tap into 26 ga wire

T

theliman

Member
what's the best way to tap into a 26 ga wire? i'm trying to tap into map light power on my 4th gen, it looks about 26 ga, with an LED. the smallest crimping device i can find is for 18-22 ga.

do i just strip the plastic, split the wire, wrap it with the led wire (like this guy at 1:40 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jtvi7bGenC4), solder (if able), wrap in electrical tape and i'm good to go? don't know much about this stuff.
 
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Find the map light in the fuse box and tap it there with an Add-a-Fuse of the appropriate size. I wouldn't hack into your harness unless you absolutely had to.

If you do absolutely have to, solder and heatshrink are the way to go. Just twisting the wires and wrapping in electrical tape is a recipe for failure. Possibly black and sooty failure.
 
KidVermicious said:
Find the map light in the fuse box and tap it there with an Add-a-Fuse of the appropriate size. I wouldn't hack into your harness unless you absolutely had to.

If you do absolutely have to, solder and heatshrink are the way to go. Just twisting the wires and wrapping in electrical tape is a recipe for failure. Possibly black and sooty failure.
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So if I need to extend the LED wire to get up to my map light area, would twisting it onto additional wire and electrical tape overtop be similarly bad?
 
theliman said:
So if I need to extend the LED wire to get up to my map light area, would twisting it onto additional wire and electrical tape overtop be similarly bad?
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Yup. In a best case scenario, that'll eventually turn into a parasitic draw that drains your battery. In a worst case scenario, it blows your fuse repeatedly, unless it doesn't, in which case it starts a fire.

To lengthen the wire on your LED lamp so it reaches the fuse box, solder and heat shrink is best, and a quality crimp with heatshrink is slightly less best. Twisting and taping is something I'd do in an emergency. If you're careful and have good tools you can have success with butt connectors and electrical tape, but every wiring flaw I've come across has been due to improperly installed/crappy butt crimps or scotchlocks and a poor insulation job with crappy tape. I think it's easier to do it "right" with solder and heatshrink, and since you can do it on your bench instead of in a cramped space, it makes more sense.

Soldering is actually fun, once you get the hang of it. I solder every chance I get.
 
KidVermicious said:
Soldering is actually fun, once you get the hang of it. I solder every chance I get.
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Would love to but a relatively transient, apartment-based lifestyle has kept me from building up a nice tool collection (yes, excuses). Could solder at a friend's, just anxious to get this done! Oh well, need more patience to do it right
 
KidVermicious said:
Speaking as a telecom guy, we call scotchlocks "job security". Those things cause more trouble than they fix.
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That is what I usually hear but the ATT guys used to keep approx one zillion on their trucks.

Occasionally I make a fake pic of a beanie tied into a network switch or on a CAT 6 cable and email it around to the network geeks. That gets them all flustered :faint2:
 
Not sure what I'm looking at there, but probably. Put a multimeter or test bulb between a 12v source and one of those bolts, if it goes to ground you can use it.

It's not necessary, but I like to ground stuff straight to the battery just to eliminate variables. You've got grommets in the floor pan underneath your carpet, you could bring a ground strap from the negative battery terminal under the truck and through that grommet and terminate it about anywhere up under the dash, and then use that as a grounding point for almost all your aftermarket wiring.
 
KidVermicious said:
Not sure what I'm looking at there, but probably. Put a multimeter or test bulb between a 12v source and one of those bolts, if it goes to ground you can use it.

It's not necessary, but I like to ground stuff straight to the battery just to eliminate variables. You've got grommets in the floor pan underneath your carpet, you could bring a ground strap from the negative battery terminal under the truck and through that grommet and terminate it about anywhere up under the dash, and then use that as a grounding point for almost all your aftermarket wiring.
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The bolts are holding what I think is the sunroof motor where I pulled the maplight out. What would happen if it were not a proper grounding point, would it just not work? As in, can I just "try it out?" Thinking I will use add-a-fuse as you recommended into the power outlet spot. Don't have multimeter
 
Sure, try it. If it doesn't work it doesn't work. If those bolts fasten to the body, they should work though.

A cheap multimeter is $5 at Harbor Freight. and super handy to have around. You don't need one of the fancy models with all the bells and whistles for basic 12v work.
 
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