bullet connectors

So I was hoping to redo all my electrical this spring.
I've realized every female bullet connector that i touch has been corroded, and are falling apart. Does anybody know a source to get these in bulk?

you need to find some younger female bullet connectors. when they get old they get ugly.

Everything that you'll ever need can be found at
http://www.britishwiring.com/

Two vendors are:


Advance Autowire http://www.advanceautowire.com/


British Wiring http://www.britishwiring.com/

British Wiring, however, does not take orders through their site. They have PDF pages of their catalog (download some, good references) and then you call to order. Minimum $25 order.

Moss also has them. I did not know Advance Autowire handled the Brit bullet bits.

I think you are right to figure on replacing the connectors. I've tried to clean them (using a .177 caliber "rifle" brush available at a gun shop/sporting goods store) and it's not common to find that they will clean up without breaking. At least on my car.

When you put them on, use a dab of dialectric grease (any auto parts store) on each to "seal" the connections--keeping the Lucas Smoke inside where it belongs.<G>

That's awesome thanks guys. Really looking forward to going thru all the electrical, and these sources will do it. Thanks again.

Hi, do you mean the actual bullet connector or the sockets? Sockets unless unduly corroded can usually be cleaned up and reused. If you're replacing the bullets take the time and solder these onto the wires. And as suggested by others use some di-electric grease to achieve a first class result. It will take time but very rewarding, so good luck.

Triple-C also sells the bullets and the female connectors. Just another option.

http://www.triple-c.com/Products_and_Accessories.cfm?page=2&pa=list&sc1=5&sc2=34

The OE female connectors appeared to me to be made from spring brass, a fairly good conductor, but also one that did not lend itself too well to the forming necessary to make these small tight tubes. Spring brass can become pretty brittle from both forming, and as it corrodes, and most seem to fall apart along their length. What I have noticed with those I've bought since about 2000 is that the metal tube inside has been made out of something different - not sure quite what, but more resistant to both corrosion and to fatigue that causes them to crack. FWIW

X2 on Lee's recommendation to buy a decent crimping tool, mine cost over $100, but does superb crimps.

There is the argument that one should solder each connection, but if you think about it every car and electrical item being built today has all electrics crimped.

The problem with soldering is that it requires considerable skill to both get a good joint and to not melt the insulation, which were some of the driving forces to go to crimping commercially, you could use unskilled labour,ie cheaper.

In the 70s when solderless jointing was coming in I couldn't get my head around it. However, all the information that I read up on said these solderless joints were much more reliable than soldered ones.

Herb

Bob x2. Replace all the snap connectors (what you are calling the female bullet)under the hood (the bonnet), and behind the grille. Brush the bullet connectors with a wire brush before pushing them into the snap. Good to go for another 30 years.

http://www.autosparks.co.uk/index.php?cPath=129

You mean these?

Although I'm a big fan of soldering I would concede that if a good quality crimping tool and good quality connectors are used then a satisfactory connection can be achieved. Most crimped connectors and connections that I come across are awfull, might as well just strip the insulation, twist the copper wires together and then just wrap some insulation tape around it.
Having said all of that I would still recommend a good solder joint which can be easily achieved with a little practice, about the same amount of practice you would need to achieve a good crimped connection. And just as you would need to invest in a good crimping tool buying a suitable soldering iron and good solder are essential to achieve the desired result.
It amazes me how many MGE readers attempt to repair electrical faults in their vehicle without some basic tools. A good multimeter, wire strippers, side cutters,several pliers etc etc did I mention wiring schematics and the "Astley" book, are not just necessary but are great investments and if they are of superior quality you will only have to buy them once. I have purchased numerous used "Made in USA" tools on eBay, and although this sometimes becomes an expensive exercise due to shipping costs, I believe the quality is well worth the price. Mike

[quote=hsim4mahgod,1972972,1973326]
Although I'm a big fan of soldering I would concede that if a good quality crimping tool and good quality connectors are used then a satisfactory connection can be achieved. [quote]

I crimped AND soldered all of the connections in the Advance Autowire harness that went into the V8.

I got quite good at both.

I also used dielectric grease in all connections.

I really like www.crimpsupply.com. Great selection of tools and terminals and they have it all in stock and ship it same day.

Order 20 or so singles and 10 or 15 doubles. That way you will have some new ones as you go along,sometimes the inner pieces of the females can be saved with a small wire brush,a buddy of mine with a midget just rolls his own tubes around a nail in a vice. He acquired some brass sheets from the hobby store and uses that. So you can make your own inner pieces. I still believe that a bullet connection is better than a crimp when done with di-lectric grease.....But,
I too was a great fan of the solder and heatshrink side too. Crimp connectors made me cringe when looking at a wiring setup in a car. I am an aviation hound as well and there was a crash where the owner of the plane had re-done the main connection to the alternator with a soldered and heat shrunk connection himself...much as perhaps I would have done,(in his place) to improve a crimped connection in such a vital place on an airplane he was going to trust his life to. The connection failed in flight due to the solder migrating up the copper strands and stiffening the wire causing a flex fracture to occur beyond the solder and heat shrink. Contrary to manufacturures spec's which of course which called for a crimped connection...Go figure.:)-D


Mark

"The connection failed in flight due to the solder migrating up the copper strands and stiffening the wire causing a flex fracture to occur beyond the solder and heat shrink."

This is a standard failure with soldered connections, called wicking. There are special tools used to prevent wicking of solder up under the insulation along with special training to do critical, Milspec soldering on all electrical/electronic work on military and NASA systems, followed up by strict quality control inspections. A reliable crimped connection is much easier to make by untrained persons than it is to make a reliable solder connection.
Cheers,

Dip the male connectors in some grease or vaseline before re-assembling and you may never have problems with the connections corroding again. Do the same for your tail and signal light bulbs. If the factory would have used grease on the connections on assembly our cars would not have gotten the bad electrical rep

Their stuff is not "compatible" with the British bullets. Different size.

Good source for other stuff, though