Reddit mentions of Tool Aid S&G 18900 Professional Ratcheting Terminal Crimper

Reposting something I said earlier on a similar thread...


Hardwiring the DashCam was pretty easy, this is what I got for the job:

[Mobius ActionCam] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GPXYVQU/)

12V to USB Power Adapter

Mini Add-A-Fuse Kit

Crimps

Crimping Tool

And finally the instructions for wiring and routing the cable nicely:
http://www.focusst.org/forum/focus-st-electronics/13092-simple-instructions-hard-wiring-radar-detector-other-device.html

There's different fuses you can use depending if you want it on all the time or just when the car is on.


As other people have said the A119 is a really good camera for the price, the mobius is just the one that I happened to get when I got my car.

>I'm fairly ignorant of electric systems on boats.


I hope you're comfortable with how basic 12VDC electrics work and are asking about how to wire them in a marine environment.


Preface, I'm not a certified marine electrician but I've done a ton of work re-wiring, custom work on all kinds of sail and power boats.


Tools:
>I do have a cheap harbor freight multi-meter

good, now you're going to need a way to crimp those shitty connectors and some dielectric grease.


Unless of course you want to solder all your connections (this is my preference as it doesn't vibrate loose or corrode as quickly), then follow NASA's soldering method s and yuu'll need some rosin cored solder and and a soldering iron, you'll also need to use a crimp connector without the pre-molded shrink wrap and some heat shrink tubing


Ok... got your tools? great, now for supplies.


You'll need a buss bar on your ground


Measure how much wire you need, (are you re-wiring the mast?) and use 14/2 AWG marine grade wire.


If you're only using 1 battery you can get away with a simple switch like this. From the devices & lights you listed It sounds like you can use 10AWG to connect your battery to your switch then to the 14 gang panel.


You'll need a way to label your wires, I use one of these but if you're doing one job you might want to use something cheaper.

Ok... now on the to the fun part


Plan where you're going to mount your panel and pull a single RED 10AWG from there to your battery shut off switch and another strand from you battery to the switch.


Pull 10 AWG from the battery to the buss bar.


pull all the 14awg from the lights to the panel labeling each 14/2 wire as you go


red goes to the fuse block, black goes to the buss bar then to the negative on the gang block, label everything at the connection points, big red wire goes from battery switch to the bolt on the 14 gang, big black wire goes to the buss bar.


install new things, as each device is hooked up test the fuse and switch, then install the new thing.

Edit: I forgot to mention, use dielectric grease on all metal fittings to reduce corrosion.


edit 1: put a fuse between your battery and shut off ont the red wire

They don't appear to be the ratcheting type.

I really can't stress enough the importance of ratcheting crimpers, I've done 1000s of crimps with a full range of ratcheting crimpers, and never once came across a bad one. On the other hand I've seen numerous failed crimps that were clearly done with non-ratcheting crimpers.

Checking the "Also Bought" lead me to these, It's a very common design that you'll see under many different brands, and should be more than sufficient for your purposes.

those crimpers work but they are actually for non insulated only and tend to punch through insulation, doesn't look like there is an insulated hole on them. For quick work use my trusty old klein but I also have a ratcheting crimper with a few different die sets, the insulated die is a double crimp and works fantastic. This works almost as well for a lot less $$$(I bought the cheap one when I thought I loaned my palidin then realized it was in another toolbox). I'm usually too lazy to solder stuff under the dash(proof of laziness), but anything outside of the cabin I solder and use glue lined heatshrink to make sure the union is not compromised. When I do use butt splices or crimp caps, I make sure to use the right crimper.

I also consider my test light as a must have, computer AND airbag safe. It make signal chasing much easier using the piercing probe and the headlight is handy. Keep the bandaids handy using it though, I've tested the voltage in my fingers quite a few times.

While the plastic trim tools come in handy, I find something like this very handy when you need a bit more nut behind the prying, although I haven't't used the window crank clip remover in a LONG time lol.

Read up on? Not particularly. A long time ago I read a book called "The car stereo cookbook" that I learned a lot from, but that is more about the how to set up a good sound system rather than a good wiring instructor. A resource that I can give you, that is invaluable to me, is the12volt.com. Pretty much any car you should be able to find a wiring diagram on there. Other than that watch youtube to learn how to solder and maybe get a nice set of crimp pliers like these http://www.amazon.com/Tool-Aid-18900-Professional-Ratcheting/dp/B0002STTSY/ref=sr_1_3?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1395362735&sr=1-3&keywords=crimper