The ills of wiring

mhyatt

As an EE and long time electronics freak and having wired everything from a sewing machine to a rocket, I can say the biggest issue with wring is corrosion and loose or bad connections.  I purchased a used Tab CS, I love it and used it more in the first year than the previous owners did in 3.  When installing a solar kit, tire monitor system and a few other gadgets, I noticed that the wiring J-Box down below on the underside of the trailer there were several terminals that were poorly clamped to the wires.  This is a common problem, when the wire is smashed during the crimping process, the wires splay out and then eventually the mechanical and electrical connection fails, the wire falls out or vibrates and causes hidden, mystery electrical issues.  I took the time to remove each wire, check the crimp, repair as needed and then soldered the wires into the crimp - painful and time consuming yes - though I have peace of mind, the connections will not fail because of splayed wire in a crimped terminal and with the dirt roads, bad highways and generally poor road conditions I have come across, the last thing anyone needs is to get where they are going and nothing works.

The other option I considered was replacing the J-Box with one that had all screw-clamp connections, though without attaching a ferrule to the wires the same problem will occur and of course now you have the crimp issue with the ferrule as well- a double whammy on a bad connection.

So this winter, while your camper is chilling in the garage or in the driveway - take some time to inspect those connections and make sure they are clean and tight and then coat with a good quality electrical connection sealant to prevent corrosion and make sure the rubber boots on the JBox are in good order too.  Make sure to torque the terminations properly as well.

The other issue I noted is the lack of service loop in the wires, so when working down there, be careful and do not pull on a wire to hard, you may cause a problem somewhere else or worse yet break a wire.

Keep on camping!

Cheers.

pthomas745

@mhyatt, this is good advice.

Could you explain to this electrical dummy what a "splayed wire" is?

And....what rocket!?

tabiphile

Ah yes....splayed. That's a high tech term for squished. 
What @mhyatt has done is to solder the individual strands of wire into a nicely shaped and relatively solid end that can be properly tightened down. Had he not done that the loose strands of wire don't all get properly secured when they are tightened down, depending upon how careful and lucky you are. This is one of those things that anyone with a nice old high-end stereo does to make sure that they have perfect connections. It's good solid advice and well worth the time. 

BrianZ

Great advice, @mhyatt!
Just last month when I was checking the battery on our tow vehicle, I noticed that the plastic cap on the positive terminal wasn't staying snapped on, and the cutout in the cap made for the 7-way charging cable needed some trimming for a good fit.  WhiIe fixing this, I noticed the crimped connector on the charging cable had a few strands hanging out & it didn't take much tugging to pull the cable completely out!  When I installed a new connector, I both crimped & soldered it on, as well as using some heat shrink tubing for added protection.

And today I repeated the process when installing a new ground wire on the Alde cabinet..

tomtek

tabiphile said:

Ah yes....splayed. That's a high tech term for squished. 
What @mhyatt has done is to solder the individual strands of wire into a nicely shaped and relatively solid end that can be properly tightened down. Had he not done that the loose strands of wire don't all get properly secured when they are tightened down, depending upon how careful and lucky you are. This is one of those things that anyone with a nice old high-end stereo does to make sure that they have perfect connections. It's good solid advice and well worth the time. 

Important note its ok to solder into a connector but not for tinning a wire into screw terminal.

The reason is as you mention the tinned end is nicely rounded and thick when tightened down and in time the solder will cold flow and become loose.  May take months or years but it will happen.   Just don't do it it poor practice.

Soldering into a connector will provide lifetime of solid connection.

Tom

Denny16

A splayed wire is a multi-strand wire (not a single solid conductor) that has been fanned out so the wire strands are now flat, and not twisted together in a bundle anymore.  (I know this was previously posted, but I want to reinforce the need to check these poorly done connections).  I had a battery cable not correctly crimped and when I pulled in it, the wire came out of the connector terminal.

The normal solution is to tin (put a thin coat of solder on the wire strands) to keep the wire from flattening out (splayed), and coming loose from the terminal.  A better yet solution is to put a wire connector on the tinned wire and heat it until the solder flows in the connector, then add shrink wrap and connect it back to the terminal strip, like this:

This is how nüCamp should have wired the TaBs, with the correct connectors so,Derek or securely crimped and connected to DC wiring buss bars.

I know nüCamp makes well designed and built trailers in their TaG and TaB line, but they need to pay more attention to some of the details.  I would be more than willing to pay a little more to have a properly done marine standards DC wiring done in the TaB.  Going the extra effort to do this type of work does add to the trailers total cost, but it would put nüCamp in a class of its own.  

Cheers 

Maxcamp

Nucamp 2021 used a Phillips bit in power drill to smash down your wires under Square drive screws.  Also stripping out every screw head on the camper.    Terminal crimps are often too close to end or poorly made and gave no heatshrink.  Certainly good to tug and test now and upgrade as necessary. 

If you survive your failed e brakes you will find the overslack wires rub against tires on bumps and wear right through.  They must be rerun.  Splicing creates uneven impedence and uneven braking.  Many owners report this installation  and brake failure.  Actionable.

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/4388/pd-4135-installation#Comment_182549