Easy wire splices

[marksires 484]

I found these while I was looking for some other things Garmin calls out in their install manual for G5's.  Very easy, very secure.  Heat shrink with a solder ring in the middle.  Overlap the wires under the solder ring, hit it with the right heat gun temperature, the heat shrink does its thing, the solder melts, and when it cools just a bit the connection is very secure.  No solder dripping in the wrong place, no chance of a soldering iron damaging other wires, crimpers not crimping strong enough, etc.

Available at Amazon aircraft supplies.

 

[akflyer 1427]

I have been using those for a couple years now and they work great!  Boat, plane, trailers etc.  Have not had one break off or turn loose yet!

[ChrisBolkan 130]

Those look interesting. Can you inspect the solder joint through the tubing? It's hard to tell from the picture of the box. I would be leery of any solder joint that I could not verify the quality of. If you can inspect the joint through the tubing sign me up! 

[marksires 484]

Yes, the heat shrink is clear except for the two color bands indicating the size.  Very easy to inspect.  Since the heat shrink shrinks first, it basically seals the area around the solder so when it melts it has nowhere to go but where it should be.  If you pulled on a wire while the heat shrink and solder were still soft you could mess it up, but I can't think of any other way.

The shield terminators that Garmin spec's in the G5 install manual, which are basically a shorter version of these with a pigtail preinstalled, also have a coloring on the solder that disappears when it has reached the proper heat for full solder melting.  They are a lot more expensive though - RayChem brand, and designed for inspection on military aircraft assembly.  However, I'll happily pay the price, dealing with shield termination any other way is a royal pain in the butt.  Stripping the shield back so only a quarter inch or so is out is still a pain, but much easier than trying to tease the shield into something that will fit in a terminal.

I will say it is obvious why Garmin is more expensive.  Their install manuals are very thorough, and the little things, like the backshells on the connectors, are highly engineered.  All metal, threaded screw holes for shield termination, and I'm pretty sure they'll take a round or two before they don't work anymore.

[marksires 484]

Another great find (IMHO) is heat shrink tube cartridges that fit a standard Brother PT label printer.  No $$$ dedicated wire marking machine needed.  1/4", 1/3", and 1/2" sizes are available in both white and yellow.

Example below, there are lots of options.  With 6pt type, I can get two lines on a tube, even on the 1/4"

 

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07QL88NM6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[ChrisBolkan 130]

Thanks for this info!