Wire nuts...

631 Views 21 Replies 16 Participants Last post by theblooms, 5 d ago

Prinzessin

Discussion Starter · 11 d ago

Cleaned up the wiring after I found out the PO used wire nuts of all things, (One of them even had a bypass wire of some kind, from wire nut to another, have no idea what that was about). Ended up using the butt connectors, not the best job, but for my first wire job, didn't expect much, but everything is running good.

Side note, I want to say, After having to drop the motor and take off the seat to do any kind of electrical work on my old bike., (Stator, Reg/rec, Wiring for each) I'm loving the locations of stuff so far on the shadow.

Also, has anyone else ever ran across or used wire nuts before?

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gdb069

· #2 · 11 d ago

Yes, my home thermostats have wire nuts. Bike nope. I have a few in my toolkit because may be handy on a trip but so far ...

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Prinzessin

Discussion Starter · #3 · 11 d ago

gdb069 said:
Yes, my home thermostats have wire nuts. Bike nope. I have a few in my toolkit because may be handy on a trip but so far ...

Ended up "Amazoning" a large pack of butt connectors and plan on keeping a few of each size along with a wire stripper and crimper. Ended up finding the original crimper I had after the package arrived, so the bike toolkit gets a present.

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torinogt

· #4 · 11 d ago (Edited)

I used wire nuts to replace the famous failing 3 wire stator connector, been on the bike for about 25k miles and never a problem…………….Edit: Oh yeah, there is dielectric grease in there

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theblooms

· #5 · 11 d ago

Wire nuts should never be used in a moving vehicle. The vibrations will make them back off eventually.

You need to make all of those repairs permanent. I know you already said you bought some butt connectors, but look into some solder seal connections instead. They are straight up amazing.

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bweighmaster

· #6 · 11 d ago

theblooms said:
Wire nuts should never be used in a moving vehicle. The vibrations will make them back off eventually.

You need to make all of those repairs permanent. I know you already said you bought some butt connectors, but look into some solder seal connections instead. They are straight up amazing.

Just your opinion ... They don't vibrate loose .. Got them all over my race cars , some on bikes , All ovet the house and shop ... One great invention ..... My opinion ...

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Beggar

· #7 · 11 d ago

Installation makes a considerable difference in the efficacy of wire nuts. Done correctly they're quite effective.

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Schmohawk007

· #8 · 11 d ago

Just my opinion here, but I would wrap 'em with tape if you are in an area that sees a lot of rain and stuff like that. I personally wouldn't use them on a bike just because the bare wires are kind of 'exposed' to the elements in a way, but thats just my opinion and should not have any bearing on whether you decide to use them or not.

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PhantomRider64

· #9 · 11 d ago

Agreed, they should get a couple layers of tape.

to the OP; I hope that you covered the butt connectors with tape or better yet heat shrink tubing. I prefer solder and heat shrink tubing but about any method will work.

Wire nuts would be good for an emergency kit because they don’t take up much room.

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CSRoad

· #10 · 11 d ago

Wire nuts in the tool kit I can see, but wire nuts have no permanent place on a moving vehicle period.

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torinogt

· #11 · 11 d ago

Soldering wires together & adding shrink tubing is probably best, but……………..I’ve also used wire nuts to repair low speed fan wiring on a 2000 Ford Taurus @ around 170k miles. Sold the car after 20 years & 336k miles on her, I went back a couple times to check the wire nuts for looseness on both my bike/car & never had one come loose 😉

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gunsmoker

· #12 · 10 d ago

I Did some wiring on my Honda Shadow where I used wire nuts, and wrap those wire nuts and 1 inch of the wire itself behind them, in electrical tape. On most of those connections I have since gone back and soldered some of them and put heat-shrink tubing over the connections, but on at least a couple of them I have not.
One for the radiator fan and one for my tail lights are still nutted up, and frankly I don't think that I'm ever going to improve on that because those connections are easy to access and if I feel motivated to periodically check them for corrosion or looseness, I could.

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bweighmaster

· #13 · 10 d ago

Schmohawk007 said:
Just my opinion here, but I would wrap 'em with tape if you are in an area that sees a lot of rain and stuff like that. I personally wouldn't use them on a bike just because the bare wires are kind of 'exposed' to the elements in a way, but thats just my opinion and should not have any bearing on whether you decide to use them or not.

Dielectric grease applied to wires stops that ....

crazyoldman

· #14 · 10 d ago (Edited)

Solder and heat shrink is forever wont shake loose. takes 2 minutes longer .Dielectric grease holds water under tape.battery coat wont. Ps love the heat shrink conectors that wern't shrunk and coated.

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Schmohawk007

· #15 · 9 d ago

bweighmaster said:
Dielectric grease applied to wires stops that ....

Still the fact remains, they probably shouldn't just be left open to the elements.....

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Grampa Joe

· #16 · 9 d ago (Edited)

I would avoid wire nuts. They work by twisting and compressing the strands of the wire together and are meant for stationary wiring (like residential wiring). Depending on the quality of the wire nut, you may cut through some of the fine strands of your wiring or the nut may loosen up from vibration, opening yourself up to the wire breaking down the road. Crimp connectors are ok, but I always seem to have problems with them. As for solder, only if you know what you're doing. A poor solder joint can crack. When I solder, I always fan the wires out, push the 2 ends together and flow solder into both pieces, forming one thick wire, instead of 2 wires side by side. Wipe it down with alcohol to remove any moisture and Plasti-Dip to seal it. A little more work, but worth it. The other method I use is to solder into a bare butt connector with the same weather proofing technique.
As for taping: Tape dries out and falls off. Shrink tube is better, but it can still let in moisture. My choice is always some sort of liquid sealant, or silicon based self sealing stuff. The trick is to not allow ANY air to contact the wires. I can't tell you how many times I've worked on someone else's botched wiring, only to open the splice up and find a mass of corrosion barely holding together.

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D's Spirit

· #17 · 6 d ago

Don't think I'd ever use wire nuts on any of my vehicles. I do use marine grade couplers (pictured below). These are water tight . Once they're crimped, you simply hit 'em with a heat gun and they seal up.

(This is an installed Diode Mod)

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theblooms

· #18 · 6 d ago

Grampa Joe said:
When I solder, I always fan the wires out, push the 2 ends together and flow solder into both pieces, forming one thick wire, instead of 2 wires side by side. .

Learn the Western Electric splice. It's absolutely amazing, and takes solder perfectly.

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squidchief

· #19 · 5 d ago

torinogt said:
I used wire nuts to replace the famous failing 3 wire stator connector, been on the bike for about 25k miles and never a problem…………….Edit: Oh yeah, there is dielectric grease in there View attachment 308697

My '84 was exactly the same. Never had an iota of a problem.

Personally I'd never use them on a vehicle, but my bike never had an issue. I'd sure as heck never use one on any of my race cars. I've seen too many cars limp off the track due to little simple things. Races are won in the garage.

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axman88

· #20 · 5 d ago

An electrician once asked me, ....
"You got wire nuts?"...

I said yes,

and he says, ...
" Must be hell on your underwear!"

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