Almost lost me marbles

[richrua]

Wiring does not come naturally. It almost does me head in!. I have a tendency to check and over think this aspect of the modelling. Reminded me though, that this hobby is a miss mash of so many skills. That's why it rocks!!!

 

I deserve a pint in the auld house after wiring up a point motor.

 

 

[Chevron]

Are those clips any good? i havent seen them around before. im still on the strip and twist method lol

[Alan564017]

Richrua, thanks for posting the photo of some underboard wiring. Im in the same boat as you with wiring. For the uninitiated could you describe what im looking at, are you working off a main bus DCC supply, where did you get the clips from, what point motors are you using, whats the yellow wire doing, what tonights lotto numbers....

[richrua]

Hello. Yes the clips are useful. They are known as scotch blocks I think or suitcase joiners. I found them on eBay. There's a few different makes on eBay. Feed in the two wires and close with pliers. That's it.

 

You are looking at the underneath of my point switch box. It is fed with power from an old DC motor. I am DCC for train control but I note that dcc point control seems a little expensive for me at present.

 

 

 

I have some surface mounted hornby point motors and some gauge master seep motors. I will stick up some better pictures of how they're wired up when I have a chance.

[Broithe]

Hello. Yes the clips are useful. They are known as scotch blocks I think or suitcase joiners.

 

Scotchloks - http://solutions.3m.co.uk/wps/portal/3M/en_GB/ElectricalMkts/ElectricalSupplies/products/scotchlok-wire-connectors/ - but still worth searching for "scotchblock", as that's what many people call them.

[richrua]

ahhh thanks broithe

[Broithe]

Parallel pliers are handy, if you're going to use a lot of them.

..and, if you do use them on a car, then make sure the clip is properly latched and give it all a tiny squirt of oily stuff when it's assembled.

 

And consider the weight, if it's going to get bounced around.

Edited April 12, 2015 by Broithe

[Dave]

Lads, stay well clear of scotchloks! They are only a short term solution and you WILL end up with bad connections in the long term.

Soldering is the way forward particularly when wiring DCC. A soldering iron is cheap and its easy to do. Plenty of how to videos on YouTube.

[Broithe]

Soldering will always be better, Scotchloks are designed for a very tight range of wire sizes, blue being the most common one seen, intended for the size of wiring that is common in automotive situations, but there are red and yellow ones about for larger and smaller wires.

 

 

 

There are three basic problems.

 

If used on the wrong size wire, the connection can either 'grip' the wire too gently, if at all, or it can 'bite' into the wire and reduce the area of the through-wire, creating a hot joint and a bit of volt-drop.

 

You can also, subsequently, develop a bad joint as a result of corrosion of the exposed metal contact point.

 

The weight of the connector can also cause internal failures in the wires, due to fatigue from flapping about, should it be used in a mobile situation.

 

..and it is difficult, though not impossible, to undo a joint..

[richrua]

Fair enough lads. Didn't know any of that!

[Junctionmad]

The general term for these types of connectors is " insulation displacement " connectors. 3m have over 40 types in their catalogue . ( all called scotchloks) There's nothing wrong with ID connectors once you understand what they are designed for, especially re wire size and type.

 

The most Robust types of connection with excellent electrical conduction is the crimp. Better then solder. It's why they are used on aircraft , military and car wiring looms

[Dave]

Crimp connection is used because soldering takes too long in the commercial industry and makes removing parts easier. But it is not better as moisture can get into a crimp connection but a soldered joint is sealed and very difficult to pull apart.

[Broithe]

In my previous life, cable terminations were one of the many banes of my existence, all the way back to Ross Courtney solder tags - http://www.mecint.co.uk/Catalogue/70 - the best of both worlds, but just too time consuming.

 

 

We also used to use numbered rubber sleeves in the old days to identify the wires - they were fitted by stretching them over the termination by means of a sleeve fitting tool.

 

 

These were colloquially known as honeymoon pliers, a term which our rather prim and proper typist refused to type, leaving us to hand-write it in to any tool lists that were issued....

Edited April 15, 2015 by Broithe

[Junctionmad]

Crimp connection is used because soldering takes too long in the commercial industry and makes removing parts easier. But it is not better as moisture can get into a crimp connection but a soldered joint is sealed and very difficult to pull apart.

 

Common misconception. Proper crimp generates a gas tight connection. Soldering causes work hardening and brittleness and cannot be relied upon as mechanical connection

 

 

It anyplace where there is movement or vibration, soldered but mechanically unsupported joints are very fault prone. Crimping is far superior

[Broithe]

Crimping will cause far more work-hardening than soldering - there will be some hardening from the temperature effects, but you would have to press rather hard on the soldering iron to produce any appreciable work-hardening. Any decent crimp will grip the insulation for the mechanical connection, for this reason. The Ross Courtney had the wire passed through the small hole before soldering, to provide a mechanical support and the wire would be supported a short distance away. The problem, particularly in a domestic situation, with any crimp is having a tool appropriate for both the crimp and the wire that is in use. I have a nice collection of crimpers here because they fell out of calibration at work, sometimes just due to a change in wire supplier, but they're still near enough for my purposes.

 

The Scotchlok will survive the hardening of the copper because the wire is supported by the 'tunnel' effect of the body.

 

A soldered and taped connection, as might be used under a baseboard, would be essentially the same situation.