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Stuck with hand crimpers forever, until a bad install changed my view
I always used hand crimpers for battery links. Last summer, a system failed because my crimp wasn't tight enough. The heat melted some wires. Now I use a torque wrench every time, and it's made my work more reliable.
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wyatt_sanchez258mo ago
Yeah when you mentioned the melted plastic housing, that's the heat from resistance in a bad connection. It's not just the outside getting hot, the metal itself is heating up from the poor contact. Spot on about it sneaking up on you though, @faithcampbell.
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jaken288mo ago
Yeah, a buddy of mine learned that the hard way on his boat. He used cheap hand crimpers on a new battery terminal last spring. It looked fine, but the connection got hot and actually melted part of the plastic terminal housing while he was out on the water. Now he swears by his calibrated crimp tool too. Just shows how a small tool change can stop a big headache.
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faithcampbell8mo ago
Melted the plastic housing? That's actually scary. For it to get hot enough to do that while he was just using the boat. A bad connection really can sneak up on you.
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coleman.gray6mo ago
Melted the plastic housing? I had to read that twice to believe it. I've seen corroded terminals before but never heard of it actually melting the plastic casing on a battery terminal while someone was out on the water. That's a whole different level of dangerous than just a slow drain or a no-start situation. Makes you wonder how much heat that connection was really throwing off before it gave out completely.
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