Wire Connectors - Failed and Useless

Cheapo wire connectors - unsafe and useless in any situation. Do not buy or use these.

[REWYRED]

I am surprised the scotchlocks faired out that well, I have only used them once and that was to fit an artificial load resistor to my turn signal circuits after having installed LED lamps. I did however apply a dielectric grease  before cinching down the connector and after buttoning over the plastic cover... No issues yet and that was 8 years ago.

[dr.martinlutherbling]

I thought this was supposed to show how rubbish Scotchlocks are? Looks like they did fine right up to 30 amps! In any case, the only reason folks continue to buy these rather than the far superior Positaps, is that in Rip-Off Britain we are (yet again) forced to pay ludicrous amounts of money for something that people in the USA and pretty much everywhere else can buy for about a third of the price. Greed leading to failure...

[Hellseeker]

I got my boom booms workin in my new vehicle and used 2 of these to splice a line level converter into one of the rear speakers on the back of my factory stereo, it's working so far. Boom Boom muffukah!

[NNITRED]

Those white gummies are awesome for speaker connection and low-power hobby projects. I love'em but i respect their limits. Great video.

[Equiluxe]

I used scotchloks extensivly when I manufactured trailers, never had any trouble with them, the screw and spade connectors in the lamps were always the trouble spots.

[spelunkerd]

I've found those doubtful connectors sold as part of a 12V DC system for outdoor garden lights. Against my better judgement I installed them as directed by the manufacturer, it was certainly easier than soldering or even crimping with standard connectors. The system lasted a year and then failed, one by one. The problem was corrosion at connectors, with water from the sprinkler system getting in, even though I taped them carefully. Of course overheating was not part of the equation. It is so irritating that manufacturers aren't honest about how they saved a few cents to meet a price point, sacrificing durability. Plumbing fixtures for humidifiers and fridges have the same kind of flaw in the plumbing field. Wise consumers wouldn't trust such an obvious weak link.

[NOWThatsRichy]

Well at least those crappy white things have overload protection - they just melt and the wires fall out!! 😃
We've used Scotch locks in the past for various automotive auxiliary items, towbar, spotlights etc without any problems.

[mikemidulster]

John, I find your channel very entertaining and informative and I especially like your dry sense of humour! There's nothing like having a laugh while getting a refresher on stuff which has been stored away in the memory, but its flow to the front of the head has been impeded by old age, especially when it's most needed.
I would never had dreamt of using 'scotchlocks' on anything connected to the mains. I have used them in cars when it wasn't convenient to solder connections, but ideally I would have soldered connections and wrapped them with self-amalgamating rubber. Since heat shrink became more widely available ( it was widely used in industry long before it was heard of by installers) I've used that.
Your comment, 'this Chinese type of stuff', is a bit misplaced since the vast majority of the electrical or electronic equipment we use in the UK is actually made in China, and some of it is of very high quality.

[jamesgame]

I wish I had a better memory before I buy things! I knew I had seen these somewhere but forgot about the video, so I bought a box of these white spring connectors from Amazon "Senven 68Pcs Spring Quick Terminal Block Terminal Block 10A" in February 2020 and today tried them connecting an LED pixel panel (64 LED's @5v) and yes they started to melt enough for contact to be lost as the wire imbedded itself into the contact block at around 5A. Keep up the brilliant content John and I will try to remember more of what you tell us not to buy!

[alankingvideo]

Small Scotch locks with grease are widely used in the telecoms industry and last for decades. The wire is solid core and the exact correct diameter. Krone connectors are a similar insulation displacement device and in pretty much any home with a landline. The only time they fail is if the cable is not cable tied in. Or they get wet.

I can understand now why there are a lot buildings going on fire.

[TheSiodmy]

it could be interesting to compare the resistances of various connections - whether any of them adds a significant amount of resistance

[greenpedal]

Scotchlock are Insulation Displacement Connectors. Millions of them are in underground telephone cable splices, which incidentally use solid conductors.

[mubd]

I believe Sony and Pioneer still include those Scotchlock connectors with their AV head units for tapping into a reverse wire to trigger the reversing camera. I think some do it for the handbrake too.

[zaprodk]

I was surprised to see the red ones survive! - I absolutely HATE them, since installing them in cars will give you erratic problems that are hard to pinpoint and fix.

[srp]

Glad I watched this - have just bought some led ceiling lamp fittings which were supplied with those white connectors - supplied by CPC-Farnell who really should know better. My lamps will be connected with Wago connectors in proper Wago boxes, and I’ll take some pleasure in chucking the white ones in the bin.

[mbaker]

I used schotchlock connectors for years and never had a failure. You had to use the proper sized reasonable quality wire and not have them hanging in a pool of water. Do that and they are fine. Or to put it another way if the scotchlock failed it was your fault not the connector. In this test they worked fine so I see no reason for criticising them.

[robshorts]

Scotchlock connectors were supplied with just about every aftermarket automotive accessory at one time and seem like a good idea until you find that they are not reliable. I did install an alarm (microscan I think was the make) which explicitly stated in the instructions to not use scotchlock connectors.

[eurobum]

The white connectors are useful for prototyping on the bench when you need to make quick (obviously high impedance) connections. I've been using scotch locks in my cars (interior) reliably for years without issue. Clearly, both not "useless in any situation". You have a talent for overstatement.

[pradolover]

I think scotchlocks usually failed on towbar brake lamp wiring just as you were approaching a disaster at high speed on a motorway. Whilst towing a caravan.