You legend brother, great advice. I'm a electrician / 4wder and that is the best advice I've ever seen on UA-cam. I did an install on my 4wd exactly the same, except I used a cheaper charger. The charger you have chosen switches off with the ignition which is soo important. My cheaper dcdc charger does not have this feature and often I see it charging the aux battery when the car is off. So i saved money on the charger and basically killed my crank battery and my car didn't start one day. Lesson learnt.
Solder large terminals. Crimp smaller terminals. Just what I've done that works over many overlanding trips in USA. However, always recommend that people go with what they find has worked best for them. We all have different experiences, and so we all have different opinions. Great vid. Confirming some practices. Learning others. Always great content from you guys! Thanks so much!
Cheers Shauno, this is one of the best tutorial type videos I've seen yet, really easy to follow and everything makes perfect sense. I'm a diesel fitter and aviation engineer by trade (ex coal mining and ADF) and the tips and hacks are solid advice in keeping with best practice that I know of, it's really helped me with the planning of my 80 series tourer build so thanks to you and the team for putting this together.
Yup, different points of view. I have never had a properly soldered joint fail. Can't count how many crimped joints have failed. I hate crimped joints. If you run and secure your harness properly there should be no stress on the joints.
Great video and great advice. Thanks. For those that don't do hard-out 4WD, and don't feel they have the skills for DIY 12V solutions or want to spend for a custom solution, a hybrid vehicle not only solves the problem, you don't even need an additional battery. You already have a much more powerful hybrid battery with a built-in generator. That's what I do so I can run my -22C freezer 24/7 when I go to the South Island (NZ) to fish for salmon and trout. As long as you have fuel in your tank, you have endless electricity - no additional infrastructure required.
Some great tips Shauno, thanks for sharing. My 2 bobs worth:- crimp and solder, just crimp = green death. and get a good gas powered soldering iron, your battery iron is 5 times the size and 10 times the weight. LOL I can visualise dozens of your fans trying to crimp with side cutters and stuffing it up. FFS get a proper crimper.
A great DIY crimper a lot of people have lying around is an old pair of bolt cutters. Not sharp ones mind you. Old dull ones. Crimp in two places on a larger gauge lugs/ring connectors and it wont come off. Add a little solder and a good heat shrink and it definitely won’t come off. Another good DIY crimping method is a bench vice and a screwdriver. Put the wire and lug in the vice and the shaft of the screwdriver on the side of the lug and then press the vice into it all and it will indent the the screwdriver into the lug. Do that once on each side and it will make a nice crimp.
A friend of mine installed a budget 12v setup in my Land Rover Discovery 1. He used a starter motor solenoid as charger which is activated from the ignition of the car. When the car is turned off the solenoid opens and isolates the accessories battery. It’s been a solid performer and never given me a problem in the 10 years since it’s install. I also crimp + solder all the connections in my rig where possible. Something else I did you might find interesting is. I’ve installed a 3 gauge pod on the dash of my Disco. All the wires going to the pod come through a vent in the top of the dash to a 6 pin plug, then from the other side of the plug to the pod, so if i ever need to remove the pod I don’t have to cut all the wires going to it.
Went the redarc setup on my prado 150. I know my car is safe with my family out the bush in all climates. Keep up the good content showcasing Aussie products.
I'm a mechanic 👨🔧, i repair cars, motorcycles, lawn movers, chainsaws, snow blovers, I do welding 👨🏭 as well, I work whit my brother, we work in our dads workshop. I'm 31 years old, I've Been working on cars for 16 years. Keep Up The good work 👍, I like your videos 🤠. Cheers. Greetings from Slovenia 🇸🇮. ;-)
I come from an electronics background. My recommendation is SOLDER EVERYTHING! Crimps are a fault waiting to happen! Having said that. There are now crimp terminals that incorporate solder bands. So you get the benefit of both connections.
Only one thing I'd recommend. On your earth, for the frame, after you got all the connections on there and tighten up the bolt, put some dielectric grease on top. It helps keep it from corroding, same to be said of your battery terminals, just keep in mind only put it on AFTER everything is secured, picture it as a waterproof blanket that sits on top of the connections. You do not want to put it in your connections, ie between the connector and bolt or battery terminals, because doing so will make your connection worse. Other wise great video guys!!!! Glad I stumbled upon your channel!!!
my battery charger just failed and I wanna go on a 4 week trip in august. Thanks to your videos I got me a Redarc BCDC 1225D and can´t wait till it gets here to install it.
I'm always game for some great wiring/soldering tips. Great info here, especially about crimping. Also, it's not a bad idea to pre "tin" the inside of the connectors before hand if you're going the solder route, reduces a bit of stress on the wire insulation during the final soldering stage by minimizing the overall heating time. That also helps keep one from applying too much solder, which will also keep the wires flexible at the end of the joint. Finally, I often pull up the heat shrink immediately to allow the joint to do most of the heat shrinking. Thanks for the vid!
Good tips! I'd agree with crimping over soldering. My buddy worked at an industrial electrical engineering place and they tested both widely and came to same conclusion.
When I did my diesel mechanic apprenticeship a very old and well established gentleman auto electrician told me to never use a crimp and always solder a join or connection. He’s words were a crimp is a point of failure you are adding into the circuit where a soldered joint will never fail. With solder it keeps contamination out where a crimp can get dirty and rust and short. Sounded logical to me and still does but end of the day I’m sure all joints and applications have there purpose. Great informative video too guys thanks 👍
I've used soldering for many years and crimp connectors, I prefer soldering connections but a good crimped good connector with proper sealing works. I've got soldered connections for driving and fog lights that was still working after almost 30 years.
I work in the industry. We solder our battery terminals as crimping can lead to oxidization of the terminal and failure through voltage drop and resistance heating. Hydraulic crimpers are the only way to get a decent crimp on heavy gauge wire if soldering is not an option. Side cutters have no place crimping and should be in the bin. However fabric tape is awesome stuff. It doesn't get the same uv degradation that occurs with regular tape and handles the heat well. Good video thou guys.👍
Probably the best video about 4x4 car electrics! You mention "burn" and "fire" and even show it :-) Very important to get that into people's minds. Wouldn't use split conduit on the outside though. Yes, it's a pain to get the wires through closed conduit but you can use a single thin wire and route it through first. As for the cloth tape (Tesa rules! ;-) there is a type (51026) you can use in the engine bay (re temperatures). But it smells a little :-) So on the inside I'd use the other type (51608). I wonder if Andersons mounted on the outside are good in wet climate? I believe they have no IP rating?
Shauno mate i dont want to be that guy but i have yet to let a solder join break on me i find it will always break on the weakes point that is the wire thats flexing all the time. Because the solder is stiffer it protects that join from breaking also it will bend into place before breaking the join. Solder to me is way stronger. The fact is crimps thats not right slips out and that is why shorts and fires occur. the wire is loose slips out short and because of the size wire it makes fire now the fuses help and hats off to saying every positive wire needs one because that is what will save the car at the end of the day. Long story short crimping to me has more faults then solder but thats just my opinion. Good job on the video guys!!! 😊
Some great tips there, I’m busy rebuilding my fridge and drawer system so will put them to the test. I crimp but always tin my wire end with solder. +1 for Anderson plugs as well.
Soldering cables in cars / vehicles is not state of art (anymore?)... The solder can get warm / hot and then soft due to amps running through and then the screw of the connector can come loose! Also soldering cable connections is not good as it can break due to vibrations, causing a disruption of current flow. For screwed connectors, proper wire terminals should be used, for cable to cable connections crimpable terminals (best are these with heat shrink cover).
@@JonathanBydendyk Yeah, probably. Just tried to catch that up. It seems that soldered wire ends, resp. the solder is starting to creep under the pressure of the screw and then this connection gets loose. Its called "solder fatigue" in englisch. Sorry had to look that up as my german english misses some words sometimes.... thanks for the feedback!
@@JonathanBydendyk Yes you would be, If a soldered join is actually melting from use, then basically you have stuffed up on cable&crimp/solder lug and your cable would also be getting hot. That is why I always recommend you crimp as well as solder. The crimp is the mechanical join, solder is the electrical join and always go two sizes bigger than what you need in both cable and lugs. Also use Circuit Breakers if you can afford them rather than fuses, I can't recall the amount of times I have seen people run out of fuses and resort to jamming something metal in the fuse holder. Whenever you make a termination of a cable run, it should have an anti-vibration loop installed in the cable so as to not apply stress to the termination. The termination should also fully support the cable with some kind of built in cable clamp at least 1cm prior to the lug.
I do both solder and crimping on my connections. I crimp the connections first. Them I drop just a small amount of solder into the connections on both ends. This is to keep a better connection to the wire. Then I use heat shrink after that. I didn't think about marine grade connectors. In the past I just wrapped a little tape around the bigger gauge connections after that. 1 or 2 wraps is all that is needed. But marine grade heat shrink is even better. The solder is put on to help keep connection longer if they get pulled on.
Thanks for the info guys - learnt a lot! Totally agree buying quality products whenever possible is always the way to go. Crimp or solder? I do a lot of sailing, no harsher environment for electrics than sea water or damp in general. In marine we always favour solder terminals, we even use fully tinned copper as opposed to basic copper wire as the solder/tinning protects far better against corrosion thus preventing a future potential failed connection. If the cables either side of the connection are secured properly a good solder joint will not fail. Crimping in a generally warm climate like Oz might be fine but here in the UK and in many other temperate countries solder is definitely the way to go in my opinion. Great vid though guys. Looking forward to the next DIY vid.
Crimp first then solder if "must be" - a gas-tight crimp will not flow very much solder - Boats - even with heavy slamming - do not vibrate near as much as a land-vehicle - Solder-only requires none of the joints ever get overhesated with larger currents than intended - solder can melt and the joints fail. Happy sailing. (sealed heatshrink, no matter what method if used - is best)
I worked installing tow bars and accessories for 6 years. I only used crimps on two cars in all that time. Those two cars were the only ones that ever came back with wiring faults. Only ever use solder and heatshrink. Crimps come loose a LOT more than solder cracks....
@A. Melbs I believe the connectors were weak. Cheap company supplied junk! Someone had 'borrowed' my soldering iron so I had no choice. When both vehicles came back with faults I soldered the whole lot and they never failed again. To be fair they were normal street cars so vibration wasn't too serious. I also hot melt glued the loom in place to secure and seal it too. I had a 40 watt normal soldering iron with no trigger or pistol grip. Simpler the better but enough power too.
Thanks for the good info. Im not sure that I like crimping over soldering although I do like the combination of both as the solder will sweat into the joint making it very solid. CheersI
Great video. To protect connections one should secure the wire close to the connection itself-to minimise movement of the wire entering the connection. I have used solder and crimping for years, solder on the large ones-because I have never had a crimper big enough.
soldering large connectors is s*hit though. Got a bench vice ? got a drill ? got some 5mm thick steel ? got a hacksaw ? You then have all the tools you need to crimp those heavy gauge connectors, at least for the few times a diyer needs to do this.
Crimping and soldering is the best way to go. You need a good mechanical connection and a good electrical connection, you get that by crimping and soldering. We used this method in the 80's on Forestry Commission vehicles, including firetankers, that saw service in remote areas and bushfires.
I always crimp and solder . If soldered correctly it should never come undone (unless it gets too hot) but I also crimp aswell as an added precaution 👍🏻
I adore this channel. Makes me wish I lived in Australia. I think it’s important though that we/you/somebody mention that the length of the wire is also VERY important to amp capacity, that’s why that teeny wire didn’t just *POOF* in your example. I use a pocket reference, it’s available here at Harbor Freight, and most book stores, online as well. It has all sorts of ratings, capacities, and alllllllllll kinds of useful info. For around $4USD if I remember correctly. Thanks for the content! EDIT: Forgot to mention (in terminals), I crimp, solder to seal the connection, then, “double wall” heat shrink! 👍👍👍
Also, you could use the fuel pump relay control side from the pcm for your ignition feed! Reason for my thought here is, usually the fuel pump will stop after prime and not continue to run if the engine isn’t running.
Jaycar for all the bits, a decent burner to Heat the terminals and heavy gauge wire, then flood solder them, then crimp and center punch the terminal to ensure a mechanical hold , followed by the heat shrink, never coming apart after that, I couldn’t find the ignition feed in the engine bay fuse box of my 2012 hilux, so the accessories feed was it. Always carry lots of spare fuses, you will need em.
I crimp, solder the crimp and then go over that with heat shrink or paint on insulation. Heaps of cable ties to neaten it up. Loop of a little extra wire at both ends of a wire incase it needs work done down the track ect. Always label each wire! You can get labelers that print onto white heat shrink. Electrical tape gets gooie over time and falls apart. If anyone works on your car make sure they don't just twist and tape. Some excellent pointers in this video!!
Cracking video guys, some good tips there. The only comment I would make is Anderson plugs rely on being connected and disconnected regularly otherwise the terminals oxidize.
I've read elsewhere that Deutsch plugs are a good alternative to avoid the oxidation issue while maintaining a good connection. I guess given the manufacturers use them a lot in the engine bay, it makes sense to me
Recently I had to join 6mm cable to connect my air compressor to my battery. Did the connection with some 1/4 copper pipe and crimped the copper pipe to the cable then soldered the cable and copper. Heat shrink on top, guarantee it will never come apart! Used this method as I had no other crimp connections that would make it easier
When it comes to crimp or solder I always just twist the wires around each other then electrical tape them then I just finish it off with 3 or 4 zip ties along the join to make it strong.
I'll have to watch it a few times before it will sink in definitely a good thing once you get your head around it experienced 4WDers no worries half assed campers with a 4WD like me well ...... I already have a pretty good setup but definitely want to upgrade to a dual battery setup my setup at the moment typically goes flat after running the fridge overnight and never really charges up to capacity again the system is an intervolt that incorporates solar disappointed to say the least. Thanks for the tips I'll work something out I now have the knowhow to get it done just in slower motion hahaha cheers
I crimp, then solder bare copper.. stops corrosion...also slip heatshrink on cable FIRST. Also agree, cut off & put anderson plugs on my fridges, compressor, solar panels, & lights.
Soldering iron a must have earlier in video but later in video you say to just use crimps. Also would love a diagram of the circuits for the newer vehicles.
I use soldering cause I find that if you don’t have a really good crimp on a connector they tend to com apart and fall off also soldering doesn’t get corroded and make a bad fed and soldering is pretty simply for a way better connection in my opinion
Great tips. I'm a crimper on the smaller lugs but I'd never give those basic crimp pliers room in my toolbox. The double roll crimp type is the only one I'd ever use. Single point crimps just pull out too easily. Not bush quality in my book.
Just FYI, at 7:13 when you show your checklist, you say one of the things needed is "HEAD Shrink" yup an easy typo, but confusing to newbies. As always great channel with awesome video's !
I rarely use anything other than low heat solder connectors and heat shrink crimp connectors on 12v wire to wire connections. Unfortunately, I haven't done much wiring in the past few years that required anything outside of that. Great video though, super informative for someone planning an overlander build in the next few months.....
Ex-BMW Tech here. Depending on who you ask you'll get a different answer. Sometime BMW recommended a crimp. However NASA have a soldering standard. Either can be fine, what will fail is whoever doing it cocks it up. Do what you're most comfortable with, If you're good at soldering and bad at crimping, your solder join will be stronger, and vice versa.
Fair point re the brittleness of solder. That is definitely something to watch out for. But, connections should still be soldered, just do it properly. Eg when you're attaching a lug to the end of a wire, solder it. That gives you a welded connection, that excludes water, and prevents corrosion & oxidation on the contact surfaces. Just don't use so much solder that it wicks up the wire and stiffens the wire. If you can then also crimp so the back of the crimped area crimps onto unsoldered wire, that provides strain relief to the soldered section and you have the most durable connection possible. Unsoldered crimps opens the door for surface oxidation to increase the resistance of your connections. So if you don't solder these sort of things, then the tendency is to have to crimp really hard, so it really mashes the wires so hard that oxygen is unlikely to get into the joint, and that can also weaken your wires there, and make them more likely to fray when flexed. So, for example, a little solder and firm but not brutal crimping is the best way to attach lug to wire.
Are those mini fuses auto reset ? Solder or crimp is much of a muchness and depends on application for it. Wires that can move around even a little , will break and cause high resistance and fire. Using the cheaper heat shrink ? A dob of silicone sealant and shrink over it does the job or liquid insulation rubber. Self amalgamating tape works very well and permanent for bunching cables together. Cheers for the interesting vid.
The adhesive lined stuff is my favorite for locations that can get wet. It's got hot melt glue in it that melts when and seals the connection. It's also a bit more rigid because of the glue so it is good for high vibration locations as well.
Crimp. Cause my soldering iron is a cheapie and doesn’t work very well 😂 Just completed a basic 12v system with removable battery box in my Wrangler about a week ago and glad to see I did it correctly 😅
For my BT-50 I fitted a USI-160 dual battery Isolator from Traxide-Rv ,back in 2015, has all the features of the big boys not the price....yes its made in Oz
I almost went with the Redarc BCDC, but then found the Renogy BCDC.. also with solar will top off my starting battery after the second battery is full! The Redarc doesnt do that.. Since my 4wd sits for weeks at a time, that feature is a huge benefit!
Just a thought here for anyone making a 12V panel for the first time, or even not their first time but their first one in a new vehicle / with a new rear set-up: As you'll be laying it out on a piece of ply wood outside the vehicle, you could lay it out, then draw around the components (like making a shadow board) and then place the piece of ply into the vehicle in situ, and try to reach all the switches and bits you'd want to be able to easily reach (including for shorter people who you may be taking along). You'll be able to get a good feel for whether you've placed the switches high enough, low enough, near enough, etc. It won't matter about a few pencil marks on the board because you'll be covering it up with marine carpet or whatever.
Great vid shauno I reckon you might have just saved my rodeo from a firey death, new channels great for the campers as well as the 4x4 boys No front diff no problems 😂
Yep I have a great 12v system in my Falcon RTV for camping / travelling,- goes a lot of places a sedan/wagon/standard 2wd ute (Falcon/Commodore) can't. Low Traction, lock up the back end - works great in the dry.
I've always crimped and then solder. Just solder can come out if it does heat up but in the winter I live in can corrode a crimp pretty fast. After the shrink tube, I like to use liquid tape.
On the topic of overloading the wiring, the demonstration for too small for the load was really good, now think if you solder your Anderson plug, chuck a 90l fridge on and drive off down the road that solder could well melt rendering your fridge wiring the fire hazard, or, even worse....warm beers. I have cooked a cig lighter lead for my 50l Waeco rattling around in the socket just driving normal roads. Now I Anderson plug everything and crimp those high draw components.
Well Sir, I have done a shit load of wiring on boats trailers and some on trucks. I crimp and solder all the connections I can especially on boats. Way more durable and corrosion resistant, as far as soldered ends being brittle that's not a problem if your wires are not flopping around. Zip ties are cheap.
Proper process of soldering is you pre-solder the cable ends prior to inserting them into the terminals, this guarantees full penetration of the solder when flowing from the tags ring end to the bottom of the tags barrel.
If you have a currant Toyota Hilux 2.8 you can buy a aux battery set up from Toyota and comes with Redarc bcdc charger you also can get a AGM battery to suite your vehicle as well
G'day Aaron. I have a 2006 Hilux which is a temperature compensating alternator as you indicated. My question is; what is a Smart Alternator? Is it the temperature compensating or variable voltage? Regards Paul
@@sinistra328 a smart alternator is variable voltage, the charge voltage is determined by the battery’s state of charge, ambient temperature and electrical load on the system. There will be a current shunt fitted to the start battery negative terminal so the vehicle’s computer can work out what the charge rate needs to be.
Fill lugs with solder the use a pointed punch to put in a triangle formation past solder fill closer to the wire end so the in pinch will crimp the solder in place locking it in
Great video! Thanks for the info, I also love how in Australia you guys say "earth" instead of "ground." I might have to start saying that myself here in the US!
Unfortunately it's not quite right. He should be saying ground, earth is technically something different. That said, there isn't really risk of confusing the two here so can pick up the meaning well enough.
It’s DC so should be Negative, not earth or ground. Only car people call it ground. This guy says earth because he has no idea what he’s talking about.
You legend brother, great advice. I'm a electrician / 4wder and that is the best advice I've ever seen on UA-cam. I did an install on my 4wd exactly the same, except I used a cheaper charger. The charger you have chosen switches off with the ignition which is soo important. My cheaper dcdc charger does not have this feature and often I see it charging the aux battery when the car is off. So i saved money on the charger and basically killed my crank battery and my car didn't start one day. Lesson learnt.
Thanks James - good tip!
Another place where a good high current relay (50-100A switched from the ignition circuit) makes a lot of sense.
Affordable and Redarc should never be in the sentence!
This comment has not aged.
I usually try to crimp and solder if the terminals allow. Anderson plugs I flood solder. Haven't had any issues yet. Great info in here.
Solder large terminals. Crimp smaller terminals. Just what I've done that works over many overlanding trips in USA. However, always recommend that people go with what they find has worked best for them. We all have different experiences, and so we all have different opinions. Great vid. Confirming some practices. Learning others. Always great content from you guys! Thanks so much!
Cheers Shauno, this is one of the best tutorial type videos I've seen yet, really easy to follow and everything makes perfect sense. I'm a diesel fitter and aviation engineer by trade (ex coal mining and ADF) and the tips and hacks are solid advice in keeping with best practice that I know of, it's really helped me with the planning of my 80 series tourer build so thanks to you and the team for putting this together.
Dang. This video is the benchmark for DIY tutorials. Not a single word or second wasted. ❤
If you buy Redarc, you’ve wasted a grand.
The most useful video on UA-cam, the exact help I needed to redo a shitty wiring job on my secondhand hilux.
Cheers boys.
Love that I learnt about Marine connectors and the glue that's in them.
I have also soldered with heat shrink, I always secure the cable so you have minimal issues with vibration.
In my experience crimp connectors will corrode and loose connection I prefer soldier but both have thier place
Securing the cables correctly is the way to ensure a trouble free connection. Soldering then becomes the icing on the cake.
Yup, different points of view. I have never had a properly soldered joint fail. Can't count how many crimped joints have failed. I hate crimped joints. If you run and secure your harness properly there should be no stress on the joints.
Great video and great advice. Thanks. For those that don't do hard-out 4WD, and don't feel they have the skills for DIY 12V solutions or want to spend for a custom solution, a hybrid vehicle not only solves the problem, you don't even need an additional battery. You already have a much more powerful hybrid battery with a built-in generator. That's what I do so I can run my -22C freezer 24/7 when I go to the South Island (NZ) to fish for salmon and trout. As long as you have fuel in your tank, you have endless electricity - no additional infrastructure required.
The engine turns on automatically for about 90 seconds if the hybrid battery gets low.
This video helps confirms me paying for install haha
Hahahaha yep!
What city did you have someone install it in?
Yeah its pretty overwhelming, I'm a carpenter not a electrician, but I'm the kind of person that has to work it out lol wish me luck ⚡
This is some of the easiest stuff to do though. Just wiring 🤷♂️.
What about just a 12v power station like a blueetti?
Some great tips Shauno, thanks for sharing.
My 2 bobs worth:-
crimp and solder, just crimp = green death.
and get a good gas powered soldering iron, your battery iron is 5 times the size and 10 times the weight.
LOL I can visualise dozens of your fans trying to crimp with side cutters and stuffing it up.
FFS get a proper crimper.
A great DIY crimper a lot of people have lying around is an old pair of bolt cutters. Not sharp ones mind you. Old dull ones. Crimp in two places on a larger gauge lugs/ring connectors and it wont come off. Add a little solder and a good heat shrink and it definitely won’t come off.
Another good DIY crimping method is a bench vice and a screwdriver. Put the wire and lug in the vice and the shaft of the screwdriver on the side of the lug and then press the vice into it all and it will indent the the screwdriver into the lug. Do that once on each side and it will make a nice crimp.
A friend of mine installed a budget 12v setup in my Land Rover Discovery 1. He used a starter motor solenoid as charger which is activated from the ignition of the car. When the car is turned off the solenoid opens and isolates the accessories battery. It’s been a solid performer and never given me a problem in the 10 years since it’s install. I also crimp + solder all the connections in my rig where possible. Something else I did you might find interesting is. I’ve installed a 3 gauge pod on the dash of my Disco. All the wires going to the pod come through a vent in the top of the dash to a 6 pin plug, then from the other side of the plug to the pod, so if i ever need to remove the pod I don’t have to cut all the wires going to it.
Went the redarc setup on my prado 150. I know my car is safe with my family out the bush in all climates. Keep up the good content showcasing Aussie products.
I just installed the Kings dual battery kit and I crimped and soldered the heavy terminals as you guys just showed!
On ATV's I run the positive winch cable in 1/2" (13mm) heater hose. Awesome way to protect the cable from chaffing.
This is the best video for off grid setups with detailed explanation. Thank you!
Essentially, this infomercial was brought to you by Redarc and Pinnacle 4x4. Great video, wish I had this info 12 months ago.
Lol
Redarc is good quality but really EXPENSIVE.
Apologies for the delay legends - technical difficulties yesterday!
Did they let shauno have access to the computer. Sorry just way to tempting.
Not really living up to the name change
#6 checklist was head shrink.. that explains it 😂
All good boys I know u legends would put out a vid anyway. Keep up the great work. 🤙🏼🤙🏼
Head shrink LOL
I'm a mechanic 👨🔧, i repair cars, motorcycles, lawn movers, chainsaws, snow blovers, I do welding 👨🏭 as well, I work whit my brother, we work in our dads workshop. I'm 31 years old, I've Been working on cars for 16 years. Keep Up The good work 👍, I like your videos 🤠. Cheers. Greetings from Slovenia 🇸🇮.
;-)
I come from an electronics background. My recommendation is SOLDER EVERYTHING! Crimps are a fault waiting to happen! Having said that. There are now crimp terminals that incorporate solder bands. So you get the benefit of both connections.
👏👌👌
I always crimp my wires and never have any issue. Great tips thanks.
Only one thing I'd recommend. On your earth, for the frame, after you got all the connections on there and tighten up the bolt, put some dielectric grease on top. It helps keep it from corroding, same to be said of your battery terminals, just keep in mind only put it on AFTER everything is secured, picture it as a waterproof blanket that sits on top of the connections. You do not want to put it in your connections, ie between the connector and bolt or battery terminals, because doing so will make your connection worse. Other wise great video guys!!!! Glad I stumbled upon your channel!!!
my battery charger just failed and I wanna go on a 4 week trip in august. Thanks to your videos I got me a Redarc BCDC 1225D and can´t wait till it gets here to install it.
I'm always game for some great wiring/soldering tips. Great info here, especially about crimping. Also, it's not a bad idea to pre "tin" the inside of the connectors before hand if you're going the solder route, reduces a bit of stress on the wire insulation during the final soldering stage by minimizing the overall heating time. That also helps keep one from applying too much solder, which will also keep the wires flexible at the end of the joint. Finally, I often pull up the heat shrink immediately to allow the joint to do most of the heat shrinking. Thanks for the vid!
Good tips! I'd agree with crimping over soldering. My buddy worked at an industrial electrical engineering place and they tested both widely and came to same conclusion.
When I did my diesel mechanic apprenticeship a very old and well established gentleman auto electrician told me to never use a crimp and always solder a join or connection. He’s words were a crimp is a point of failure you are adding into the circuit where a soldered joint will never fail. With solder it keeps contamination out where a crimp can get dirty and rust and short. Sounded logical to me and still does but end of the day I’m sure all joints and applications have there purpose. Great informative video too guys thanks 👍
I've used soldering for many years and crimp connectors, I prefer soldering connections but a good crimped good connector with proper sealing works. I've got soldered connections for driving and fog lights that was still working after almost 30 years.
Great episode lads! really good to see the content about the simple things where people come undone!
I love that you over-engineer everything. It'll be good to you in the bad bush!
I work in the industry. We solder our battery terminals as crimping can lead to oxidization of the terminal and failure through voltage drop and resistance heating. Hydraulic crimpers are the only way to get a decent crimp on heavy gauge wire if soldering is not an option. Side cutters have no place crimping and should be in the bin. However fabric tape is awesome stuff. It doesn't get the same uv degradation that occurs with regular tape and handles the heat well. Good video thou guys.👍
Probably the best video about 4x4 car electrics! You mention "burn" and "fire" and even show it :-) Very important to get that into people's minds.
Wouldn't use split conduit on the outside though. Yes, it's a pain to get the wires through closed conduit but you can use a single thin wire and route it through first.
As for the cloth tape (Tesa rules! ;-) there is a type (51026) you can use in the engine bay (re temperatures). But it smells a little :-) So on the inside I'd use the other type (51608).
I wonder if Andersons mounted on the outside are good in wet climate? I believe they have no IP rating?
Shauno mate i dont want to be that guy but i have yet to let a solder join break on me i find it will always break on the weakes point that is the wire thats flexing all the time. Because the solder is stiffer it protects that join from breaking also it will bend into place before breaking the join. Solder to me is way stronger. The fact is crimps thats not right slips out and that is why shorts and fires occur. the wire is loose slips out short and because of the size wire it makes fire now the fuses help and hats off to saying every positive wire needs one because that is what will save the car at the end of the day. Long story short crimping to me has more faults then solder but thats just my opinion. Good job on the video guys!!! 😊
Some great tips there, I’m busy rebuilding my fridge and drawer system so will put them to the test. I crimp but always tin my wire end with solder. +1 for Anderson plugs as well.
Soldering cables in cars / vehicles is not state of art (anymore?)... The solder can get warm / hot and then soft due to amps running through and then the screw of the connector can come loose! Also soldering cable connections is not good as it can break due to vibrations, causing a disruption of current flow. For screwed connectors, proper wire terminals should be used, for cable to cable connections crimpable terminals (best are these with heat shrink cover).
@@christianpalm2622 thanks for the heads up, will not tin on the rebuild then.
@@christianpalm2622 although too be honest, wouldn't you think you're running to higher amps though incompatible wiring if you get that sort of heat.
@@JonathanBydendyk Yeah, probably. Just tried to catch that up. It seems that soldered wire ends, resp. the solder is starting to creep under the pressure of the screw and then this connection gets loose. Its called "solder fatigue" in englisch. Sorry had to look that up as my german english misses some words sometimes....
thanks for the feedback!
@@JonathanBydendyk Yes you would be, If a soldered join is actually melting from use, then basically you have stuffed up on cable&crimp/solder lug and your cable would also be getting hot. That is why I always recommend you crimp as well as solder. The crimp is the mechanical join, solder is the electrical join and always go two sizes bigger than what you need in both cable and lugs. Also use Circuit Breakers if you can afford them rather than fuses, I can't recall the amount of times I have seen people run out of fuses and resort to jamming something metal in the fuse holder. Whenever you make a termination of a cable run, it should have an anti-vibration loop installed in the cable so as to not apply stress to the termination. The termination should also fully support the cable with some kind of built in cable clamp at least 1cm prior to the lug.
I do both solder and crimping on my connections. I crimp the connections first. Them I drop just a small amount of solder into the connections on both ends. This is to keep a better connection to the wire. Then I use heat shrink after that. I didn't think about marine grade connectors. In the past I just wrapped a little tape around the bigger gauge connections after that. 1 or 2 wraps is all that is needed. But marine grade heat shrink is even better. The solder is put on to help keep connection longer if they get pulled on.
This make me wanna go through my battery system and neaten it up
Definitely going to do the same
Thanks for the info guys - learnt a lot! Totally agree buying quality products whenever possible is always the way to go.
Crimp or solder? I do a lot of sailing, no harsher environment for electrics than sea water or damp in general. In marine we always favour solder terminals, we even use fully tinned copper as opposed to basic copper wire as the solder/tinning protects far better against corrosion thus preventing a future potential failed connection. If the cables either side of the connection are secured properly a good solder joint will not fail. Crimping in a generally warm climate like Oz might be fine but here in the UK and in many other temperate countries solder is definitely the way to go in my opinion. Great vid though guys. Looking forward to the next DIY vid.
Crimp first then solder if "must be" - a gas-tight crimp will not flow very much solder - Boats - even with heavy slamming - do not vibrate near as much as a land-vehicle - Solder-only requires none of the joints ever get overhesated with larger currents than intended - solder can melt and the joints fail. Happy sailing. (sealed heatshrink, no matter what method if used - is best)
I worked installing tow bars and accessories for 6 years. I only used crimps on two cars in all that time. Those two cars were the only ones that ever came back with wiring faults. Only ever use solder and heatshrink. Crimps come loose a LOT more than solder cracks....
@A. Melbs I believe the connectors were weak. Cheap company supplied junk! Someone had 'borrowed' my soldering iron so I had no choice. When both vehicles came back with faults I soldered the whole lot and they never failed again. To be fair they were normal street cars so vibration wasn't too serious. I also hot melt glued the loom in place to secure and seal it too. I had a 40 watt normal soldering iron with no trigger or pistol grip. Simpler the better but enough power too.
I use solder for stereos not a lot of room for a lot of crimps. That marine heatshrink was a new one on me.
Thanks for the good info.
Im not sure that I like crimping over soldering although I do like the combination of both as the solder will sweat into the joint making it very solid.
CheersI
I had zero confidence in building something like this. Now I do. Great breakdown of components and install tips.
been wanting a tutorial like this for over a year, great job guys very very helpful
This blokes idea of simple is next level hahaha
Great video. To protect connections one should secure the wire close to the connection itself-to minimise movement of the wire entering the connection. I have used solder and crimping for years, solder on the large ones-because I have never had a crimper big enough.
soldering large connectors is s*hit though. Got a bench vice ? got a drill ? got some 5mm thick steel ? got a hacksaw ? You then have all the tools you need to crimp those heavy gauge connectors, at least for the few times a diyer needs to do this.
Crimping and soldering is the best way to go. You need a good mechanical connection and a good electrical connection, you get that by crimping and soldering. We used this method in the 80's on Forestry Commission vehicles, including firetankers, that saw service in remote areas and bushfires.
I always crimp and solder . If soldered correctly it should never come undone (unless it gets too hot) but I also crimp aswell as an added precaution 👍🏻
(As lonk as you crimp first - ie. crimping onto a soldered joint is really bad. lol)
Excellent Tutorial - especially the 2-battery setup with a separate charger, to safeguard start battery life.
Solder or crimp.
Crunch or fold.
The age old questions.
Well done. Very informative
Spit or swallow?
I adore this channel. Makes me wish I lived in Australia. I think it’s important though that we/you/somebody mention that the length of the wire is also VERY important to amp capacity, that’s why that teeny wire didn’t just *POOF* in your example. I use a pocket reference, it’s available here at Harbor Freight, and most book stores, online as well. It has all sorts of ratings, capacities, and alllllllllll kinds of useful info. For around $4USD if I remember correctly. Thanks for the content! EDIT: Forgot to mention (in terminals), I crimp, solder to seal the connection, then, “double wall” heat shrink! 👍👍👍
Also, you could use the fuel pump relay control side from the pcm for your ignition feed! Reason for my thought here is, usually the fuel pump will stop after prime and not continue to run if the engine isn’t running.
I am not an expert on this but your explanation makes lots of sense. Thanks
Jaycar for all the bits, a decent burner to Heat the terminals and heavy gauge wire, then flood solder them, then crimp and center punch the terminal to ensure a mechanical hold , followed by the heat shrink, never coming apart after that, I couldn’t find the ignition feed in the engine bay fuse box of my 2012 hilux, so the accessories feed was it. Always carry lots of spare fuses, you will need em.
I crimp, solder the crimp and then go over that with heat shrink or paint on insulation. Heaps of cable ties to neaten it up.
Loop of a little extra wire at both ends of a wire incase it needs work done down the track ect.
Always label each wire! You can get labelers that print onto white heat shrink.
Electrical tape gets gooie over time and falls apart.
If anyone works on your car make sure they don't just twist and tape.
Some excellent pointers in this video!!
Lord help me . I didn't understand a word out of this man 😂
Cracking video guys, some good tips there.
The only comment I would make is Anderson plugs rely on being connected and disconnected regularly otherwise the terminals oxidize.
I've read elsewhere that Deutsch plugs are a good alternative to avoid the oxidation issue while maintaining a good connection. I guess given the manufacturers use them a lot in the engine bay, it makes sense to me
@@ellisbtaylor : 100A Deutsch connectors ~$40USD (~$60 AUD for a set...) go for it... (soldered)
Recently I had to join 6mm cable to connect my air compressor to my battery. Did the connection with some 1/4 copper pipe and crimped the copper pipe to the cable then soldered the cable and copper. Heat shrink on top, guarantee it will never come apart! Used this method as I had no other crimp connections that would make it easier
Crimp butt connectors are usually zinc plated copper tubes, so a piece of (annealed ) copper tube is a good choice..
When it comes to crimp or solder I always just twist the wires around each other then electrical tape them then I just finish it off with 3 or 4 zip ties along the join to make it strong.
Yeah mate, i just get some dirt and add water to make mud then twist wires together and coat in my man made wire glue
haha this is my install tomorrow perfect timing!!!!
i crimp and then solder. no problems if you keep the tin in the connector.
I'll have to watch it a few times before it will sink in definitely a good thing once you get your head around it experienced 4WDers no worries half assed campers with a 4WD like me well ...... I already have a pretty good setup but definitely want to upgrade to a dual battery setup my setup at the moment typically goes flat after running the fridge overnight and never really charges up to capacity again the system is an intervolt that incorporates solar disappointed to say the least. Thanks for the tips I'll work something out I now have the knowhow to get it done just in slower motion hahaha cheers
For the Post delay, will we be compensated with a second video this week? For emotional distress
I crimp, then solder bare copper.. stops corrosion...also slip heatshrink on cable FIRST. Also agree, cut off & put anderson plugs on my fridges, compressor, solar panels, & lights.
Soldering iron a must have earlier in video but later in video you say to just use crimps. Also would love a diagram of the circuits for the newer vehicles.
Anyone else flinch when he arc'd the battery 😂??
I use soldering cause I find that if you don’t have a really good crimp on a connector they tend to com apart and fall off also soldering doesn’t get corroded and make a bad fed and soldering is pretty simply for a way better connection in my opinion
True, but the wires need to be secured to prevent flexing at the end of the solder joint. Once this is done, you have the best of both worlds.
Great tips. I'm a crimper on the smaller lugs but I'd never give those basic crimp pliers room in my toolbox. The double roll crimp type is the only one I'd ever use. Single point crimps just pull out too easily. Not bush quality in my book.
Solder for signal wires, aka audio. Crimp for power. Been doing that for twenty years and haven’t gotten in trouble yet.
Just FYI, at 7:13 when you show your checklist, you say one of the things needed is "HEAD Shrink" yup an easy typo, but confusing to newbies. As always great channel with awesome video's !
I rarely use anything other than low heat solder connectors and heat shrink crimp connectors on 12v wire to wire connections. Unfortunately, I haven't done much wiring in the past few years that required anything outside of that. Great video though, super informative for someone planning an overlander build in the next few months.....
Ex-BMW Tech here. Depending on who you ask you'll get a different answer. Sometime BMW recommended a crimp. However NASA have a soldering standard. Either can be fine, what will fail is whoever doing it cocks it up. Do what you're most comfortable with, If you're good at soldering and bad at crimping, your solder join will be stronger, and vice versa.
Fair point re the brittleness of solder. That is definitely something to watch out for. But, connections should still be soldered, just do it properly. Eg when you're attaching a lug to the end of a wire, solder it. That gives you a welded connection, that excludes water, and prevents corrosion & oxidation on the contact surfaces. Just don't use so much solder that it wicks up the wire and stiffens the wire. If you can then also crimp so the back of the crimped area crimps onto unsoldered wire, that provides strain relief to the soldered section and you have the most durable connection possible. Unsoldered crimps opens the door for surface oxidation to increase the resistance of your connections. So if you don't solder these sort of things, then the tendency is to have to crimp really hard, so it really mashes the wires so hard that oxygen is unlikely to get into the joint, and that can also weaken your wires there, and make them more likely to fray when flexed. So, for example, a little solder and firm but not brutal crimping is the best way to attach lug to wire.
Please people don't forget "PUT HEAT SHINK ON CABLE B4 CRIMPING" or u end up throwin 4 letter words left right n center😉
Me every F%^&$ time hahaha
I do it constantly , I’ve created numerous new words . 😇
I was able to put it on after and burn it. Just use the right size shrink for wire and cable shoe.
This is why tape comes in handy
Are those mini fuses auto reset ? Solder or crimp is much of a muchness and depends on application for it. Wires that can move around even a little , will break and cause high resistance and fire.
Using the cheaper heat shrink ? A dob of silicone sealant and shrink over it does the job or liquid insulation rubber.
Self amalgamating tape works very well and permanent for bunching cables together.
Cheers for the interesting vid.
I always crimp and solder all 12 volt Connections. Because of this never had my work fail.
Great video boys! I invested in 2 fire extinguishers because I do everything DIY!lol 🍻
lol
If you get a high amp short, the extinguishers won't do a thing !!
@@dougbourdo2589 : (yep - a backup vehicle is key in that scenario)
Leave it Australia to go into further detail than most made in US, with a cool accent to go with. Perfect video. Cheers!
Turbo Yoda also approves crimping over solder
Great info Shauno. That's going to help me a lot when I put in my 12V system.
I’ve been wanting this video for so long, stoked you finally made one
#6: Head Shrink, lol.
Great stuff 💪
The adhesive lined stuff is my favorite for locations that can get wet. It's got hot melt glue in it that melts when and seals the connection. It's also a bit more rigid because of the glue so it is good for high vibration locations as well.
I wish I knew about glue lines heat shrink when I started doing this stuff
Lol. Love it! I had to go back and check.
7:20😂
you just know this is Aussie as soon as I seen the Landcruiser. epic.
8B&S is definitely not over-engineered and 'no voltage drop' doesn't exist.
this absolutely great mate. simple, easy and stay local with local products. Thank you
I see that old Toyota hilux in the background can't wait to see the build on that
Crimp. Cause my soldering iron is a cheapie and doesn’t work very well 😂 Just completed a basic 12v system with removable battery box in my Wrangler about a week ago and glad to see I did it correctly 😅
For my BT-50 I fitted a USI-160 dual battery Isolator from Traxide-Rv ,back in 2015, has all the features of the big boys not the price....yes its made in Oz
I almost went with the Redarc BCDC, but then found the Renogy BCDC.. also with solar will top off my starting battery after the second battery is full! The Redarc doesnt do that.. Since my 4wd sits for weeks at a time, that feature is a huge benefit!
Just a thought here for anyone making a 12V panel for the first time, or even not their first time but their first one in a new vehicle / with a new rear set-up:
As you'll be laying it out on a piece of ply wood outside the vehicle, you could lay it out, then draw around the components (like making a shadow board) and then place the piece of ply into the vehicle in situ, and try to reach all the switches and bits you'd want to be able to easily reach (including for shorter people who you may be taking along).
You'll be able to get a good feel for whether you've placed the switches high enough, low enough, near enough, etc.
It won't matter about a few pencil marks on the board because you'll be covering it up with marine carpet or whatever.
Great vid shauno I reckon you might have just saved my rodeo from a firey death, new channels great for the campers as well as the 4x4 boys
No front diff no problems 😂
Yep I have a great 12v system in my Falcon RTV for camping / travelling,- goes a lot of places a sedan/wagon/standard 2wd ute (Falcon/Commodore) can't. Low Traction, lock up the back end - works great in the dry.
I've always crimped and then solder. Just solder can come out if it does heat up but in the winter I live in can corrode a crimp pretty fast. After the shrink tube, I like to use liquid tape.
On the topic of overloading the wiring, the demonstration for too small for the load was really good, now think if you solder your Anderson plug, chuck a 90l fridge on and drive off down the road that solder could well melt rendering your fridge wiring the fire hazard, or, even worse....warm beers. I have cooked a cig lighter lead for my 50l Waeco rattling around in the socket just driving normal roads. Now I Anderson plug everything and crimp those high draw components.
Well Sir, I have done a shit load of wiring on boats trailers and some on trucks. I crimp and solder all the connections I can especially on boats. Way more durable and corrosion resistant, as far as soldered ends being brittle that's not a problem if your wires are not flopping around. Zip ties are cheap.
Proper process of soldering is you pre-solder the cable ends prior to inserting them into the terminals, this guarantees full penetration of the solder when flowing from the tags ring end to the bottom of the tags barrel.
If you have a currant Toyota Hilux 2.8 you can buy a aux battery set up from Toyota and comes with Redarc bcdc charger you also can get a AGM battery to suite your vehicle as well
Glad to see this episode boys, keep up the good work, didn’t think my instagram response would be the one you put up on the socials haha
We hear you mate! ;) Glad you enjoyed it 👌
You don’t need the ignition input on any Toyota for the bcdc, they have a temperature compensating alternator not a low / variable voltage alternator
G'day Aaron. I have a 2006 Hilux which is a temperature compensating alternator as you indicated. My question is; what is a Smart Alternator? Is it the temperature compensating or variable voltage? Regards Paul
@@sinistra328 A smart alternator is considered to be both temp compensating and variable voltage.
@@sinistra328 a smart alternator is variable voltage, the charge voltage is determined by the battery’s state of charge, ambient temperature and electrical load on the system. There will be a current shunt fitted to the start battery negative terminal so the vehicle’s computer can work out what the charge rate needs to be.
Love my redarc system, Hasnt let me down yet. Great Aussie brand
Fill lugs with solder the use a pointed punch to put in a triangle formation past solder fill closer to the wire end so the in pinch will crimp the solder in place locking it in
I love the neat Jobs! Fuse everywhere!
Great video! Thanks for the info, I also love how in Australia you guys say "earth" instead of "ground." I might have to start saying that myself here in the US!
Unfortunately it's not quite right. He should be saying ground, earth is technically something different. That said, there isn't really risk of confusing the two here so can pick up the meaning well enough.
It’s DC so should be Negative, not earth or ground. Only car people call it ground. This guy says earth because he has no idea what he’s talking about.