🔧 How to Make Jumper Wires with Dupont Connectors | DIY Tutorial

[@tookitogo]

This is probably the only DuPont crimping tutorial on KZbin that I approve of. Everyone else shows chewed-up insulation crimps thanks to using entirely wrong crimping tools that use the m-shape die on the insulation. (And to boot, the most commonly shown tool’s insulation die is also too wide, so the crimps don’t fit into the housings properly until further manhandled with pliers.) The only thing I’d change is to not recommend stripping so much of the wire, especially on the male. Even though the male pin can _usually_ tolerate an excessively long “brush” (the excess sticking out beyond the conductor crimp), some DuPont contact and housing designs* are a bit less tolerant, even on the males, resulting in the housing’s locking tab failing to fully engage, especially with thicker wire. It’s better to stick to the correct strip length (4-4.5mm for most variants) for both genders. *There is some variation from manufacturer to manufacturer, and when ordering from AliExpress or eBay, you rarely know what you’re going to get…)

[@lettherebeengineering]

Thank you so much for your detailed feedback and kind words! Your point about the wire stripping length is well taken. I’ll pin your comment so others can benefit from your recommendation to stick to the correct strip length of 4-4.5mm for both male and female connectors. Thanks again for your input

[@jonrichards6277]

My crimping tool only has the m-shape that will fit my 22AWG wire. So the insulation gets squished out and does not fit in the hole. Frustrating! I am going to buy a crimping too as shown in the video. $44 on Amazon.

[@tookitogo]

@@jonrichards6277For that price, also look into the IWISS SN-25. I haven’t used it myself, but it seems like the cheapest full-ratchet crimper that has circular insulation dies and isn’t complete junk. (It’s the kind that crimps the conductor and insulation in one go.)

[@stephanh2668]

Thanks a lot for this tutorial!

[@lettherebeengineering]

Thank you for comment and for the positive feedback! I'm glad you found this video helpful.

[@MrKbtor2]

This was so AWESOME for a newbie like me. Thanks a lot for making this!

[@lettherebeengineering]

Thank you for your positive feedback. I am glad this video was helpful!

[@barrymayson2492]

A very professional video well worth a watch .

[@lettherebeengineering]

Thank you for your positive feedback! I'm gladto hear that you found the video worthwhile.

[@jonrichards6277]

Very good video. One of my problems was that I was crimping too hard, thinking I needed it really squished. Turns out that crimping too hard deforms the connector and it won't insert easily., or at all. So I take it easy.

[@lettherebeengineering]

Thank you for your comment. I’m glad the video was helpful. You’re absolutely right-crimping too hard can definitely cause issues with the connectors. Need to find that balance for a snug, reliable fit without overdoing it.

[@tookitogo]

Be careful to do some proper pull-out tests. This means test crimps done _without_ insulation crimps, tested to the force specified in crimp specs. You don’t want to have crimps that aren’t crimped enough, which not only increases resistance, but because of not being gastight, is susceptible to corrosion.

[@lettherebeengineering]

Thank you for yet another awesome comment!

[@tookitogo]

1:29 Remember also that AWG refers to the cross-sectional area of a wire, not its diameter, so due to the air gaps, stranded wires have a slightly larger overall diameter than the same-AWG solid wire. Most wire strippers are labeled for solid wire, in which case you typically have to go up one gauge for stranded wire. E.g. for 24AWG stranded, you’d use the 22AWG blade. Silicone wire usually has finer stranding, which can also slightly increase the overall diameter of the conductor. So sometimes you need to go up two gauges. Also, it’s possible the tool is fine, but the wire insulation itself isn’t properly centered around the conductor, which can also lead to damaged strands. Finally, cut strands can also be due to suboptimal technique. When using this style of wire stripper, I often like to close the handle all the way to cut the insulation, but then release it ever so slightly before pulling off the insulation.

[@lettherebeengineering]

That is AWESOME advice! I really appreciate your input!

[@tookitogo]

P.S. Klein Tools’ Klein-Kurve strippers actually have markings for both solid and stranded. With that said, for small wires like used in DuPont, there’s a specific style of precision wire stripper I like (sold by CK as the 330011), since it lets you set a very precise depth stop to very short strip lengths, works with even difficult insulation types (like Teflon, irradiated PVC or PE, or Kapton), and keeps the wire straight. That and the Knipex MultiStrip 10 fully-automatic stripper, but it’s only for “normal” easy-to-strip insulation materials like PVC, most silicone, and newfangled ones like mPPE. At work, another department has a costs-more-than-my-first-two-cars-combined wire stripping machine, which is glorious, but they annoyingly won’t let me take it home. :p It’s actually for stripping small coaxial cables, so it can be programmed with the exact strip lengths and depths for each layer of the cable, but it’s also what I used for some difficult wires when I worked in that department.

[@lettherebeengineering]

Wow, the precision wire stripper you mentioned is very appealing (CK 330011), but very pricey where I live (Japan). That costs-more-than-your-first-two-cars-combined “programmable” wire stripping machine sounds awesome, too!

[@tookitogo]

@@lettherebeengineering How much is “very pricey” for the CK? They’ve been in short supply for years (i have two - one of that model, one of the model for slightly smaller wires - and it took 2 months to get the one, 6 for the other!) so the prices on them have been going up…

[@lettherebeengineering]

That's interesting to hear how long it took for you to aquire the CKs. Upon further investigation, my initial search on Amazon was way over priced at over 27,000 yen, or 189 US dollars. Whereas, I searched elsewhere and found the same CK at only 7800 yen, or 44 US dollars, which seems quite reasonable!

[@roadrunner3563]

frustrating if you don't have strippers for sub-22 gauge ribbon cable...have them now though :( kept cutting through the wire without them falling apart until after I inserted the pins in the housing

[@lettherebeengineering]

Thanks for your comment! I’m glad to hear you’ve got the strippers you need now.

[@VeteaTOOMARU]

nice&clear, thx!

[@lettherebeengineering]

Thank you for your feedback! Glad my video was easy to understand.

[@DennisMurphey]

Well Thank You Very Much. I pride myself on being able to figure it out. But, cripping these dang connectors has me perplexed. Then I saw this great simple easy to understand video. New thing #1 Crimp each segment separately. I ruined so many ends trying to crimp both at the same time. OK, New thing #2 No soldering. One friend told me he sodlers them in the connector first them crimps them. ??? True or False? New Thing #3 it appears we can make a harness with these ends!??? Questions, If we need shorter socket joints can we use Simple ins with wire soldered to the short end to fit into the female connector??? I work in S Gage model trains we have more room than HO but I pile a lot into one engine. The wiring can get piled up in a hurry. Thank You again for the great lesson Video.

[@lettherebeengineering]

Thank you so much for your comment! I'm glad the video was helpful to you. Yes, crimping each segment separately is crucial for a good connection. Crimping both at the same time often leads to poor connections and damaged ends. I think there are crimping tools out there that can simultaneously crimp the conductor section and the insulation section properly, but they are probably quite expensive. It's generally not necessary to solder the wires before crimping. Crimping alone should provide a strong mechanical and reliable connection if done correctly. Soldering can potentially cause issues in tight spaces. So, I think it's better to stick with crimping only, but even if you do, never before crimping IMO, because the solder would likely interfere with the conductor section and not crimp properly. S gage model trains - awesome! Yes, you can make a harness by inserting multiple DuPont connectors into respective housings of the harness. About creating shorter socket joints. Yes, I suppose you can use simple pins or connectors and solder them to a short length of wire to fit into the female Dupont connector if you have no space for a male DuPont connector. Just ensure that they fit snugly into the female Dupont housing. Maybe you can use heat shrink tubing over the soldered joint to provide additional insulation and support.

[@tookitogo]

“Real” crimp tools (i.e. the official crimp tooling for name brand connectors) always do both at once. But of course they have complex dies specifically designed to do this. Bought new from a distributor, these tools start at about $300, and can cost as much as $1000. But with patience, you can get these tools used or new on classified ads and auctions for far less. I’ve bought several $300-500 tools, brand new, for $60-120 shipped from classifieds. And a $700 one used for $150. As for soldering: DO NOT under any circumstances apply solder to wire and then crimp it! Solder cold-flows under pressure, so you initially create a nice tight crimp, but over time it will loosen. (This is the same reason why you must never put wire tinned with solder into a screw terminal.)

[@lettherebeengineering]

Thank you for your further insight regarding not apply solder - sound advice.

[@tookitogo]

2:18 I highly, highly recommend getting a pair of cable shears, rather than cutting with diagonal cutters. Diagonal cutters crush the wire, flattening the bundle of strands, which then makes the wire a bit harder to insert into the contact without snagging any strands. Cable shears preserve the lay of the stranding better. And they take less force to squeeze! No need to spend a fortune; the ones I have cost $15 at the hardware store.

[@lettherebeengineering]

Thank you for your sound advice! I'll definitely get myself a pair of cable shears for next time. I appreciate you sharing this tip.

[@tristanyeo326]

hi how do i connect a 4 pin connector to a 8 pin connector or 8pin to 4 pin

[@lettherebeengineering]

One way would be to split one wire into two branches by stripping a 10mm mid-section of the insulation of one wire say about 30mm from the end, strip the end of another much-shorter wire, solder the end of the shorter wire to the exposed wire of the mid-section, cover the exposed soldered bare wires with heat-shrink, also strip the end of the first wire. Make four sets of such wires, attach DuPont connectors to all of the single ends and then connect each single end to a 4-pin DuPont housing, then attach DuPont connectors to all the double ends (with separate DuPont connectors) and then connect these double ends to the 8-pin housing. I hope I have understood your question correctly.

[@ChandrashekarCN]

💖💖💖💖

[@lettherebeengineering]

Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@xavieraxiak6866]

Horrible audio!

[@lettherebeengineering]

I would prefer to say “inexpensive audio!”😄Yeah, I'm on a budget. But I realized my phone was doing a better job that my cheap mic🤔 I will look into it more. Can’t do much about my voice or accent though…

[@TOMMYBLAYNE]

Complaining about the audio on a free instructional video that someone else took hours of their time to put together for you? Nice. Audio was fine.

[@lettherebeengineering]

Thank you for your support and understanding! I'm glad you found the audio to be acceptable. Maybe the issue was to do with background noise, as I live on a busy street with a constant stream of traffic...