Since most cable wires are stranded, it is necessary to use terminal lugs to hold the strands together to aid in fastening the wires to terminal studs (see figure 2-11). The terminals used in electrical wiring are either of the soldered or crimped type. Terminals used in repair work must be of the size and type specified on the electrical wiring diagram for the particular equipment.

Figure 2-11. - Noninsulated terminal lugs and splices.

The increased use of crimp-on terminals is due to the limitations of soldered terminals. The quality of soldered connections depends mostly upon the operator's skill. Other factors, such as temperature, flux, cleanliness, oxides, and insulation damage due to heat, also add to defective connections. Solder-type connections are covered later in this chapter.

An advantage of the crimp-on solderless terminal lugs is that they require relatively little operator skill to use. Another advantage is that the only tool needed is the crimping tool. This allows terminal lugs to be applied with a minimum of time and effort. The connections are made rapidly, are clean, and uniform in construction. Because of the pressures exerted and the material used, the crimped connection or splice, properly made, is both mechanically and electrically sound. Some of the basic types of terminals are shown in figure 2-11. There are several variations of these basic types, such as the use of a slot instead of a terminal hole, three- and four-way splice-type connectors, and others.

Since the Navy uses both copper and aluminum wiring, both copper and aluminum terminals are necessary. Various size terminal or stud holes may be found for each of the different wire sizes. A further refinement of the solderless terminals and splices is the insulated type. The barrel of the terminal or splice is enclosed in an insulated material. The insulation is compressed along with the terminal barrel when it is crimped, but is not damaged in the process. This rids you of the need for taping or tying an insulating sleeve over the joint.

There are several different types of crimping tools used with copper terminals. However, you will normally be concerned only with wire sizes AWG (American Wire Gauge) 10 or smaller. For wire of these sizes, a small plier-type crimper is used to crimp on uninsulated terminals, as shown in figure 2-12. The small plier-type crimper has several sizes of notches for the different size terminals. Care should be used to select the correct size crimping tool for the particular terminal.

Figure 2-12. - Crimping small copper uninsulated terminals.