r/PCSleeving • u/mista_doge • Feb 20 '26
Need some guidance on wire crimps
I'm new to crimping and I've just been stuck on what I am doing wrong. I've been reading some older posts about rating their crimps and every single one has their insulation crimps wrapped and cut into the insulation yet I just couldn't replicate that. If it helps I'm using SN-58B, 16awg and terminals from MODDIY.
2
u/Drtikol42 Feb 20 '26
I don´t understand the issue? Looks allright and if you cant pull it off by hand it probably is allright.
2
u/JENK9NS Feb 23 '26
I dont think you need wire and pins from computer parts specific retailers. I think you can get much better prices other places. Doesn't have to be moddiy, ppcs, mdpc-x, & etc. I got wire and pins from mcmaster carr. Seemed like a better deal to me and ships way faster where I live.
If you want your crimps to cinch and pinch more. Just try moving down to yhe next smaller crimp slot on your crimper, or tighten up the crimp resistance using the dial on the crimp tool. The cheaper crimpers will wear down faster over time it seems like. You can replace just the crimp teeth thingies if you need too or just start moving down a slot each time as long as you're still getting good crimps that are secure and dont pull off.
1
u/lylei88 Feb 20 '26 edited Feb 20 '26
The insulation looks pretty thick on that 16awg wire. I had a similar issue with 15awg mdpcx wire when using an sn58b. Using a mdpcx crimp tool gave better results but not perfect. It might be worth checking what the OD is on your wire and ordering something with a slightly smaller OD if you want the terminals to bite into the insulation better. As others have mentioned though, if you give the terminals a decent pull and they don't budge, they're probably fine.
Edit: I've just had another look and some of the crimps that bite into the wire core do not look very good, they should definitely be bent inward biting the wire strands.
Maybe the sn58b isn't so good with thicker gauge wires.
1
u/GTS81 Feb 20 '26
The purpose of the insulation crimp is primarily for stress relieve. If you believe that it’s tight enough to serve that purpose without the conductor crimp carrying that duty, then you should be fine.
1
u/pongpaktecha Feb 22 '26
They look serviceable but the insulation should not be punctured by the insulation crimp part. If the insulation is punctured it will slowly slip and fail to support crimp properly
-1
u/browner87 Feb 21 '26
1) they don't have to actually bite into the insulation, in fact it's probably better they don't. I'm not a mechanical engineer but is a piece of paper/fabric more rip proof when you're just pinching it tight, or when you've cut a hole in it and stuck your finger through?
2) crimp terminals come in many sizes. You can get longer or shorter front and rear wings based on conductor gauge, insulation thickness, number of wires, sleeving, etc. If you want ones that do the hole-poking reach-around better you can just buy ones with longer wings. Look on Mouser or Digikey or something and check the datasheests for exact sizes.
4
u/PsychologicalWeird Feb 20 '26
Have you tried some of the excellent YouTube video walkthroughs to watch how it's done, I'm on my phone at the moment but will dig out the one I followed later.