I finally caught my own dumb mistake with crimp pins after 5 years

I was working on a harness for a Garmin G5 install last Friday and kept getting intermittent readings. After swapping two pins and retesting three times, I finally looked close at my crimper die. Turns out I had been using the wrong size slot on my DMC crimper for years, and it was barely squeezing the insulation barrel. Has anyone else accidentally used the wrong die size for a long time without realizing it?

3 comments

3 Comments

diana6171mo ago

Oh man, I feel your pain! I did the same thing with my DMC crimper on a batch of Molex pins about three years ago - I kept blaming the pins themselves until a buddy looked over my shoulder and pointed out my die was one size off. @seth_singh20 that cheat sheet idea is golden, I actually started color coding the die slots with a tiny dot of nail polish on the ones I use most. It sounds goofy but it works like a charm, and I haven't messed up a crimp since. The intermittent readings are the worst though (they drive you nuts before you realize it's a tool problem, not a wiring problem).

the_mary29d ago

Wait, you're color coding die slots with nail polish?

seth_singh201mo ago

Happens more than people like to admit. That DMC die set has so many slots they blur together after a while. I did the exact same thing with my Daniels crimper on a batch of D-sub pins a few years back. Ended up redoing about forty pins because the insulation grip was too loose and they kept backing out of the connector shell. Now I keep a cheat sheet taped to the lid of my crimper case with the wire gauge and die slot written out for the three sizes I use most. Saves me from pulling my hair out on the next harness.