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Heat shrink method. This method uses a piece of heat
shrink to cover a damaged area on a single insulated wire. Heat shrink is a
tubular plastic like material that shrinks down to half of it's normal diameter.
To use this, you would slip on a piece of heat shrink, 1/2 to 1 inch over the
damaged area. Then you would use a heat gun to evenly shrink down the
material until it is melted down adhering to the wire surface. This method works
well with wires that have a small knick in the insulation exposing non broken
wire strands. Heat shrink is available in most electronic stores. If you have
any broken wire strands, then
you would use the splice method.
Heat shrink
Splice method. This method is used when you have damaged
or broken wire metal strands in areas that are not exposed to harsh
climates. These splices are your typical (butt) splices that can be found at
almost any hardware or electronics store. First you cut out the damaged area,
while cutting out as little wire as possible (to conserve length). Next you
strip the wire ends only enough so that it extends out of the splice at a max of
the diameter of the wire. Then you insert a wire end into each side of the
splice and crimp down with crimpers until the wire is fastened securely in the
splice barrel. Give the wire a gentle tug to make sure it is seated properly.
This is usually the cheapest and quickest way to splice, but if you need to
splice in dirty or wet areas, then the environmental splice method should be
used.
Butt splices
Environmental splice method. This method is used when you
have damaged or broken wire metal strands in an area that is exposed to harsh
climates. For example, boats, in a dirty vehicle engine area, or outdoor
wiring. First you would want to cut the damaged section out of the wire, usually
only enough to give you two clean, undamaged ends. Now you would want to strip
off the insulation on both sides. The rule of thumb here is to only strip off
enough insulation that you will end up with no more than the insulations
diameter.
A red (22 gauge) environmental splice.
So for 22 gauge wire, that is pretty small (about 16th of an inch).
Then add the heat shrinkable cover over the wire an push out of the way for now.
Next you will crimp the splice on both sides making sure afterwards that your
wire does not detach with a gentle pull. Finally you will push the splice cover
over the metal splice, and using a heat gun, shrink down the cover until it is
evenly melted and adheres to the wire insulation and crimp. These splices can be
ordered online or sometimes be found in an electronics store.
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