Suitcase connectors

[Bob]

I am doing my first electrical work and am not feeling very competent right now: I am using 14g solid wire for my bus and 22g solid wires for the feeders to the track.  I have bought two brands of suitcase connectors that are appropriate for wires of this size, but for the life of my I just cannot close and clamp them shut.  If I use pliers, this distorts the connector and the bit that folds over won't snap into place.  Is there a trick to using these things?  I just tried ScotchLok connectors that are sized for 18 to 22g tap wires and 14 to 18g run wires and just can't close the darn things.  I figure I can't be the only one who has tried these things and just can't close and snap them shut.  Any advice?

[Bob]

I think I get it - you use pliers to push in the metal thing, then you close the plastic lid.  I was trying to use the plastic lid to push in the metal bit.  Duh.

[Bendtracker1]

You figured it out Bob.
I use regular pliers, others I've seen use small Channel locks.
Just make sure you place the pliers squarely on the clips, otherwise you'll bend them to one side or the other.
Takes a bit of practice...

[garethashenden]

I have had a terrible time with these connectors, I avoid them now. Both not squeezing enough to make a connection and squeezing so much that the wire gets cut. Lots of people use them successfully, so I'm going to assume its a personal failing.

[nickelplate759]

I have a special pair of pliers from Klein for closing these:



Alas, I'm not sure where I bought them.

[thomasjmdavis]

They can be bought through many electrical supply companies, or from Home Depot- (I think these are the same as the ones pictured)
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-5-in-ScotchLok-Crimping-Pliers-D234-6C/100647722

I am not sure if they come in different sizes. There are various listings that came up in my search-  "Suitcase" "Scotchlok" and "IDC" connector pliers, which all look the same, but I haven't compared model numbers.

[mu26aeh]

I just used standard pliers, making sure im over the metal and squared up.  99% success rate

[Bob]

THanks everyone!  TRW is so great - you can post any question and in 24 hours experienced models provide clear answers.  Such a great community!

[Point353]

The following video recommends using Irwin vice-grip type pliers (with parallel jaws) on "suitcase" type connectors.

[Mark5]

The following video recommends using Irwin vice-grip type pliers (with parallel jaws) on "suitcase" type connectors.
<snip>

Thanks, I've always been OCD about soldering everything, but I bookmarked this excellent video for consideration on my next layout. 

Mark

[robert3985]

When I first started out in the middle 1980's (or was it the early 1980's?????) doing NTRAK modules, I soldered everything.  My father, who was an electrical engineer working for GE and Douglas United Nuclear on the Hanford Atomic Reservation in Washington State, taught me early on how to solder, so soldering my model railroad connections wasn't a big deal.

However, since (obviously) NTRAK modules are portable, I found after a few years that many of my solder joints were coming apart during transportation to and from setups.  It was easy enough to tip my 6' modules up on their sides and re-solder the joints as well as inspect existing joints to determine if they looked like they were going to fail, and re-solder them.

But, after a few years of setups and transporting my modules in the back of my Suburban to various destinations, it was beginning to be a PITA to count on at least one or two failed solder joints every setup.

Soooo, when I finally decided to go with DCC, I also decided to completely rip out my old rat's nest of DC wiring since my new DCC wiring would be much less complicated.

Although it is inevitable that some solder joints were going to be necessary, I decided that the vast majority of wire-to-wire joints were going to be joined by using Genuine Scotchlok IDC's making sure to use the correctly sized ones suitable for my wiring.

For the joints that needed to be soldered, I decided to use 96/4 Tin/Silver solid core solder because it is 5 to 6 times stronger than "normal" Tin/Lead electrical solders. I used soldered joints only on my toggle switches I used to actuate my Tortoise switch-motors (which also have soldered wiring) AND for my 6" long solid-copper track feeders soldered to the bottoms of my Code55 and Code40 trackage...soldered to each and every piece of rail (not relying on flimsy rail joiners for electrical continuity).

In the years since I installed my new DCC wiring, I have not had a single failure at a joint completed using a Genuing Scotchlok IDC...which is much much different than my previous experience with soldered wire joints.

So, I highly recommend using the Genuine Scotchlok IDC's for model railroad wiring, as I have been convinced they are more reliable than soldered joints.

Photo (1) - Nearly complete new DCC wiring under one of my 6' long modules/sections that make up my portable home layout with MANY IDC's being used:

[Tom4884]

I use channellock for my layout,  went thru two bags of connectors with only a couple of failures.  The trick is to get the jaws fully across the connector and straight on so pressure is applied evenly across the whole thing.  You want to push the connector straight down which is why I use channellock over plyers.

Tom

[MK]

@peteski you moved this to the incorrect Sub Forum.   

[peteski]

@peteski you moved this to the incorrect Sub Forum.   

It is now where it belongs.  I did move it accidentally from N/Z to  the wrong sub forum this morning and when I realized, I moved it again to the Electronics section.  Obviously something went wrong (not sure what, but likely it was me screwing it up).

[GaryHinshaw]

There was a weird warp in the forum's spacetime this morning.  I saw it in the Events sub-forum and I tried to move it to DCC and it automatically bounced back to the Events forum.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯