Things You Need to Know About Electrical Wire Connectors

Automobiles, homes, offices, trains, planes, and many more. They need the power to work, right?

One form of power they all need is electricity. So, to let that power flow from the devices, we need electrical wire connectors to connect electrical systems or circuits to a power source.

There are different sizes and many kinds of electronical wire connectors like the following:

• butt terminal connector,
• line splices
• fully insulated female disconnects
• quick splice connectors
• Terminal Strip
• Solder cups
• Crimp Terminals
• Wire nuts and so much more.

Each one has its own use.

Electric crimp connector is present even with our daily life, like when you’re watching your favorite show on television, even on your job or when you’re just turning on the house lights.

We use electrical wire crimp connector on almost everything we do in our life.

So the question is what are electrical wire connectors?

When do we use it? Where do we use it? And why do we use it?

In this article we are going to tackle all of those questions so that we can learn more about electrical crimp connector.

What are electrical wire Connector?

Electrical wire connectors are “connectors” because they are used to connect circuits or systems of different kinds together.

As mentioned, we use electrical wire connectors crimp  in our daily life. When you say electrical crimp connectors, there is a very wide variety and ranges to choose from when buying one.

You should always consider the size and the type you are going to use and always look for the quality of item you are going to buy since you are going to use this with electricity.

The materials that are used to make electrical wire connectors  vary from brand to brand, but they usually made up of brass and copper and given various platings and coatings like PVC (polymerizing vinyl chloride), nylon and ceramic.

What are some examples of common types of electric wire terminals?

• Ring Connectors – it is often used in automobiles to connect relays to engines and other circuits.

Sizes vary from 0.064 inch (fits 0.60inch stud) to 1.276 inches (fits 1.250inches stud). We use this to make a single connection point for two or more wires.

BENEFITS OF USING RING CONNECTORS:

• High durability
• Fire resistance
• Water resistance
• Chemical resistance

• Fork Terminal – or fork spades are like ring terminals the difference between the two is that fork terminals can be removed quickly.

It helps prevent frayed wires and the protection level is very high.

• Pin Terminal – it is a simple terminal that suits the simplest connection; we use this for any type of connections of wires and devices.

Pin terminal offers quick and easy connections where we use clamps and set screws for us to make electrical contact with wires.

• Male and Female Disconnect– is a two part terminal the male part can be referred as plug while as the female part can be referred as a jack and to accept the male pin it has a hole in the center conductor.

What are some types of Male and Female Disconnect?

• Spade connectors – spade connectors or spade terminals is one of the most popular connectors, as it allows a quick and easy connection and disconnection from wiring connection.

• Bullet connectors – bullet connectors is like spade connectors that are easy to connect and disconnect but this one is designed with a round barrel.

These are less popular than spade connectors, but you can find them in older cars as it uses this kind of connector.

The wires in this connector can be accidentally pulled out from the terminal if you are trying to separate the halves.

An advantage of bullet connectors is that they give a reliable connection, and still you can disconnect and reconnect easily when used on device that moves around often.

• Cord End Terminals– also known as electric wire ferrule is a metal tube crimped over stranded wire so that we can secure the strands inside a screw terminal.

We use this terminal to terminate the end of a cable, prior to fitting screw type connectors, for the strands of wire to stay together we place the end of the stranded wire inside the ferrule.

• Twin Cord End Terminals– also known as twin bootlace ferrules, are like cord end terminals but this one is larger and are used for two stranded cable to connect and terminate them.

The design of the crimped terminal helps protect cores and improves the current properties of the connection.

• Quick Splice Connectors– it is also called T-tap splice connector and scotchlok connector is the easiest way to splice, split or tap electric wires and connection.

Quick splice connectors are used in commercial and industrial electrical wirings.

• Screw on Wire Connectors– has many names like twist-on wire connectors, wire nuts, wire connectors, cone connectors and thimble connectors.

They are widely used in North America in residential, commercial and industrial building power wirings. We use this to twist or combine two or more low-voltage (extra low-voltage) electrical conductors.

It is available in a variety of shapes, sizes and colors. Twist on wire connectors is usually made up of insulating plastic but there are other brands that are made up of ceramic which was originally from UK and now sold in South Africa under the name of “porcelain scruits”.

• Solder Cups – Solder cups are needed for conductors as the in-line solder termination. This style of terminal is designed as a pin for connector bodies and is widely used in connectors such as XLR, D-sub, Mil-Spec and many more.

• Butt Terminal Connector – in 2018 this is the most popular connector. Butt terminal connector also known as butt splice connector it is a form of “crimp” connectors. Crimp connectors are used to connect wire to another.

What are the types of Butt Terminal Connector?

  1. Non-insulated butt connector – size ranges from 22-18 gauge and go up to 3/0 gauge.

   2. Vinyl (PVC) insulated butt splices – they are for splicing 22 gauges to 2 gauge wires. Vinyl (PVC) insulation is the cover of these splices which gives them 600 volts electrical ratings.

 3. Nylon insulated butt splices – we use this to repair, extend or change an electrical circuit and it comes in 3 sizes- 22-18 gauge, 16-14 gauge, and 12-10 gauge. These are more suitable for automotive electrical system.

4. Heat shrink butt connectors – these connectors are used for harsh environments like outdoors or wet areas. Sizes are available only to wires that gauges from 22 down to 10 gauges. These connector works well with 12, 24, 120, and 240 volts.

5. (Galvanized) high temperature butt connectors – Like almost all the butt terminal connector sizes are available to wire sizes 22 gauge to 10 gauges. This nickel plated steel allows operation with temperature as high as 900 degrees Fahrenheit (482 degrees Celsius).

 6. Terminal Blocks – Terminal blocks are connectors and we use it to terminate a single wire so that we can connect it to a circuit or other system.

Terminal blocks are very useful in a semi-permanent wiring connection which may require inspections, changes in wires and repair (that is why terminal block is commonly used by many).

They are usually made up of plastics, screws and other insulating materials and they come in a wide range of sizes and shapes.

Advantages of using Terminal Blocks:

• Cost – friendly
• Easy installation
• Increase safety
• Time saver
• Reduce space

NOTE: The biggest disadvantage of terminal blocks is that if or when vibration happens, the wires can get loose. Even those that are well-secured connections are prone and vulnerable to being knocked loose.

What are the types of Terminal Blocks?

There are different types of terminal blocks and they are as follows:

• Screw Terminal– is a type of electric connector that uses screw to tighten the wires. We can use a flat-blade screwdriver, a cross-blade screwdriver, hex key or other tool to tighten the screw depending on the design.

We used this mostly on building wirings so that we can distribute electricity and phone lines.

• Barrier terminals – is like screw terminals because they both use screws to hold wires or cables in place.

Sometimes this type of terminal block has more than one termination point for multiple cables and they are mostly found in domestic wiring.

• Push-fit terminals – is a terminal block that uses spring-loaded levers to lock or hold the wires or cables to the conductive part of the terminal.

But unlike other terminal blocks this one is not reusable because when the cables or wires are already locked by the spring levers, they will not allow them to leave effectively holding the cable or wire in place.

• Pluggable Terminals– pluggable terminal blocks are a two part terminal the plug and the socket with a push-in design to connect wires or cables to the terminal blocks.

This type of terminal block is very useful if there is a need for hot-swapping (replacing or adding components without stopping or shutting down the system).

When do we use electrical wire connectors?

We use electrical wire terminals in many ways.

For example, in automotive in a simple way we use it in our car battery we have the positive terminal and the negative terminal which uses ring terminals.

But not just in our car batteries we use it even in the lights, power windows, stereos and many more in our cars.

And it does not end there we use it to on our homes and offices too like the electrical panel board even the simplest form of electrical socket has wire terminals and connectors too.

Where do we use electrical wire connector?

We use it to transfer electrical current from a power source to a use. If there is electricity, then there are always electrical crimp connector.

When you see circuit boards or wires there is always wire terminals present.

Why do we use electrical wire connector?

Simple! It is for our safety and protection.

Safety and protection from where? From getting electrocuted or starts a fire which leads to being hospitalized or worst, even death.

When working with electricity, safety is the most important thing we need to understand that is why we use electrical wire clamp connector. Electrical wire connector protect our home, devices and appliances too.

Factors Why Using a Connector is Better:

1. Installation time
2. Labor costs
3. Free up your maintenance crew
4. Production time
5. Design and lead time

DO’S AND DON’T’S OF USING ELECTRICAL WIRE CONNECTOR

To ensure that the wire has the connection it needs, here are things that you need to do:

• Check the rating of each connector

Wire terminals have ratings in amps. This is a very important information in choosing the right terminal because it can ruin a repair, damage a vehicle and sometimes put people in severe danger and fire. So look at the rating closely.

• Look carefully at your options

Different brand names and colors, all connectors and terminals are just the same. They may do the same job, but they may not be built with the same quality standards.

• Use the correct tools for the job
• Make sure these tools are maintained and functioning properly
• Smooth sharp edges on lugs caused by crimping dies
• Fully test the ruminations after installation

Below are what you should NOT do:

• Don’t be confused with the brand’s name

Labeling a common design with a fancy marketing approved name can hype up a company’s product.

It testifies its efficiency that most matters than the price. Sometimes, out of all that jargon is a useful information. So better yet, look at the technical specifications.

• Don’t leave your shop out of the process

Nobody knows the components you use other than the people who used them. Most of the time, the shop team has better and valuable feedbacks about which works best and which they rather not use, information you cannot see and won’t be able to see in any catalog.

• Do not rush any part of the job
• Don’t cut corners or take any shortcuts
• Don’t allow any secondary wiring to be damaged when installing
• Do not allow sheds on adjacent cores of a three-core termination to touch, it can lead to discharging

We hope you find this information helpful about electrical wire connector and how they are used in the world of electronics. May it be at home, at school, the companies where we work or whether we are building, an electrical  crimp connector can be our best tool.