Ah Dude......
"My dad's a TV repairman he's got the ultimate set of tools"
In case it is not painfully obvious crimping the insulation only simply won't cut it.... Doh'....
Jeff Spicoli would be proud.....
Who Let The Smoke Monster Out
Once again improperly made terminations lead to the smoke monster getting out of his cage....
"I Need Some Help With My Wiring"
New boat owner and this is what he had to deal with. When you read "kit boat" in the advertisement, well.......... (wink)
Nail As Wire Support = Dead Short
I found this little "issue" on one of the supposedly well built Taiwanese boats. The builder decided that bending copper nails over the non-duplex wire was a good way to create wire support.
Perhaps they never noticed that wire staples utilize a PLASTIC INSULATOR. Guess how long and how much of the boats headliner needed to be taken apart to locate this short....?
Sloppy builder tricks at its finest....
Fry Egs On An Alternator Anyone...?
Large AGM battery bank + a dumb regulated non temp-compensated alternator = FRIED STATOR!!!!!
What A Waste...
This owner paid $1.42 each for these expensive heat shrink terminals to be "professionally" installed. It took one glance for me to discover the crimp tool used destroyed each and every terminal... Argh......
One Owners Idea Of A Termination
The red wire with blue terminal disappearing into the electrical tape was this owners idea of a good VHF connection. No over-current protection and only a taped friction connection against the starter cable..... Ouch!!!
And Here's The Starter Lug
This is why I was there, a complaint of a weak starter motor.... No kidding!!
Vise-grips are NOT crimp tools...... I literally pulled this wire out of the lug with my bare hands.
Using a "proper" crimp tool on this lug would require over 1000 pounds of pull force to get it out of the terminal.. I pulled it out with approx 10 to 15 pounds.....
"My Macerator Won't Work?"
Funny, I can't understand why... This terminal fell off in my fingers once the heat shrink was cut away..
I guess I will say it again.. PLIERS ARE NOT CRIMP TOOLS!!!
But hey the heat shrink was doing a very good job at hiding the inadequacies of the poor installation practices...... +1 for the heat shrink, -10 for the overall execution....
We Can't Even Count On The Factories To Get It Right...
These are decent quality DOUBLE CRIMP friction fit terminals. They are SUPPOSED to be installed with a double crimping tool. One crimp is for the wire barrel and the second crimp provides strain relief.
The manufacturer of this product used a DIME STORE quality crimp tool for a product intended to be directly connected to the BATTERIES!!!!
But wait there's more, buy now and we'll send you two crappy products.. Oh wait wrong commercial... Not only did Xantrex use the WRONG tool, they used the WRONG TOOL INCORRECTLY.
If using a staking or dimple crimp tool the dimple ALWAYS goes OPPOSITE the seam!!!!
Someone please give Xantrex/Their Chinese factory a lesson on proper crimping...... Sheesh..............
This is a pathetically embarrassing example of corner cutting and cost saving at its worst. Sad really..... Shame, shame , shame on you Xantrex!!!
My Engine Won't Start
Geez, I can't understand why..... Oh and note the excellent termination of the small black wire to this rusted mess.......
Interestingly enough this was a USCG Inspected off-shore fishing vessel with a CURRENT USCG sticker. I have confidence in our government, do you....? (wink)