I use a cheap crimping tool (no rachet). Then I solder every joint and put heat shrink over it.
(former EE and E tech.)
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744 & 745 GLE's (IPD a-sbars)16v M46, 245 SE(IPD a-sbars) auto, 242Ti M46(IPD springs and bars), 745GL 8v auto

I have crimping plyers for sears but the Thomas & Betts are much much better. The Sta-Kon lug Crimpers make the crimp so strong that the wire breaks before the crimps fails. either way will be fine as long as you have a quality Crimp. Solder the connection if you go the noninlulated route. I also like the nylon terminal over the plastic. They are much better and when purchased in bulk on line, cheaper than what I can get at the local supply store. I use the sta-Kon for both Insulated & noninsulated but they are designed for non insulated. I just won an auction on ebay for the proper crimpers for insulated terminals but they're not in yet.
Greg

They have plastic crimps with integrated heat shrink if your picky. Their rather expensive and I usually use the plain 3M ones. Make sure to get the correct size for the guage wire. I imagine some of the cheaper crimps are junk. I find a crimper tool that has a flat crimp as opposed to the round does a better job. The crimper has to be tight enough to securely hold the wire but you don't want to damage the plastic insulater. I usually will cover the crimps with electrical tape. I used to solder everything but find the crimps to be alot faster. I've installed a few radios with crimps and they haven't given any trouble.

hi all
mostly i crimp then use liquid tape to seal the two ends.
works for me.
certain wires i will solder.
good luck
mike

You will probably find this link helpful:

http://tools.tycoelectronics.com/superchampiv.html

Click on "Instruction sheet" and wait for the PDF (acrobat) file to load. It's more than you ever wanted to know about using a hand crimp tool.

AMP does, or did in the past, include pictures of correct and incorrect crimps in their application documents. I'd bet no company in the industry knows better about proper application of terminals to the ends of wires. I've seen photo-micrographs of what happens to the wire ends inside the structure of a properly crimped terminal, and pictures of what can go wrong.

I used to do work like this for a living. By that I mean electronic assembly work. For crimp wire tools, we had to use ratcheting, hand crimp tools. These must complete a full crimp cycle before the ratchet in the handle releases and allows them to be opened. You get very consistent crimp quality with these kinds of tools.

Hand tools like the one you have (probably the same one I have at work, the Craftsman version of the AMP "CHAMP" series tools) require the operator (YOU!) to properly hold and position the barrel of the crimp lug, and hopefully be consistent about the pressure you apply to each crimped joint. Insufficient crimp pressure, improper sized terminals for the wire size, rotation or misplacement of the crimp force, and just plain cheaply made terminal lugs will all result in poor connections and wires pulling out of terminals, sometimes with minimal force applied.

Hope this helps with your questions!
--
::: Rob Bareiss, New London CT ::: 92 244 M47 211K ::: 90 745GL M47 273K ::: 88 245DL AW70 190K ::: 84 242DL Project ::: 70 VW Bus ::: 70 VW Pickup Project ::: 71 VW Notchback :::

After you make the crimp, hold the connector in one hand and the wire in the other. Give a good tug. A correct crimp will hold tightly while a marginal one will come right apart.

I recently bought this one from Harbor Freight and was quite surprised at the good quality of it. I used the traditional type for a long time, but I like these ratchet types even better:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93977

Quite a deal for $10.

I don't trust crimping - seen too many with partially melted insulation due to heat from the bad connection, and/or corrosion because they are not airtight. Soldering a crimped joint as Jorrell does is a big improvement.

I solder virtually everything, and then double-heat-shrink insulate the joint. You can get metres of heat shrink tubing in various diameters and colours cheaply from electrical supply houses like Jameco.com.
--
Bob (son's 81-244GL B21F/M46, dtr's 83-244DL B23F/M46, my 94-944 B230FD and 89 745 (LT-1 V8); hobbycar 77 MGB, and a few old motorcycles)

When doing a "butt splice" with a crimp, I use plastic insulated pieces. I usually strip the wire too long so bare wire is still visible beyond the ends of the crimp. Then I fire up the soldering iron and flow solder all the way into the crimp. Afterwards, I wrap them in electrical tape or shrink tubing, whichever is appropriate.

In short, crimps are okay but not perfect, the solder flows past the crimp point and virtually locks it in place. Take this approach and never have to think about it again.

jorrell
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92 245 245K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently in pieces

When I gave up on crimping using pliers I got a $15 crimper from Radio Shack. It does the job, any failed crimps are usually due to too large a connector for a too thin wire. So I'd guess that a $25 Sears crimper would be at least as good as what I've been using.

I usually use the plastic-sleeved connectors. Occasionally I crimp them hard enough that the metal protrudes through the plastic, so beware. Happens only occasionally.

When in a pinch I'll cut the protruding conductor double-long, then fold it over. That gives a thicker conductor that fills a larger size connector if that's all I have - or if the other wire is thicker. I also find that nearly any connector will take a wire one step thicker than what its rated. So a connector spec'd for 14-16 ga. wire will do fine for 12 ga., as long as the wire ends are cleanly bundled together and you slide them into the connector nice and straight so they go in without fraying.
--
Sven: '89 245 NA, 951 ECU, open-front airbox, E-fan, 205/65-15's, IPD sways, E-Codes, amber front corner reflectors, quad horns. Wifemobile '89 245 NA stock. 90 244 NA spare, runs.

I've done lots of solderless terminal crimps. Not familiar w/ Craftsman crimper but most are similiar. I prefer the insulated terminals & use the portion of the crimper that leaves an indentation. Make sure that this indent is on the non-seam side of the terminal. Make sure you size the wire to the terminal. Blue is 14-16 gauge etc. Give it a good healthy squeeze. For critical connections (injector grounds?)use non-insulated & solder them.

I never had a crimp come undone or cause an bad connection.
Good luck.