Dave J
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| posted on 3/11/05 at 11:37 AM |
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insulated terminals
Hi Guys,
I've read several times that all electrical terminals have to be insulated to pass the sva.
What is the definition of insulated?
My crimped terminals have the hard plastic insulation over the portion that is crimped, is this suitable? or are we talking insulating caps that cover
the entire terminal and bolt?
If so where can I get some at reasonable cost, hopefully in the leicester area so I can avoid postage (usually end up wanting something that costs
0.75p and paying 4 times that on postage )
Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Dave.
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Aboardman
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| posted on 3/11/05 at 01:21 PM |
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I just standard crimp terminals nothing was said.
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DarrenW
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| posted on 3/11/05 at 01:26 PM |
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Those crimps with the full plastic cover are insulated. Definition is as simple as you cant touch the conductor. In some cases i coulnt get that type
so i made the connection, slipped a length of shrink sleeving and shrunk it down to insulate them.
Some people get away with std crimps, some fail due to not being insulated. Safe bet is to make all connections insulated.
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Dave J
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| posted on 3/11/05 at 02:41 PM |
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Thanks for that guys,
I understand and have done exactly as you say when joining two wires together, but what about the crimped eyelets.
The crimped wire joint part is obviously insulated, but where the screw/bolt goes through is not. ie bolting any earth terminal to chassis. Does the
bolt head etc need covering similar to the starter motor connections?
Thanks,
Dave
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ReMan
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| posted on 3/11/05 at 10:32 PM |
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You'll be OK if you've taken the trouble to insulate adjacent terminals from each other and from the chassis, with the exception of earth
connectors which are connected to the chassis!
If you're stuck, i've ammassed a good collection of terminals and can get by VWP quite often.
www.plusnine.co.uk
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DarrenW
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| posted on 4/11/05 at 09:33 AM |
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As reman says, where you have used eyelts to connect earths, this effectively makes the whole chassis and any matal bits connected to it the earth
terminal which cannot be insulated. What is most important is that the live connections are insulated, and if they became detached could not earth
themsaelves out and result in fire etc.
The SVA man specifically told me that the main area people fail is unsupported cable runs (take care with 300mm rule - if the cable needs supporting
more frequently due to risk etc then they need to be closer) and open terminals. He also commented that it is good practice to keep all cables away
from any heat source. On my Pinto installation the easiest path for the alternator feed to battery is under the exhaust manifold, i didnt take this
path instead routing around the front and down the near side.
I guess you need to be poacher turned gamekeeper when making the car safe. You have to do rish assesments and almost do FMEA's in your head
while you are working. Tinking all of the time what could possibly (and sometimes impossibly) go wrong in normal use, after component failure, during
maintenance, after accident and take steps to prevent it where practicable.
If in doubt ring local VOSA centre. I found them very helpful earlier this week.
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Dave J
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| posted on 4/11/05 at 12:23 PM |
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Thanks Colin and Darren. From your description and good advice I reckon I should be ok. I guess as the dreaded SVA looms (no pun intended) I'am
getting more and more paranoid and wound up.
Thanks for the offer of the connectors Colin. I think I'm ok at the moment.
All the best,
Dave
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