crimping lugs causing wings. should i redo?

[rillweed]

I am wiring my system for my camper van and after a few crimps I decided to research why I am getting wings when crimping my lugs. I am using temco wire, lugs and crimper so I was expecting not to have any problems with this. Most threads suggested I have a cheap crimper or lugs but with everything from temco I expect that not to be the case. For the larger lugs (2/0 for battery, inverter) those seem to crimp fine but the smaller ones (4-6 AWG so far) have had trouble with wings.

For my remaining lugs I plan on crimping half way - then rotating the lug and finishing the crimp to help prevent this issue. I have also tried the die a half size up for crimps but that was too large.

Is this enough of a problem that I should buy more wire and lugs (if needed) and start over? I don't have enough on hand to re-do these if it is necessary. At a minimum I plan on adding these lugs as something to check as I do my routine checks looking at terminal torque

 

[ricardocello]

Rotate the lugs with wings so the wings can be crunched down with a second crimp?
Make sure it is lined up properly.

 

[Mattb4]

Sometimes I end up with wings when crimping. So far none of them have caused any issues in use. I suspect the OCD folks will chime in and say how horrible they are and that you should redo all of them. Be careful about trying to crush down wings by rotating them in the die. That actually can lead to opening the crimp.

 

[ricardocello]

Sometimes I end up with wings when crimping. So far none of them have caused any issues in use. I suspect the OCD folks will chime in and say how horrible they are and that you should redo all of them. Be careful about trying to crush down wings by rotating them in the die. That actually can lead to opening the crimp.

Depends how big the wings are. I don’t recrimp at maximum force.
My issue with wings is that the sharp edge could tear through the heat shrink wrap I’m trying to put on.

 

[CMDRZOD]

Wings are a sign of overcrimp. Depending on the amount of wing it might be fine, and then again it might have cut strands and cause an area of higher resistance. YMMV.

 

[Brett V]

Most inexpensive chinese crimpers come with metric dies. They give you the choice of too big or too small for SAE cable/lug sizes. The slightly too small size generally works fine but you will get wings. I turn the completed crimp 90 degrees and flatten the wings, can't see them under the heat shrink.

 

[rhino]

Plus if you are using a hex crimper I don't see how recrimping can cause anything to loosen?

 

[SparkyJJO]

My crimps like to pretend they are birds and flyyyy away.....
Except I bolt them down so they're grounded.
But they complain because they're on the battery positive, how can they be grounded?
Semantics....

 

[Mattb4]

Plus if you are using a hex crimper I don't see how recrimping can cause anything to loosen?

By causing the wing area to fracture.

 

[rhino]

By causing the wing area to fracture.

Maybe some people have really super thick wings? If that's the case it is definitely user error in selecting wrong die. Any wings I've had were pretty thin so very malleable and would never cause damage recrimping.

 

[ricardocello]

Maybe some people have really super thick wings? If that's the case it is definitely user error in selecting wrong die. Any wings I've had were pretty thin so very malleable and would never cause damage recrimping.

It’s subjective of course, but thick tall wings means you picked the wrong el-cheapo lug, or the wire size is way too small for the lug.
I also enjoy using the Temco mid-size dies from time to time.

Now sometimes, you just run out of the right lug and need to do the crimp anyway.
I won’t entertain you with how to bend over individual stands to increase the wire size. Not recommended, of course.

 

[Mattb4]

Maybe some people have really super thick wings? If that's the case it is definitely user error in selecting wrong die. Any wings I've had were pretty thin so very malleable and would never cause damage recrimping.

It is more a case of work hardening. Metal once bent becomes more brittle. I have seen micro fracture lines (and visible cracks) happen the few times I have tried to end up with the perfect crimp. So now I just crimp once (hydraulic crimper) and do a pull check to ensure that the crimp is tight.

 

[740GLE]

I am wiring my system for my camper van and after a few crimps I decided to research why I am getting wings when crimping my lugs. I am using temco wire, lugs and crimper so I was expecting not to have any problems with this. Most threads suggested I have a cheap crimper or lugs but with everything from temco I expect that not to be the case. For the larger lugs (2/0 for battery, inverter) those seem to crimp fine but the smaller ones (4-6 AWG so far) have had trouble with wings.

For my remaining lugs I plan on crimping half way - then rotating the lug and finishing the crimp to help prevent this issue. I have also tried the die a half size up for crimps but that was too large.

Is this enough of a problem that I should buy more wire and lugs (if needed) and start over? I don't have enough on hand to re-do these if it is necessary. At a minimum I plan on adding these lugs as something to check as I do my routine checks looking at terminal torque

Post a picture!

 

[Offthewall]

Yea the cheap crimpers sizes are always too small or too big… so I use one from each… happy middle ground and minimal wings.

 

[kommando]

Most inexpensive chinese crimpers come with metric dies. They give you the choice of too big or too small for SAE cable/lug sizes. The slightly too small size generally works fine but you will get wings. I turn the completed crimp 90 degrees and flatten the wings, can't see them under the heat shrink.

Correct, I have a set but being in UK we have metric cable and these cheap crimpers work fine on metric cable. The Chinese cannot be bothered to do a set of dies for AWG so you end up with issues in the US.

 

[Will Prowse]

A picture would help a lot here

 

[marionw]

Metric cable, Metric lugs and Metric dies.
SAE Cable, SAE lugs and SAE dies.

The wings create a weakness in the crimp that with expansion and contraction from heat (or vibration in mobile applications) can eventually result in the wing fracturing at the tip.

If you bend a thin sheet of metal back and forth enough you can rip it in half, particularly when the bends exceed 90 degrees. How many of you have done that with a beer or soda can.

 

[rillweed]

All of the cables have been covered with heat shrink already, but I think you can see enough from this pic. I don't know why i crimped this one with the terminal rotated 90°, I'll have to make sure it doesn't interfere with good contact.

My 2/0 crimps do not have any wings on them

 

[Mattb4]

Yeah, I would cut those off and redo.

 

[Q-Dog]

Your crimper dies and lugs don't match.

 

[rillweed]

I used the temco TH0006, with 4AWG wire (temco) and temco 4AWG lugs. I am certain I used the dies labeled 4AWG

 

[robbob2112]

In the first post - he says Temco lugs, Temco crimper, Temco wire.

I use the TH0005 - it came with + size dies... so it can crimp between the standard sizes....

Your wings are because your dies are too small for the lugs.... (not enough room in the die for the lug) Or the wire is to small for the lug... the lug compresses more than it should

Try starting one size larger and crimping then switching to the correct size and crimp again.

 

[Supervstech]

This is why I moved to punch lug crimper… nice solid crimps,

 

[bestconcreteblock]

Try starting one size larger and crimping then switching to the correct size and crimp again.

This.

Do some sample crimps. Write it down when you find a sequence that works well.

 

[rillweed]

I had tried using the + size on the 4AWG lug / wire but it was too large and the wire could still be pulled out afterwards. I don't know if there is a benefit of doing that and then trying the normal 4AWG size, but I could try it