Horrible Mechanical Failures: Looks Like the Tin Man's Undies After Taco Tuesday

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Horrible Mechanical Failures: Looks Like the Tin Man's Undies After Taco Tuesday

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polyester concept: Mar 29, 2017

Lol I make that mistake all the time

# ? Jun 5, 2023 04:12

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# ? May 25, 2024 21:24

afen: Sep 23, 2003; nemo saltat sobrius

Another thing re: soldering wires, there's a lot of different quality heat shrink tubing availabe. The cheapest eBay specials are very thin, even when properly shrunk. I use Ensto or TE shrink tubing at work, and they're great.

# ? Jun 5, 2023 13:01

Fifty Three: Oct 29, 2007

StormDrain posted:

Which is the opposite of how I feel using wagos in home wiring. Roughly the same size or a little smaller than twist connectors while much easier to manipulate.

Same experience for me. I've got a few cramped 2- and 3-gang boxes in my house with 5x Romex coming through them, and Wagos were the only way I was fitting all of that behind the switches without losing my sanity. Absolute life savers.

# ? Jun 5, 2023 13:19

LifeSunDeath: Jan 4, 2007; still gay rights and smoke weed every day

# ? Jun 5, 2023 17:49

cursedshitbox: May 20, 2012; Your rear-end wont survive my hammering.; Fun Shoe

crew cab chevs are getting a little out of hand.

# ? Jun 5, 2023 17:58

Humbug Scoolbus: Apr 25, 2008; The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude! These had been her teachers, stern and wild ones, and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss.; Clapping Larry

LifeSunDeath posted:

Is that a Macromachine?

# ? Jun 5, 2023 20:51

Darchangel: Feb 12, 2009; Tell him about the blower!

afen posted:

Use these for connecting wires together:

No.
Not in a car, unless temporary (actually temporary) or testing.
I do need to get some of those for testing and home wiring, though. The bathroom vent fan I recently installed had generic versions of those on its wiring and OMG that was so much easier than wire nuts.

Powershift posted:

What in the hee-haw am I looking at?

Wasabi the J posted:

The failures are coming from inside the thread:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOTrS6-mNtA

Yeah, motorsport is getting into the spaceship/aircraft "failure is not an option" arena.
Look, just don't use wire nuts, twist and tape, tape and not twist, etc., OK?

I'll be honest - I solder when I have time, or just feel the need. Like stereo stuff, particularly the aftermarket radio harness to an adapter, but I am very much not above using crimps with a good crimper (give the wire a tug before you commit!)

With regards to what crimp connectors and heat shrink are "good". Honestly, I've had really good luck with most of the generics from Amazon. I used to be worried about it, and back in the day the cheapies fomr the auto parts store (as opposed to the actual 3M connectors, for example) were noticeably flimsier, and crappier plastic, but nowadays, not near as much. I'm especially a fan of the heat-shrink connectors and heat shrink tubing with the water-proofing goo for joints that will hang out in the weather.

I also don't have any faith that those solder sleeves get hot enough to actually solder.

# ? Jun 5, 2023 21:43

n0tqu1tesane: May 7, 2003; She was rubbing her ass all over my hands. They don't just do that for everyone.; Grimey Drawer

I soldered my last aftermarket radio harness adapter, but that was mostly because I could do it at my desk, and I had the solder and heat shrink, otherwise I'd have to go buy some crimp connectors.

Plus, my solder joints and heat shrink take up a lot less room, especially when you're doing 15+ joins in a relatively small space. Once you loom the wires, it makes it a little cleaner in what's generally a pretty big mess of wires.

# ? Jun 5, 2023 22:09

LifeSunDeath: Jan 4, 2007; still gay rights and smoke weed every day

Humbug Scoolbus posted:

Is that a Macromachine?

# ? Jun 5, 2023 22:35

Elviscat: Jan 1, 2008; Well don't you know I'm caught in a trap?

Darchangel posted:

I also don't have any faith that those solder sleeves get hot enough to actually solder.

My roommate got some of those, and I was like "these are stupid bullshit" and I made one up to demonstrate, and I ripped the 14 AWG wire apart outside the splice, without the splice breaking.

I still won't use them, but they're better than you might imagine.

# ? Jun 6, 2023 00:30

`Nemesis: Dec 30, 2000; railroad graffiti

as someone who has previously done emergency vehicle upfitting as a job, at least when it came to police equipment, absolutely no one in my region soldered anything.

Installed a bunch of poo poo using the cheapest butt splices to be found, and decom'd the same from other companies or self installed municipalities, and did service work.... butt splices installed by idiots worked like 98% of the time and any failure was realized relatively quickly after install, otherwise they lasted the life of the police car/inmate transport van. the only other outlier was chafing issues where especially lazy people didn't protect wire going through shoddily drilled holes in sheet metal, but even then it usually survived the life of the vehicle.

I kind of expect someone to talk poo poo about this, but very seriously crimps work even when applied by morons, and that is the vast majority of time. to include installer warranty periods.

this reminds me of automotive insanity's collective neurosis about parking palls.

Crimp connectors are fine.

# ? Jun 6, 2023 01:22

MRC48B: Apr 2, 2012

My shitbox honda requires Aerospace Grade workmanship.

I follow NASA standard 8739.4 when I plug my ipod into the aux jack.

# ? Jun 6, 2023 02:24

Cojawfee: May 31, 2006; I think the US is dumb for not using Celsius

MRC48B posted:

My shitbox honda requires Aerospace Grade workmanship.

I follow NASA standard 8739.4 when I plug my ipod into the aux jack.

That better include replacing the battery with a bunch of AA batteries since they can be space rated.

# ? Jun 6, 2023 10:13

Elviscat: Jan 1, 2008; Well don't you know I'm caught in a trap?

MRC48B posted:

My shitbox honda requires Aerospace Grade workmanship.

I follow NASA standard 8739.4 when I plug my ipod into the aux jack.

Sighing as I start the process of certifying my ESD smock and ESD wrist band and bonding my car to ground before I can listen to the latest Taylor Swift Album.

# ? Jun 6, 2023 17:06

Darchangel: Feb 12, 2009; Tell him about the blower!

`Nemesis posted:

Crimp connectors are fine.

Literally never argued differently. My gripe is against the folks who seem to think soldering will bring about the rise of Satan, or at least invite Finagle to visit.
Fair point to those who have pointed out the relative skill levels required to get a good joint. Crimping is definitely the tool of for idiots. i may or may not have crimped but spliced a couple wires when changing up the configuration of my air compressor air valve after I got tired of soldering�

I mainly do it on stereo stuff to reduce the bulk of poo poo I have to stuff into very small spaces, as n0tqu1tesane alluded to. Big fat crimp connectors damage my aesthetics. I�m very sensitive.

# ? Jun 6, 2023 21:29

Salami Surgeon: Jan 21, 2001; Don't close. Don't close.; Nap Ghost

`Nemesis posted:

butt splices installed by idiots worked like 98% of the time and any failure was realized relatively quickly

This is why I recommend butt splices over soldering. They just work. They always work. They're easy. No skill required.

# ? Jun 6, 2023 21:50

Powershift: Nov 23, 2009

Darchangel posted:

What in the hee-haw am I looking at?

A NIssan SD33 diesel in a 1990 GMC

I don't know which my favorite bit is, the 3 batteries, the heat shield air cleaner, or the trampoline spring belt tensioner.

# ? Jun 7, 2023 03:38

Elviscat: Jan 1, 2008; Well don't you know I'm caught in a trap?

The welds on that exhaust stack are decent though.

# ? Jun 7, 2023 05:24

Darchangel: Feb 12, 2009; Tell him about the blower!

Powershift posted:

A NIssan SD33 diesel in a 1990 GMC

I don't know which my favorite bit is, the 3 batteries, the heat shield air cleaner, or the trampoline spring belt tensioner.

Well, that's definitely different

# ? Jun 8, 2023 23:29

Pomp and Circumcized: Dec 23, 2006; If there's one thing I love more than GruntKilla420, it's the Queen! Also bacon.

Raluek posted:

for shielded wire, i like to cut the wire longer than it needs to be, then de-braid the shield to make a continuous drain wire without needing to solder or splice anything

You can just open a hole in the side of the braided screen near the insulation, and pull the cores through that. Keeps the braid nice and together.

No problem extending the screen if needed by crimping on a wire - in some cases screened cable is expensive, and the nearest clean ground point may not be nearby.

Also yes, soldering wires should never be necessary in automotive applications. A crimp is always preferred. Soldered connections fail at the point where stranded wire meets the rigid solder.

# ? Jun 9, 2023 06:57

namlosh: Feb 11, 2014; I name this haircut "The Sad Rhino".

I put a butt connector on one wire along with heat shrink, then I carefully make a perfect linesman splice of the two wires, then I fill the splice with solder, then I bring the butt connector over the splice, crimp as needed, now it�s the heat shrinks� turn to go over the butt connector; only use flame from a propane torch to heat your heat shrink, butane is a bastard gas. Now enclose the entire thing in hot glue, build a form for epoxy resin and fill it with the wire in the middle� finally pot the splice in cement for better wear in higher traffic locations.

Car stereo installed!

# ? Jun 9, 2023 14:19

Phanatic: Mar 13, 2007; Please don't forget that I am an extremely racist idiot who also has terrible opinions about the Culture series.

Darchangel posted:

I also don't have any faith that those solder sleeves get hot enough to actually solder.

They do. I'm in flight testing and we use these routinely for connecting shields to ground:

https://www.te.com/usa-en/products/wire-protection-and-management/interconnect-devices/soldersleeve-shield-terminators.html?tab=pgp-story

I mean, they're not going to work if you just stick a heat gun on them but when you install them properly they're solid. That said, that's the only thing we use them for and if we're making connections we're crimping pins onto wires with the correct tools and using D38999s or Lemos.

# ? Jun 9, 2023 14:29

slothrop: Dec 7, 2006; Santa Alpha, Fox One... Gifts Incoming ~~~>===|>; Soiled Meat

Pomp and Circumcized posted:

Also yes, soldering wires should never be necessary in automotive applications. A crimp is always preferred. Soldered connections fail at the point where stranded wire meets the rigid solder.

Don�t you live in the UK? Are the roads there as bad as I�ve been lead to believe the ones in the US are?

# ? Jun 9, 2023 14:32

Computer viking: May 30, 2011; Now with less breakage.

slothrop posted:

Don’t you live in the UK? Are the roads there as bad as I’ve been lead to believe the ones in the US are?

They're fine, but he drives that one custom Bentley with the 27L RR Merlin engine.

# ? Jun 9, 2023 18:16

Darchangel: Feb 12, 2009; Tell him about the blower!

Phanatic posted:

They do. I'm in flight testing and we use these routinely for connecting shields to ground:

https://www.te.com/usa-en/products/wire-protection-and-management/interconnect-devices/soldersleeve-shield-terminators.html?tab=pgp-story

I mean, they're not going to work if you just stick a heat gun on them but when you install them properly they're solid. That said, that's the only thing we use them for and if we're making connections we're crimping pins onto wires with the correct tools and using D38999s or Lemos.

Cool!
Guess I need to get some and test.

# ? Jun 9, 2023 20:55

Wombot: Sep 11, 2001

namlosh posted:

I put a butt connector on one wire along with heat shrink, then I carefully make a perfect linesman splice of the two wires, then I fill the splice with solder, then I bring the butt connector over the splice, crimp as needed, now it’s the heat shrinks’ turn to go over the butt connector; only use flame from a propane torch to heat your heat shrink, butane is a bastard gas. Now enclose the entire thing in hot glue, build a form for epoxy resin and fill it with the wire in the middle… finally pot the splice in cement for better wear in higher traffic locations.

Car stereo installed!

Then put it all inside a leopard.

What's the leopard for?

Presentation.

# ? Jun 9, 2023 21:04

sharkytm: Oct 9, 2003; Ba

By

Sharkytm doot doo do doot do doo; Fallen Rib

Phanatic posted:

They do. I'm in flight testing and we use these routinely for connecting shields to ground:

https://www.te.com/usa-en/products/wire-protection-and-management/interconnect-devices/soldersleeve-shield-terminators.html?tab=pgp-story

I mean, they're not going to work if you just stick a heat gun on them but when you install them properly they're solid. That said, that's the only thing we use them for and if we're making connections we're crimping pins onto wires with the correct tools and using D38999s or Lemos.

Those Raychem solder sleeves are amazing for terminating coax into a crimp pin. The butt slices with the solder ring are great, too. The problem is that you can't really use them on cheap wire because the insulation melts before the solder does. They're amazing on Type E or Teflon jacketed wire.

# ? Jun 10, 2023 13:31

CommieGIR: Aug 22, 2006; The blue glow is a feature, not a bug; Pillbug

Salami Surgeon posted:

This is why I recommend butt splices over soldering. They just work. They always work. They're easy. No skill required.

So many people suck at butt splices I cannot count the number of times I've troubleshot only to find out they didn't crimp it right or didn't use the right gauge butt splices for the wire

# ? Jun 10, 2023 21:55

Dagen H: Mar 19, 2009; Hogertrafikomlaggningen

You have to exclude the lowest percentile, or else you're swimming upstream. Just reconcile yourself to the fact that most of the human race are morons (myself included), and move on.

# ? Jun 10, 2023 23:18

DesperateDan: Dec 10, 2005; Where's my cow?

Is that my cow?

No it isn't, but it still tramples my bloody lavender.

slothrop posted:

Don’t you live in the UK? Are the roads there as bad as I’ve been lead to believe the ones in the US are?

potholes get patched badly and then weather happens and the patch fucks up and the pothole gets worse, so they patch the hole badly again then weather happens and the patch fucks up and after a few decades of this much of the road system is potholes or failing patches

this is of great benefit to those running roadside maintenance companies, and the people in county councils they bribe for the contracts

gonna go to work now, through about 4 different roadworks where they will be patching holes badly

# ? Jun 11, 2023 08:25

n0tqu1tesane: May 7, 2003; She was rubbing her ass all over my hands. They don't just do that for everyone.; Grimey Drawer

The NASCAR Cup car racing in the 24 Hours of Le Mans had a terrible mechanical failure today. It was ahead of the GTE AM class of cars when the transaxle got crunchy.

https://twitter.com/BoziTatarevic/status/1667893461503049728

It made one heck of a noise. At least they were able to finish the race after fixing the damage.

# ? Jun 11, 2023 16:10