Trouble with the Faston crimping

[waldenpotato]

I'm building some Oakley power supplies but I'm having some trouble with some of my Faston crimping - the wire pulls out and doesn't stay snug.

I am using the following:
- Klein Tools 3005CR crimp tool
- Faston blade terminals 2-520184-4

Is there a better crimp tool or a recommended technique to getting these crimps right?

[jonibabaa]

Only a bit of experience with Faston, but your tools sound ok. What gauge wire are you using, and are you making sure to catch some of the shielding in the crimp? You probably don’t need to strip too much off the ends. Often, tinning the end of the wire with solder helps.

[waldenpotato]

Only a bit of experience with Faston, but your tools sound ok. What gauge wire are you using, and are you making sure to catch some of the shielding in the crimp? You probably don’t need to strip too much off the ends. Often, tinning the end of the wire with solder helps.

I am using 18 AWG stranded wire. But I think I've figured it out with your help. I noticed that sometimes I would accidentally snip off a strand, causing the wire diameter to be slightly smaller than it should be. What ended up helping me out was tinning the ends of the wire! The tinning adds just enough meat so that the crimping too properly crimps the thing to the wire.

Tinning was the answer for me. Thank you.

[emmaker]

I've got several crimpers (not good expensive ones) made for those and have never really gotten them to work.

What I use that works is a small set of vise grips/locking pliers. I adjust the width for the barrel and wire. Then crimp the barrel/wire with the grips perpendicular to the barrel.