The #1 Mistake Homeowner Make | DIY Electrical

There is one electrical failure I have seen across every house I have owned. It is an easy and common mistake to make but can be easily avoided with a little knowledge and the right parts. I will demonstrate the wrong way and then 2 solutions to this issue to help you avoid this common failure point in residential electrical systems.

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DISCLAIMER: This video and description contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission.

[hannahshepherd]

God Bless you young man, I live alone in a rural part of Maine and electricians don't even return your calls up here. It's not something I want to try & repair, replace outlet switches etc, but with your help I will try it when it's absolutely necessary. Thank you

[domenicfp]

I actually purchased the Wago kit with the inline from your affiliate link when I purchased my new home. They have been a godsend for me putting up all the light fixtures in the new home. I did wrap each with black electrical tape after the first fixture I installed was not working, and it was due to a lever being lifted. So it was a great tip to secure the wago with electrical tape.

[weldo]

Another useful video. Wish I had seen it yesterday while installing a new landscape light on a tree. Especially leaving the insulation on the wire for twisting.

[vg]

What I like to do when mating solid wire to stranded is tin the stranded with a soldering iron and solder. I tin it good, then heat it again and flick the excess off into my soldering iron sponge. This keeps the stranded wires bonded for no strays and thickens it a tiny bit for better connection integrity. If the stranded solder is not shiny, that's referred to as a Cold solder, so heat it again, add more solder and flick it off again so the strands are bound without a build up of solder. I do this for wire nuts, WAGOs, crimp butt splices and crimp terminals. And for crimp terminals, I sometimes solder the crimped area for the best, most secure connection, without melting the crimp cover insulation as best as possible, just the exposed strands beyond the crimp. Sometimes the insulation cover can be pulled out of the way and put back in place without damaging it, but not always, so I only do that accordingly.

I bought a WAGO multi-size kit from your link, but that was before the Inline WAGO was available or included. The two wire size WAGO is good enough for me now, but I'll get the other at reorder time. Great tips about using partially stripped insulation to twist the stranded wires and having an extra 1/8" of twisted stranded extending beyond the solid when stranded mates with solid in a wire nut! Another great one, Scott. Thanks

[barryminbiole]

1. Use wire nuts with metal spring inside vs all plastic
2. Shorten the solid wire to about 3/8" and longer stranded wire. So solid wire does not bottom outvin the wire nut and extra wrap of stranded around the solid wire.

[FMAMGV]

With stranded wire with those type of strippers, I will make the "cut" part of the strip with the solid gauge and then go up a size when pulling the jacket off. Works really well in a production environment. Also I leave the jackets on until I'm ready to put into a Wago or crimp into a connector.

[hassanbazzi]

Every statement you mentioned makes a lot of sense. Great info. Thank you for sharing

[mariojuana]

I’m always learning more and more from your channel. Thank you.

[rml]

I’ve started using Wagos whenever I’m wiring up light fixtures. So much easier to ensure a solid connection with those pesky stranded wires.

[csimet]

This is the #1 use case I have for Wago connectors (mixed wire types - with stranded). I now keep a supply on-hand at all times.

Up until they became mass available, I tinned my "loose" stranded wire to ensure proper wire nut connectivity after running into far too many improperly connected junctions. It is worth keeping a soldering iron handy and spending an extra couple minutes tinning.

[paulattanasio]

Didn’t know about the 2 different sides of the strippers for solid and stranded. Also love the tip about using the insulation to twist the stranded. Thanks!

[briandish]

When twisting those stranded wire you should twist in a clockwise direction and not counter clockwise!

[nicholasscurti]

I first learned of Wago thru Cruiseman's Garage, a motorcycle video channel, then by you, & have brought several kits, even one for my son. Then you shared the single version, which I initially had trouble finding. They are all great & I find them indispensable for adding motorcycle accessories. Thanks.

[David.M.]

Great advice, I have being using wagos ever since I saw your earlier videos. Made connecting wires easy!

[deadmanswife]

Two minutes in and I already learned two things.

[David-fbfn]

I’m always learning something new from your videos. Just when I thought I knew all there was to know on this subject! Thanks for the great information.

[KameraShy]

Amen to the Wago Lever Nuts. They are a must now for me in connecting solid to stranded. I always had the bad results described in the video.

[REXOB]

Love me them lever nuts. So much easier than wire nuts for a DIYer.

[hardlyb]

Once I learned about Wago, I never went back for lighting fixtures. I still use wire nuts for outlets and junction boxes, because I think they are slightly better - and having one of those Ideal electrician screwdrivers with the ratcheting wire nut tightener in the handle saves my hands when wiring multiple boxes - but for low current applications, Wagos are the best.

[JCWren]

The reason those larger devices use stranded wire is because they can be soldered directly to the printed circuit board (PCB) inside the case. It's basically impossible to solder solid wire to a PCB without it either ripping a trace of the PCB or cracking the solder, which of course will result in a high resistance or intermittent open connection. Also, at 4:19 it's evident that your solid neutral has been stripped too far back. Shouldn't have any copper showing past the edge of the wire nut. If you were pre-twisting two solid wires the strip back would be about the right length. Most wire nut packaging has a striping guide on it, and the length varies depending on the number and type of wires being used.