Spades
Branching spades
Bullets
Multi-way
With this type of spade connector the cover cannot be pulled back but you can test the voltage on the wire but putting the meter or test-lamp probe in alongside the wire, as well as reach the spade:
You can't pull the connector off the spade by pulling on the wire as a sprung pin on the connector engages with a hole in the spade. Slide the cover back to depress the spring and move the pip out of the hole to release the connector from the spade. Remember electrical tests need to be done with the connector on the spade, not removed from it:
This type has a translucent insulating cover than can usually be slid back to expose both connector and spade for testing. A small pip on the connector engages with the hole in the spade to prevent the two from vibrating apart, but doesn't need to be depressed for removal, just give the connector - not the wire! - a tug:
When adding wiring I use 'uninsulated' blue spades so I can solder as well as crimp, then use heat shrink to insulate them:
The flat crimp tools that come as part of a kit and are supposed to cut, strip and crimp are pretty useless, at the very least you need this more robust kind, even then I do two crimps side by side:
It's also worth investing in a decent pair of strippers, these are excellent on any gauge of wire and don't damage the conductors:
It's been said that solder runs down under the insulation past the end of the connector and makes the wires likely to fracture. Well, yes, you could do that but you would have to hold a powerful iron on for far longer than it's needed. What's probably more likely is using an iron that's not powerful enough so you have to hold it on so long before the solder runs into the joint that the insulation gets damaged. It's all about using the correct tool, in the right way. In any event I use heat-shrink over these uninsulated spade connectors and onto the wire which resists bending where it exits the connector:
Piggy-back connectors, very useful for daisy-chaining additional circuits off existing spade connections:
Other types from various sources for connecting two or three existing females to a male, or interconnecting two or three females, click on the image for the type you want:
... with bullets both sides and sleeves accessible with a test probe:
Bullets for use with MGB bullet connectors. Crimp-type need a special tool that acts on the neck of the bullet. Don't use the insulated crimp-type bullets as the red ones are too small and the blue ones too large for the standard connectors: (Nigel Atkins)
Crimp tool for the above. Bullets are inserted one side only (the hole the other side is smaller) to ensure the crimp is in the waisted section of the bullet. This from Amazon at £29 with free delivery (November 2024), other sources can be up to £60 plus delivery for what seems to be the same thing:
Whereas original crimps are a hex shape below the head and at the base round the insulation (left) this tool uses two surfaces only under the head (centre and right). The ones I've found at double the price give no indication that they perform a hex crimp. Not shown here but as with spades I solder them as well to ensure a good electrical and mechanical connection:
Typical original (top) and current stock (bottom) bullet connectors. The original have rubber sleeves slightly smaller than the metal part so is a tight fit. Modern stuff uses plastic sleeves of these same size so the metal part can easily slide out of the insulator and short out on surrounding components: (Nigel Atkins)
Original connectors have a pronounced dimple that the head of the bullet must be pushed past to snap into position, which also retains it very firmly. Modern connectors have a much less pronounced projection so the bullet can be pulled out more easily: (Nigel Atkins)
Original connectors have another projection in the middle of the metal part (arrowed) which helps prevent one bullet being pushed too far in, so preventing its opposite number being pushed in far enough. Modern connectors don't have this: (Nigel Atkins)
For easy of assembling cut a notch in the handles of a pair of pliers just large enough to slip over the wire but press on the back of the bullet:
Make sure the closed distance between the handles is less than the length of the metal part of the connector or the bullets won't be pushed in far enough:
Preparing to push the bullets in, put a little Vaseline (a fraction of the cost of so-called 'dielectric grease' and 'dielectric' means 'insulator', never use silicone grease on electrical connections) on the bullets and in the holes you are going to use and it will act as a lubricant and sealant against corrosion ...
... squeeze until the outer covering is compressed ...
... and the back of the bullet is flush with the end of the metal sleeve:
'Odd' bullets i.e. only 3 wires are dealt with in the same way. Finally make sure the metal part is centralised in the outer covering:
You can get 'closing tools' from any number of places but given how hard I find I have to squeeze the handles of my pliers to get them fully in - especially in original connectors and even with Vaseline - they look rather flimsy to me. At typically £25 I'll keep using my modified pliers: (12v Planet)
Others look more robust but the jaws are shorter and it looks like they will push the bullets at an angle and not square-on.
These after-market crimp bullets are only any good for one-to-one connections and don't fit the original connectors - the blue are too small and the red too big. Whilst the red can be forced in they expand the connector and the standard bullets are then loose:
Translucent multi-plug where a probe can be inserted alongside the wire to reach the pins, both sides:
However black and grey multi-plugs are usually moulded onto the wires with no access from the back. In this case all you can do is slightly part the connector just enough to expose the pins, and even then only the pin-side. :
Connector pins can be teased out of the non-moulded type by sliding a bit of tubing over the open end, to depress the two little tabs that can be seen here:
For projects and modifications Autosparks sell multi-way kits in 1, 3, 4, 5, 7 and 9 pin configurations - at a price!
If you need to power several additional circuits from the same power supply whilst you could piggy-back off piggy-backs it's not the best. For those situations you can use one piggy-back to pick up the supply from a convenient location, and take that to one of these WAGO221 connector blocks which allow you tee-off anything up to four other wires. You could cut a factory wire but that would take up two positions and personally I don't like cutting in to factory wires if it can be avoided. Rated at 450v and 32A (although when mine came they are marked 300v and 20A) with slots for a test-meter probe you flip up the orange lever to insert the wire - 24AWG to 12AWG, then press back down to clamp it firmly. If you need more than four circuits they can be daisy-chained. There are cheaper push-fit versions but they are no good for stranded conductors. Available from various sources, RS Components may be slightly dearer than some but at the time of writing they have no minimum order and free P&P for standard postage:
