The Correct Way to T-Splice an Automotive Wire Without Solder

My recommended equipment for doing this:

This is my method to doing a t-splice (splicing a new wire into an existing wire) without solder. It is better to solder but this method works great and is strong if you can't solder for whatever reason.
If you cannot get heat shrink over the splice area, use one of the following:

Hope this helps someone. (I sold the company that I mentioned in the beginning of this video.)

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▬ ABOUT JASON DEBLER ▬
I have been a car enthusiast since the age of 2. From watching professional drag racing to bracket racing myself and being involved in significant projects with the Chevrolet Camaro and automotive agencies, cars are my life.

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▬ WARNING – DON’T DO ANYTHING DUMB ▬
I do not claim to be an expert electrician, your experience and results may vary as well as opinions (no matter how rude). Standard disclaimers apply. This video is for entertainment purposes only. I assume no responsibility for any damage to watching my videos. Please be careful - the consequences of a mistake could be disastrous.

#jasonsgarage #splice #howto

[ronniehooperjr]

I like your disclaimer of its YOUR opinion and putting emphasis on that. Everyone has their own methods. This method looks like one I should TRY. I’m ALWAYS looking for a better way. I never thought of this method.

[calimesacox]

Been doing this for years. I was an alarm installer at a local car dealer. And never ever has a come back on my installs. Keep up the good wiring. The only drawback is sometimes you can't get heat shrink on it.. my favorite is the marine heat shrink, it has a sealant that seals as you heat the tube..

[jeremyhanna]

My dad was electrician for 40 + plus yrs he did splits same with solder and waterproof heat shrink will last forever

[AmeriFanPicker]

Used this method to tap into the reverse light for my backup camera install. Coming up on one year ago and still perfect.

[danlarson]

Thank you. As a Rosevile resident I can speak to the quality of the install team at Best Buy

[NewFrontier]

My personal opinion from what you are describing right here is it's not a safe practice.

However as a get you out of trouble quick fix to get you home repair, I would say this is the best I've seen.
Thanks for sharing.

[christopherboucher]

I was watchimg thinking to my self that's how I do it except, ..(Thats when the my way Is better thing kicked in) I would use dual wall heat shrink and you'll never get it apart with out cutting it or machine power. And pow.. You mentioned it. I just happened across it at the hardware store one day and was blown away by how well it worked. Those are the best automatic strippers too. I put a tiny bit of pressure down on the left side when it's cutting the insulation and they tend to not slip off so much. Drove me nuts. Cheers on the video man. :)

[spencermaiers]

Great video with honest observations about opinions. The wire will break before it fails. Well done.

[brucemoxon]

Looks like a good method, I always used to solder to get a guaranteed connection, however I then read that in aircraft, all the joints are crimped as soldered joints can break at the point where the tinned joint becomes bare copper . so crimping is now my preferred way, but your method is probably as good

[VioletGiraffe]

Thanks! I just "invented" this connection just thinking about possible way to T-splice a wire, but I've never seen this before and was wondering if it's a viable way to do it. Now I know it is!

[frankvalencia]

Awesome tips buddy thanks!!..I'm tapping into a 12v ignition source and I avoid those blue wire taps whenever possible ..going to use this method ..thanks

[littlebill]

FYI on the vice grip stripper that yellow bar is to give you a consistent wire strip length, if your doing a middle pull like that, that yellow bar flips down...

[TheoryBrown]

Lots of comments on here are funny. They treat soldering like it is the holy grail. Newsflash: solder will corrode and crack over time. If properly sealed with heat shrink the type of joint shown in this video can outlast solder in the harsh environment of a car (movement, vibration, etc).

Don't believe me? No worries. Take a look at every car manufactures' wire harness...zero solder. All the connectors are crimped on because solder would fail.

Need more proof? It's good to be skeptical; I commend that. Take a look at why older electronics fail. Digital dash modules from the 1980s, old ecu modules, old computers and arcade machines...they overwhelmingly fail because the solder on the circuit board corrodes and cracks eventually.

With that said, soldering wires is great. It is strong and secure and will last many many years. My point is that soldering is not automatically better than the many other ways to connect wires...As long as we can all agree that scotch locks are trash. Lol

[oldaxehead]

This honestly is a fine way to do it, no reason of using solder for car audio at all. The better way would have been to crimp it with a non insulated butt connector, and then using heatshrink tubing or starbrite's liquid electrical tape.

[samuelbailey]

Absolutely horrific.

1st issue here and I understand this is an example but the grey cable has a much smaller cross sectional area than the bigger cable and therefore a larger current carrying capacity. The fuse protecting the larger cable will not provide sufficient protection to the grey cable.

2nd, you have no idea what damage you've done inside the cable by stripping it and pulling it apart with a hook like that. That is very fine stranded wire and I'd amazed if some of the copper strands didn't snap.

If you don't have a soldering iron and want to do this properly, get yourself some straight through crimps, strip the insulation from the existing wire using a sharp knife and use the straight through crimp to join the new cable to the existing. Follow it up with some insulation tape.

[oyamistaeroponics]

Thank you for the informative video. I'll be adding solder and shrink wrap for durability and safety.

[kevingeorge]

Very nice! the fact you just threw the crap connections
away!!!

[saraho]

Thanks dude! I wasted so much time on similar head lights yesterday mostly spent on research (I’ve never done any kind of electrical wiring) I wish I came across your video prior to. I ended up using one of the stupid quick clips and the turn signal isn’t working on the headlights but the halos are. I only had enough time to install one headlight. I’m going to install the other headlight this way then remove the quick clip on the other headlight and try again🤞

[rickylibby]

I was just about to unwantingly go to Walmart, to get the splice connectors, but saw this and your opinion on the splice connectors and now I just saved a trip lol. Thanks for the great video, keep it up!👍

[KeniWilliams]

Not sure if the title is correct. But certainly one way to do it which is easier than my personal recommendation. Which is cut the wires so you have three and use a double barrel crimping sleeve to make the mechanical bind. Solder is an option too but again not mine . Good tutorial pal 😊