47-55.1 Rewiring the 54

[hogfarm]

I have my 54 in the shop for the winter. I am determined to get it finished this winter. To many things got in the way last year so the truck never saw the road.I am rewiring under the hood just to clean it up. I am not going to replace all the wires so I will need to splice a few. In the past I always soldered all the wires and used heat shrink . But I saw some connections the come with solder and water proof covers, and just use a heat gun. Has anyone used these? If so what do you think

[dsraven]

I have used them before. there are 2 schools of thought, or more
I am old school so bear with me.
I have done a lot of wiring repairs on highway trucks where the driver "needed" to do some wiring on the road to accomodate the funky lights he bought at the truck stop late one night
I ususally like to use a non insulated crimp connector and double wall shrink tube on any connection I do, whether inside or outside the vehicle. i will strip the required amount of insulation off the wire and push it into the connector, crimp it with a crimper that crimps with a half round jaw on one side and a lump on the other side that ensures the connector barrel is not just flattened out but is deformed well and holds the conductors properly. I always tug on the wires before I solder, if I solder, then shrink tube. try not to twist the wires before inserting into the barrel because when the wires cross each other and then they get crimped this can cause the wires to cut each other and cause a resistance in the connector. I know, there are those who will say thats bull ****. thats what I said in trade school and the instructor actuall had us students do a crimp how we normally do, then cut it apart and check the inside. the twisted ones did actually have a few broken strands.
to answer your question, I have used those connectors but find them bulky for anything more than just a couple wires repaired at the same area. I did not have any issues with them that I know of because the repaired unit did not come back for the same wiring problem at that spot so, I have to say, they work ok I guess. they are considerably more money that the standard connectors so the shop stopped buying them because we had truck loads of the regular type of connectors and also miles of shrink tube.
I think the newer style of crimp connectors that are being used by the factory are superior to the old style crimp connectors but require a more expensive crimp tool and also a bunch more parts to make the connector. they hold the wire strands well and also crimp onto the insulation part. thn they are pushed into the plastic connector and have a silicone sealing ring on the wire and the connector body. a few more tools and things to buy but a better set up overall.

[leegreen]

dsraven, how hot do you have to get those new style butt splice connectors to make em work? Just a heat gun to do it? Could you do it with a lighter?

If a lighter works, those things would be handy in a roadside tool kit

my usual method of splicing: Lineman's splice, solder, heat shrink. Reliable but a bit slow

[dsraven]

Lighter works but be careful of the heat applied as it can get too hot. Sorta like shrink tube, heat gun with the correct tip is best to apply even heat that's not too hot.

[hogfarm]

I have all the wiring done on front of the truck. I used the connectors that have the solder inside with a heat gun, they worked great, but they take a few minutes to cool, and if you pull on them to soon they come apart. Moved to the rear, first thing I did was drop the glass lens. new ones are on order.

[dsraven]

good and bad I guess. good to have wiring done, bad to drop glass, good to find a replacement quickly.
pics?
no pics, didn't happen, lol.