Examples of Correct/Incorrect Crimping

Examples of correct terminal crimping

Checking crimping results

A correctly crimped cable should look like this:







- Core wings (1) should be completely pressed over the stripped core of wire.

The first illustration shows the copper strands in the core in cross section where they are completely compressed and covered by the core wings.







- Insulation wings (2) should be completely pressed over the cable insulation.

If a seal is used for cable terminal it should be pressed under the insulation wings as shown in the illustration.

Check the position of the cable

This is how a cable should be located In the terminal:







- The stripped core should be under the core wings (I). It must not stick out too far in front or behind the core wings.

- The cable insulation should only be under the insulation wings (2). It must not lie too far out in front of or lie too far in under the insulation wings.

Check the cable is firmly inserted by carefully holding the cable terminal and pulling on the cable.

Check the cable terminal locking tabs
If the cable terminal has locking tab/locking tabs, check that they are not damaged or pressed inward so they will not engage when the terminal is inserted in a housing.

Poor results after crimping
If in doubt after crimping compare the results obtained with the examples incorrect terminal crimping. Examples of incorrect crimping. Where the crimping results are not correct, the operation must be repeated using a new cable terminal.

Examples of incorrect crimping

CAUTION: The most common reason for poor crimp results is using the wrong crimp tool/crimp tool insert for the cable terminal or the wrong area on the matching cable terminal/cable.

Core too large for the core wings







The illustration shows the cross section of the core crimp. The core wings are too small to completely cover the core of stripped copper strands.

Core is too small for the core wings







The illustration shows the cross section of the core crimp with the core which is too small for the core wings. As a result the core is not firmly held in place by the pressure of the core wings on the copper strands.

Reason
Incorrect crimping as shown above can be caused by:
- Cable terminal is the wrong size for the cable area
- The wrong crimp tool or the wrong forming section in the crimp tool was used.

Incorrect location of cable/cable terminal
The stripped cable is not located correctly







The cable has not been pushed far enough in. The entire stripped core must be located within the core crimp.

The stripped core is too short







The cable insulation is too far forward and has caught under the core crimp.

The stripped core is too long







The insulation is not fully located in the insulation wings.

The stripped core is too long







The stripped core is too far forward past the core crimp.

The stripped core is incorrectly crimped







The strip section is the right length but one of the copper strands is outside the terminal, indicating the terminal was incorrectly located in the crimp tool forming jaws.

All of the strands must be pressed together within the core wings.

Reason
Incorrect crimping as shown above can be caused by:
- Stripping the cable too short or too long.
- Incorrect location in the cable terminal.
- The cable terminal was incorrectly located in the crimp tool forming section.