TICONN T-Tap Wire Connectors: 480-Pc $14, 240-PC $8.40, 120-Pc

How about that.... FrontPage with no comments.

These 3M copycats are probably fine for very low amperage on a size up wire, but when it matters, one might opt for protected soldered connections.

If say, you are using the full amperage of a 12guage stranded wire, whereas the current is traveling on the circumference of each strand of wire, the splice connection is the bottleneck by catching just the external wires. These would supply most of the rated current better with solid wire, but the wire tension loosens over time to cause arcing.

As an example, these will probably work fine for low wattage LED trailer lights if you waterproof the connection.

Are these even UL rated?

These things are pretty cool (I use the Wirefly version), but I wouldn't use them for any heavy loads. If you're tapping a wire for a few milliamps, this should be fine, though. I've used a few of these in the past week, and it definitely saves time and trouble when working with 12v wiring, for example.

These work by forcing a metal blade through the insulation. On finely stranded wires, this almost guarantees some strands will be cut as well. I've also experienced the opposite, where the T-tap latched completely in the lock position, but it hadn't cut through the insulation enough and wasn't making contact with the wire strands. I had to crimp it hard with pliers. Yes, I was using the correct size.

In the end, after years of car electronics work, I've learned to just say no to T-taps. A quick military splice [gm-trucks.com] is an all-around better/more dependable splice when you cannot access either end of a wire.

Wow, thanks OP. Literally was looking at these yesterday for some car install stuff. What are the odds!

Quote from firebirdude : These work by forcing a metal blade through the insulation. On finely stranded wires, this almost guarantees some strands will be cut as well. I've also experienced the opposite, where the T-tap latched completely in the lock position, but it hadn't cut through the insulation enough and wasn't making contact with the wire strands. I had to crimp it hard with pliers. Yes, I was using the correct size. In the end, after years of car electronics work, I've learned to just say no to T-taps. A quick military splice [gm-trucks.com] is an all-around better/more dependable splice when you cannot access either end of a wire.

I'd agree that a military splice is the best way to go if you want to be absolutely sure. Just need to find a good deal on the wire strippers to strip a wire in the middle.

Purchased these last time, payed for itself in two projects I was working on, ( tapped into my reverse lights for aux" lights, & clearance lights for the front of my truck.

Quote from shoka_con : These things are pretty cool (I use the Wirefly version), but I wouldn't use them for any heavy loads. If you're tapping a wire for a few milliamps, this should be fine, though. I've used a few of these in the past week, and it definitely saves time and trouble when working with 12v wiring, for example.

I been using these on 12v 3 amp lines for a few months. Works well and no issues.

Quote from izzletodasmizzl : I'd agree that a military splice is the best way to go if you want to be absolutely sure. Just need to find a good deal on the wire strippers to strip a wire in the middle.

Any pair will work. I use these [parts-express.com] 99% of the time.

In for the small set. For $6 in change it's a good deal for basic, low voltage or speaker installation.

Quote from ToolDeals : How about that.... FrontPage with no comments. https://static.slickdealscdn.com/ima...lies/smile.gif These 3M copycats are probably fine for very low amperage on a size up wire, but when it matters, one might opt for protected soldered connections. If say, you are using the full amperage of a 12guage stranded wire, whereas the current is traveling on the circumference of each strand of wire, the splice connection is the bottleneck by catching just the external wires. These would supply most of the rated current better with solid wire, but the wire tension loosens over time to cause arcing. As an example, these will probably work fine for low wattage LED trailer lights if you waterproof the connection.

There is a lot wrong with this comment:

Current doesn't travel on the circumference of stranded wire. That's not how it works. It sounds like you are misunderstanding the skin effect that causes current to travel in the "skin" of conductors at high frequencies. This is a byproduct of some RF behavior and isn't relevant until you to get into the 10s of Kilohertz. At DC and 60Hz the skin effect is negligible and the full cross section of the wire will carry current evenly regardless of stranding.

Catching the external wires doesn't create a bottleneck as you suggest. This isn't a situation where the flow of current is only as strong as the weakest link. If you look at the math for conductors and total resistivity per unit length, it is perfectly acceptable to have very small regions of poor conductivity as their relative contribution per unit length to the total resistance of the system is negligible. The only exception to this is if there is sufficient heat generated at those points where the resistance is slightly higher. I couldn't comment on the resistance of a particular T-tap junction, but catching out wires in and of itself don't necessarily reduce the performance.

Solid wire vs stranded wire does not improve or retard current flow in any significant way. It all looks like a bulk conductor of specified cross sectional area for all intents and purposes (at the frequencies being discussed here).

That said, is a solder connection better? OF COURSE? Is it a huge hassle? YES. Would I do a solder connection instead? Yes I would, unless it was time or cost prohibitive.

I bought a set last time these were marked down. While they are simple to use and seem to be a great idea, I can never get a solid connection regardless of what I seem to do. The T Tap portion seems to be too "loose" to keep a solid connection, I constantly have to push the connection tight, don't know if it's just faulty T Taps that aren't fitting correctly or what?

Quote : I bought a set last time these were marked down. While they are simple to use and seem to be a great idea, I can never get a solid connection regardless of what I seem to do. The T Tap portion seems to be too "loose" to keep a solid connection, I constantly have to push the connection tight, don't know if it's just faulty T Taps that aren't fitting correctly or what?

Are you using the properly rated connector for the wire size?