Wires!

[Thunder360]

We ran into a lil problem with our wires. Our team was pondering how we should connect our wires, I was thinking Splice, Saulder, then Shrink tape. And then all neatly ties together with those need little plastic one way ties. I just want somthing that is strong and can take a few hits, so please give me a lil help. THANKS AGAIN!

[Matt Reiland]

Well for the ends that connect to things I would use a crimp on insulated ring or spade terminal of the correct size, other than that I would definitely eliminate any other splices in the system if possible (Other than wiring to the motor leads if you can not go directly to the motor) and solder directly to the motor terminals.

We have never had much of a problem with the crimp on insulated connectors but if you wanted to be super careful you could solder them too then shrink wrap around the outside. Make sure who ever is doing the soldering has some sort of idea what to do, I don't want to even get into some of the soldering I have seen.

[Jnadke]

We ususally use FASTON connectors. They come in male, and female units that allow you to quickly connect, and disconnect them. All you have to do is strip the wire, and crimp them on. Make sure you have a good crimping tool so you get a solid connection. If you crimp them right, they'll never fall off. Ours never did. Give them a nice tug to make sure they won't fall off.

The one's in the picture below are uninsulated. Don't buy those, but the picture is merely an example. They make connectors that have a plastic housing around them.

Make sure to have the proper guage FASTON connector for the wire guage you are using. They are usually color-coded.



The best part is that these can be found at any Home Depot, Lowes, Ace, or TrueValue hardware store.
Picture complements of Tyco Electronics.

[Jeff Waegelin]

Personally, I've found those connectors to be a major pain. We never have enough of the right size, and we have had them come uncrimped. Yes, we probably didn't crimp them right, but they aren't perfect, and we seem to have trouble with them. We lost two matches at MMR last year due to bad connections. Now, our electronics motto for this year is "Solder Everything."