RedGTiVR6

After the recent influx of shoddy wiring showing up on these boards I feel that it is imperative to have a FAQ regarding proper termination and connection techniques.

I'll start off with this critical link:

http://www.mmxpress.com/technical/connections.htm

Earmark is a premier Car Audio shop here in the D/FW area in Texas.

This is taken directly from their page: http://www.earmarkcaraudio.com/install_default.asp


This is from a company that provides a lifetime warranty on everything they do. There is a reason they do things the way they do.

While my husband worked at Circuit City as an Instillation and Sales manager for the Car Audio portion of numerous stores in the College Station and Dallas area, he and his co workers took pictures of various poor wiring jobs that they ran across from other stores and from individuals brining their cars in to have things done properly.

Here are some of their pics:

Poor Wiring:


Rewired properly


Improper Hood pin install for an alarm:


Stereo wires not even secured under the hood:


Alarm brain and all the wiring - what a mess:




Wow - not even sure what to say here, bare, exposed wire, among other things.


Properly installed...so much prettier, much less likely to be damaged in every day use, much less likely to fall apart, much less of a fire hazard, and much more likely to work right.


Sometimes, you need to contort to get into the right position to work.


I plan on taking some pics on soldering techniques sometime soon. If anyone else would like to add, please feel free.

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RedGTiVR6

A good page regarding crimping, terminating and soldering:

http://www.andersonpower.com/products/tooling/use.html

read it, learn it, live it.

another: http://www.svconline.com/mag/avinsta...not/index.html

more: http://www.tpub.com/neets/book4/12f.htm

http://www.enjoythedrive.com/content/?id=24745

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kickercivic1

Mine was done at so called "authorized" dealer and looks like this picture.

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07 Jetta
Carputer:
Voompc-2, Intel 1.33, 1GBram, 60gb HD, Dynamix 8"

Audio:
front Qsd 216
Rear QSD 213
Rockford (2) p2 10" subs
JL 500/1
JL 300/4
Audigy 2 nx

RedGTiVR6

Test your soldering knowledge: http://www.autoshop101.com/tests/intest7.html

http://www.popularmechanics.com/auto...tml?page=3&c=y

http://www.mmxpress.com/technical/connections.htm

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RedGTiVR6

My husband spent a good part of his management with Circuit City as the manager that fixed other stores problems. He was so good at it that CC would specifically send him to other stores to essentially fire everyone and start new with competent installers and would fix the stores problems.

This was one of the instances.

There will always be bad installers. You just need to know what to look for and how to pick out good installers.

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kickercivic1

I am getting the the 791xv installed, soon, but i want to completely uninstall my 561xv or whatever. I have no clue where to start from tho.

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07 Jetta
Carputer:
Voompc-2, Intel 1.33, 1GBram, 60gb HD, Dynamix 8"

Audio:
front Qsd 216
Rear QSD 213
Rockford (2) p2 10" subs
JL 500/1
JL 300/4
Audigy 2 nx

DJiK

To help Red with her quest, here are some pics from my latest wiring job in the car.

Breif history: the wires running from the car to the trunk's lid were poorly designed by the Audi engineers in my car's model.
Whenever the trunk would open/close, it'd stress the wires out by over-stretching them.
They got to a point of snapping. By the time I noticed it, 6 out of 8 wires were torn apart.

Pics:
Before


During


After


Summary:
Every wire was extended by a few more mm's.
The same gauge size was used.
There are two soldering points to each wire (1 at either end) and a tubes of heat-shrink applied to each soldering point.
As seen in the last pic, the whole wire bundle is covered with two large heat-shrink tubes and routed around the joint with zip-ties.

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For Sale: Carputer (CarPC) & RCA Y-Adapter
Newsflash: Take a look at my unsold stuff above, thanks!
Up Next: Make an OBD to Serial cable & Redo the "MMI buttons"

RedGTiVR6

very nice!

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racerx3165

There will always be a grey area when it comes to connections but i will say this the more work it takes to make the connection the better it usually seems to be. Personally i would never use a solder-less crimp in anything i have seen so many of these cause noise / and pull out with minimal force. So imo solder with some heat shrink is the only way, and since i was fortunate enough to attend a high reliability soldering class the AF offered i am somewhat ok at it

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Cars
1994 Mustang GT Punch 240.4 2 12" Kicker Comp

2006 Suzuki Aerio Sx Kicker KX 650.4 RE 10

2003 Eddie Bauer Expedition DVD - Navigation Package Untouchable says the wife

Car PC
[x---------] Dash Is Off and Dreams are Floating

coach

I have given up on solderless connections to. I have used all sorts, and though most work for standard setups/simple devices I don't like doing it. Everything outside the cab is soldered for sure. Mainly because of conditions and stress/vibrations. Inside the cab I started doing it because of shorts and so on. It is all worth the time.

Brent

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1999 Nissan SE-L - turbo toy
1993 Nissan NX - Turbo Racer

Standalone fuel management (AEM EMS) on both
carPC

turbocad6

personally, I solder EVERYTHING... the only thing that won't be soldered is if a wire is terminated in a junction type block (fuse holder, distro blk... etc..)

you'd be surprised how few pro's do this.... I've argued with plenty who will try to tell you it's not necissary.... as a matter of fact, I'd say that almost no one really solders everything as far as install shops go.... but the reason is to be competitive pricewise & to be able to be productive time wise... you see guys advertizing alarms installed complete for $249... guy down the block says $229.... then the guy around the corner does a $199 special..... most customers are totally stupid & actually shop ON PRICE!!!! so that's what you get....

for me to PROPERLY install a remote start alarm I'll take anywhere from 6 hours to double that & more depending on the vehicle..... I don't do my installs for the public anymore, but I did an escalade for a good customer recently, & the new cars are a ton of work, with special interfaces, etc... it cost this guy like $800 in labor alone to do it right!!

most ignorant consumers are the cause of the shoddy work!!!! I have customers/friends ask me all the time... there looking to spend a few hundred to install a remote start!!!!! I naturally tell them of the mistake they are making, & that a proper install will START in the $6-700 range easily... but BS... the next thing yah know, "oh, I got it istalled for $350 from xyz whatever"....

shoddy workmanship is caused by ignorant consumers that are driven on price & price alone...

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MY NEWEST INSTALL:modded infiniti fx with big screen - "If my typing sucks it's probably because I'm driving....................."

first windows carpc install........my liquid cooled LVDS screen :D

RedGTiVR6

A HOW-TO on soldering:

http://www.mediacollege.com/misc/solder/index.html

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