Tail light conversion question, direct wire to plug style.

No need to crimp. Use a big enough connector. Slip shrink tube and connector onto wire. Fan the wires out, twist the wires together, fold them over. Slide connector over the it. Heat shrink the connector, the thin solder ring melts in the process. You’ll see it melt. One optional step further, liquid tape it, then slip the piece of shrink wrap tubing over the whole thing. Looks original, and is very strong.

 

I’ve bought them at a Napa, a few yrs back, first time I saw them. Tried my Local Napa, and all the Auto parts stores. No one had them. Found them at Lowe’s, in the Electrical department. They’re great. Heat gun melts them best. Can use a flame, but heat guns pretty cheap at Harbor Freight. I just did a door wiring harness on my Jeep. Tight spot. The crimpless, connectors and heat gun made the 11 wire harness much easier a job.

 

Sorry fellas, one more point. Doing research, I found there’s a big debate over soldering wires and covering them with heat shrink tubing vs. a crimped mechanical connection. It seems soldered wires tend to become brittle over time, whereas a mechanical connection stays solid. All sorts of expert opinions and scientific data arguments, with a mechanical connection seeming to win, for vehicle connections. That’s why I decided to twist wires together first, splitting each wire strands in half, fanned out, making 2 sets of twists, then folding or wrapping them together, as an inline splice. A butted in-line splice is very hard to do. Power Companies do this for house service lines, then cover them with a crimped connection, You’ll see it at the back of your house, covered with tape. Anyway, lot of ways to splice wires. The old twist and tape usually lasts about a year. I’ve done plenty of that. Nice to take the time, fix it right. Lasts a long time.

 

I like that but I'll skip the liquid tape.

 

They sell shrink wrap tube, with a glue inside. Dealerships often sell it. Expensive, but worth it. Liquid tape does the same thing.

 

I finally bought a pair and love them so far

 

For the over anal wire type people lol

 

Already seen that!! Lol.

 

I'd love to be able to eliminate the crimpers from the procedure entirely so I look forward to trying this.

 

The connection itself doesn’t become brittle, the wire at the point that it has solder becomes fatigued because of no support to eliminate vibrations.

I don’t know where this was tested, this is a common knowledge thing, guess it is some modern myth busters bs thing.

the solution?

use heat shrink with an sealer, a quality one like 3m. Add 1/4 inch to each end passed the original insulation and you won’t have an issue.