[Shop-talk] Tapping off a crimp connector?

[Randall]

> It seems that everyone here believes that a soldered joint is 
> better than a crimped one.

Not what I said.  What I said is that crimp plus solder is better than either one alone.

> There is a reason that car and motorcycle manufacturers make all the
> electrical connections to wires with crimps.  

Mostly because it is cheaper.

Years ago, I worked for a company that did minicomputer installations aboard seismic survey ships.  To do a seismic survey, they
would set off the equivalent of a keg of dynamite (or more) right next to the stern of the ship, every 5-8 seconds, 24 hours a day
for days or even weeks at a time.  The whole ship would jump, every time a shot went off.  We (my company) were responsible for
connecting the minicomputers to other ships systems, which was done with a series of crimped terminals; professionally applied with
the expensive, calibrated, ratcheting crimp tools; and 100% inspected.

More often than not, when I visited a ship (for software installation or troubleshooting), I found one or more of those crimps that
had succumbed to the constant vibration and salt air environment.  I always repaired them with crimp plus solder, and I never found
one of mine that had failed.

With a crimp, you get basically a few lines of contact between the wire strands and the terminal, a few thousandths wide at best.
In between are air gaps.  With solder, you get 100% contact, no gaps.

> Even if you only solder the tip of the wire, solder is made to
> flow along the wire to penetrate and make the good electrical connection.

But if you make the joint quickly enough (and without overheating), it won't penetrate all the way through the crimp to the other
side.

Randall