the strands.
ok ideally you,ll have decent access and have the shrink tube slid on the lower wire so it won,t slide down while you solder, use the tip of the heated solder gun on the far side of the two twisted wires and touch the solder to the near side as it heats allowing the fluxed surface to draw the solder once its liquid over and around the spliced copper wire surface, once its well coated pull the solder and solder gun away , it the surface is well coated and smooth silver in appearance you can let it cool a bit then slide on the heat shrink tube , center it over the spice and use the heat from the tip of the solder gun placed near too ,but never touching, and while smoothly moving the guns tip so as not to over heat or burn the shrink tube until it firmly shrinks and hugs the spliced and soldered copper wire, making the soldered splice at least semi protected, the shrink tube, acts as insulation and a corrosion protective barrier , BTW a bit of BEES WAX can be heated and melted over the ends of the shrink tube where it joins the original insulation and used as a increased effective,moisture barrier

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/digital-dash-swap-questions.3399/#post-8970
http://www.how-to-build-hotrods.com/fuse-panel.html
http://www.delcity.net/store/Sealed-Mini-Fuse-Panels/p_803796
http://www.rbracing-rsr.com/wiring_ecu.html
http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/engine/1408-how-to-wire-your-own-race-car/
http://www.onallcylinders.com/2013/12/05/wiring-101-basic-tips-tricks-tools-wiring-vehicle/
http://www.themotorbookstore.com/automotive-electrical.html
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http://www.amazon.com/Automotive-Wi...automotive+electrical+books#reader_1932494871
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having a wide assortment of different multi meter test leads available is a huge benefit while testing
the clip test leads that test thru a wires insulation without much damage are a big help

693Pred.jpg

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https://www.amazon.com/AST-Labs-SIL...71PRYV8W2XR&psc=1&refRID=GTNNNNBHV71PRYV8W2XR

having a set of needle bed test clips to check through insulation helps at times

bedtest3.jpg



http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/electrical-wiring-for-a-tbucket.10038/

https://www.jegs.com/InstallationInstructions/500/510/510-12-801-1.pdf

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...urrent-flow-grounds-and-more.3504/#post-33365

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...-a-bit-more-theft-resistance.3174/#post-89200

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...-big-a-fuel-pump-do-you-need.1939/#post-95149

http://garage.grumpysperformance.com/index.php?threads/setting-up-your-fuel-system.211/

http://garage.grumpysperformance.co...for-500-hp-fuel-system.7787/page-6#post-72883



F-113_01a_c_200.jpg

http://www.fluke.com/Fluke/usen/Digital ... ?PID=55990

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http://www.harborfreight.com/5-in-1-dig ... 98674.html

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http://www.harborfreight.com/ac-dc-digi ... 37772.html
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I've been doing a small part of his process where you weave the wires together for
years, but then he goes a lot farther with the whole process than I ever did.

Makes for a very nice connection, when he is all done!



 

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I use it when installing receptacles and electric panels when the old wire is brittle strip it back to good insulation and then use shrink tube
 
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