How to Use a Wire Crimper
Wire crimpers install electrical terminals on to bare wire. Certain terminal crimpers come with the ability to strip off wire insulation as well as cleanly cut through the wire. When purchasing terminal connectors, it is important to buy the right size. Using terminal connectors for larger gauge wire sizes than what the application calls for will produce loose terminal connections. Packages of wire terminals come color-coded and designate which wire sizes are appropriate for the terminals. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Wire crimpers
- Wire
- Wire terminals
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Instructions
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Using the color-coded marks located on the crimping side of the wire crimpers, place the barrel of the color-coded wire terminal in the appropriate channel of the wire crimper. Use only enough force to keep the terminal steady while clamping down with the wire crimpers.
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Place the bare wire into the end of the terminal, making sure an eighth inch of bare wire is sticking out of the other end of the terminal barrel. Be sure that there are not any frayed strands of wire sticking out the sides of the terminal barrel. If there are frayed strands that did not pass through the barrel, pull the wire out of the terminal, twist the strands together using your fingers, and reinsert the bare wire into the terminal barrel.
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Squeeze the crimping tool in order to lock the terminal barrel down on the bare wire. Do not cut through the plastic insulation of the terminal wire or apply enough force to cut through the bare wire.
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Test the strength of the terminal connection. Grab hold of the wire with one hand and the terminal with the other, and use a slight tugging motion. If the wire pulls loose or the terminal looks excessively distorted, remove the terminal and start again with a new one.
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Tips & Warnings
Keep your fingers clear of the jaws or cutting portions of the wire crimpers to avoid injury.
References
- Photo Credit crimper 1 image by Olga Chernetskaya from Fotolia.com
