Quick connect terminals for 22AWG, flag terminals, incompatibility, brands? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: incf
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2025, 08:49:16 pm
content: Hi,A handful of questions related to terminals:Can anyone recommend a "good but economical" model of ratcheting crimper for 22AWG wire and red "quick connect/ring/spade" terminals? Low volume commercial application.Are specific manufacturer's crimps strictly only compatible with that same manufacturer's tool? Sometimes it seems that certain brands of terminal are more broadly compatible with generic tooling than othersDo flag terminals need special crimp tools? (Do any models exist that are compatible with "regular" ratching crimpers?)Also, are there any meaningful differences between any of the brands of (fully insulated) terminals carried by distributors like Digikey? There are wild price differences.I have a some cheap ratcheting crimpers from ebay and the dies were manufactured such that at the max setting they fail to crimp even 20AWG in various name brand and no-name models of "red" insulated quick connect terminals.other remarks:I've noticed that TE's2-520184-2fully insulated terminal crimps much more nicely (it splits the strands into two halves rather just squashing flat) no-name Asian terminals. But, still they seem grossly overpriced for what they are even at quantity.And $300 for theTE's crimp tool(even when it's not my money) feels a bit overpriced for something that is such a commodity. I feel like one should be able to buy the same tool from LCSC for $50.Edit: Also it would be extremely handy to support crimping smaller gauges (eg. 24AWG) of wire into quick connect/etc. terminals. Those terminals and the tooling seems much rarer.

author: mtwieg
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2025, 09:38:00 pm
content: A couple years back I was also trying to find a good solution for 22-26 AWG wires with small quick disconnect terminals. I also looked at parts in the Ulta-Fast series, as well as PIDG. Unfortunately they did not work with my generic insulated terminal crimper.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2025, 09:42:36 pm
content: For others, here is a reference on the color code for crimping connectors to different wire gauges:https://www.icrimptools.com/blogs/crimping/what-is-the-color-code-for-crimp-wire-terminals?srsltid=AfmBOopNMrln2DY8RNAtsYNyxwszrvaUb_fZK416exCcplFuymop4QnnRed is correct for 22AWG.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2025, 10:11:27 pm
content: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/what-crimping-tool-do-you-use-for-quick-connect-terminals/msg266904/#msg266904https://www.eevblog.com/forum/projects/insulated-crimp-terminal-diameter-issue-knipex-molex/https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/wanting-suggestions-on-open-closed-barrel-crimping-tools-crimp-crimper-tool/https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/crimp-tool-for-0-250-spade-terminals/For insulated see the first link, you should be able to get a decent crimper on amazon for $20. Branded for $30:https://www.amazon.com/Klein-Tools-Ratcheting-Crimper-10-22/dp/B07WMB61J5

author: incf
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 13, 2025, 11:25:19 pm
content: When I read the reviews for that popular $30 Klein Insulated crimper, I find an old review that describes my situation.Makes me hesitant. I feel like maybe I don't understand why these tools seem to fail for some people, especially at smaller wire sizes like 22AWG.I suppose the dimensions of the crimp/insulation might vary.Would a crimp die designed for non-insulated terminals "work" with insulated terminals? I presume it might destroy the insulation.What about crimp dies for "heat shrink" with insulated terminals?Of all these different types of dies, if I understand correctly, only one is intended to work with "red" insulated quick connects. But, should the crimp be too loose, maybe there are other types/shapes of dies that I should be looking at.Related question: why are "heat shrink" dies flat and "insulated" dies round-ish?

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2025, 12:18:24 am
content: The TE crimp tool leads to some good documentation:https://docs.rs-online.com/c271/0900766b813e28eb.pdfhttps://docs.rs-online.com/32f0/0900766b815679ab.pdfhttps://docs.rs-online.com/d857/0900766b8151fb4a.pdfThe die assembly notes three ranges, 26-22, 22-18, and 16-14.The klein in comparison is 22-16, 18-14, and 12-10So its clearly a different die size, IMO. Look to see if anything else offers a 26-22 range.Or just get the official tool.. 300 is probably nothing compared to a bunch of failed crimps in the field.

author: incf
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2025, 12:27:44 am
content: You are right, there are completely different sets of dies for smaller wires. And some red 22AWG crimps require "big" dies and other red 22AWG crimps require "small" dies. The "small" dies/tools are not very common.This removes a considerable amount of mystery from the issue."Big" diesRed: 22-16Blue: 18-14Yellow: 12-10"Small" diesYellow: 26-22AWGRed: 24-16AWGBlue: 22-16AWGIt seems the biggest small die (" Blue") is probably the same as the smallest big die (" Red")edit: going to give "Wirefy Crimping Tool Set 11 PCS - High Leverage Wire Crimper 9" [9 dies total]" a try since it contains both "miniature" insulated terminal dies, flag terminal dies, and all of the regular variations of insulated/non-insulated/etc. dies. "Surely one of those dies can me made to work" (the miniature ones are likely to do it)edit 2: the difference size between the "red" non-minerature dies for "fully insulated" vs "nylon" insulated dies is shockingly large in the attached diagram of 9 different types of terminals/dies. Maybe one of the dies was flipped over when the photographed it, or maybe there really might be differences in size even amongst "full size/non-miniature" red terminals.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 14, 2025, 12:47:46 am
content: There is one here with four ranges:https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32863899516.html0.14-0.5mm (26-20awg) supposedlyedit: seems you found one above too.