Using crimp terminals for HID wiring?

doovla · Post by **doovla** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 5:49 pm

I have some of these crimp terminals in my garage which i was going to use to fit my new HID headlight bulbs kit.

Will these crimp terminals stand up to the current draw from the HID kit, or will i need to use something a little more "beefy"?

Asked the same question on another forum but nobody has replied so fingers crossed here...lol.

Post by **Coops** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 5:58 pm

they should be fine.

kiwicar · Post by **kiwicar** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 7:03 pm

ramon alban · Post by **ramon alban** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 9:47 pm

doovla wrote: Will these crimp terminals stand up to the current draw from the HID kit, or will i need to use something a little more "beefy"?

I'm sure they will handle the current but are wide open to corrosion.

I recommend you consider using male bullet connectors and the tubular type female connector that completely encloses the bullet.

When assembled, fill with vaseline or waxoyl and you have a corrosion free connection for the life of the car.

doovla · Post by **doovla** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 9:57 pm

OK. Thanks for the info guys.

I'm going to use heatshrink tubing to fully insulate the terminals but im not sure if this will be sealed well enough from moisture. The crimp terminals will be exposed to the elements so I'm not sure about this.

I was looking at this stuff - PIB self amalgamating tape to possibly seal the terminals but worried it might be a bit too thick?

What u rekon for sealing?

ramon alban · Post by **ramon alban** » Mon Aug 18, 2008 11:18 pm

Self enclosing bullet terminals filled with waxoyl for easy assembly and disconnection for servicing, corrosion free system. No need for any shrink tubing or tape.

Different sizes for different load capacity. for headlights - go big - you never know, you may fit 100 watt bulbs in the future?

or better still - soldered connectors - old style.

doovla · Post by **doovla** » Thu Aug 21, 2008 12:06 am

ordered some self amalgamating tape to seal some connections from moisture. The tape is really weird stuff. It has like tubes of resin stuff through the tape which means it is a little thick but at least it will be 100% waterproof.

Thank for all the help guys.

SteveRK · Post by **SteveRK** » Thu Aug 28, 2008 6:22 pm

HID lights don't usually draw more Watts than conventional bulbs - they run at higher voltages & less current equating to about the same - i run a Mercedes with HID as standard and they are only 35watts.

Insulation against arcing is more relevant than ability to handle large wattage.

Dangerdoc · Post by **Dangerdoc** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 12:15 pm

Whilst on the subject, I see that there are "scotchlocks" in that picture of the terminals you posted that you want to use.

Please, please, please stay away from any form of scotchlock as they invariably create real problems. It is not uncommon to snap one of these in place and find that you have only spliced into three of four strands of wire and the cutter blade has widened out so as to not actually form the connection properly.

Maybe they are good for LED garden lighting and so on but don't use these in vehicle applications. Seen a good few vehicle fires due to these connectors.

The "proper" crimp terminals are great but always tug the crimped cable reasonable firmly to ensure you have actually crimped the whole thing. Sometimes they will fail and the wire can be pulled out very easily - makes for a tracing nightmare and also not good to have bare live wires looking for a place to play

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Using crimp terminals for HID wiring?

Using crimp terminals for HID wiring?

Re: Using crimp terminals for HID wiring?

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