To ttap or not to ttap?

just throwing in my .02...

I live in alaska.  EVERY shop here solders their connections for remote starters. 

Our shop solders remote starters, alarms, head units, amp wiring.. everything that can be soldered is soldered.  I have yet to use a t-tap in the 4 years i've been doing this.  I haven't had any vehicles come back because of a bad connection yet.

Although, if you are going to solder, invest in a good soldering iron.  such as a master butane iron.  1100 degrees will solder almost every wire, except the 8ga+ wires.  For that I have a much larger butane iron that works. Without a good iron you may as well be t-tapping because you are just getting cold solder joints.  You have no idea how many units i've removed that have came from the states that have had cold solder joints.  I could literally just slide the wire around without even heating it.

If you want reliability, solder is the way to go.  Also, anything but shrink tube or 3m super 33+ is a waste of time as far as covering the joint goes.

Extreme 1 and Vitrox; I agree with everything you've said, for projects I use a Weler Gun via an inverter, but my weller Cordless seems to run hotter!

The downside is that the gun's tips need constant tightening to maintain heat levels and  getting the cordless to even work in winter is a joke!

Also anyone know where I can get Scotch 33+ in UK? The stuff we get through our major factors here is garbage let alone trying to use it in winter, thanks.

I wasn't going to add fuel to the flame but since this thread has been revived I'll toss in my $.02.

I've used all 4 different methods of connection, soldering, butt splice, ScotchLocks and T-Taps.  Of all of them, T-Taps are my least favorite.

I can see a situation where T-Taps might be useful, such as a wire that's buried underneath a lot of other stuff that would be a pain in the ass to remove, etc, but I don't beleive wiring a whole system, especially a remote start, with T-Taps is a good idea.

Now, I'm not a professional, and as a result I don't have to worry about turnover rate. For me, I do 1 install maybe every year or so.  But, consider this.  McDonald's serves food fast.  Is it the best quality food?  Most likely not, but it does do the job.  It's quantity over quality.  They get customers in and out fast and make money doing it.

You may be able to do an installation in 15 seconds with T-Taps.  But, if I go over to my friend's house and show him the install I did, and say "It's a little sloppy because I used T-Taps instead of soldering the wires like it should be done" and he peeks under his dash and sees the same T-Taps that his "professional" used for his rs/security, how is he going to feel about the installation that he paid his hard earned money for, when he could have had any one of us do the same for nothing?  If he brings the car to a different shop to have anything else installed, and they don't use T-Taps, they'll probably tell him the same.

The way I see it, you can give a customer a McInstall, but when the customer finds out how it was done and that it could have been done a better way, how is that customer going to feel about your shop?  Even if it isn't warranted, customers and other shops are going to discredit your work, because T-Taps aren't considered a "proper" way of making a good connection.  It won't cast a favorable image of your business.  What's worse is, if the system you installed is having problems because of a faulty connection, and the customer brings it to another shop, they're going to get knocked for T-Taps.

So, my philosophly towards this is "quality, not quantity." Sure, you may be able to make more money with T-Taps, but in the long run the word will spread that--despite wether or not T-Taps are good--your shop is doing poor quality work. And that is the last thing I'd want as a business owner.

As far as T-Taps go, I'm not a real big fan of them, but perhaps I haven't got past the "learning curve." To me, it seemed pretty straightforward: slide the wire into the fork and push down, snap the connector together, crimp the other end on, and snap the 2 connections together.  Even with a strong crimp connection and the connector snapped firmly in place, it seemed that 50% of the connections would later be traced to an issue.  Maybe I'm doing it wrong?  Possibly.  Also, the damn things stick out of the side of the wire and get caught up in everything.

I do realize that I'm "charlie brown" here, so take what I say with a grain of salt. As a customer, however, this is how I feel about the issue.

I'm not a professional.  But I have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.

Init,very very sensible comments, BUT the whole point is making a good physically strong joint with good electrical conductivity, surely that means PROPER  soldering ie enough heat and watch the solder flow into the joint and proper, lasting sleeving whether sleeving or good quality insulating tape.

Hooray I've found Scotch 33+ suppliers in the UK, but $10 per reel? Do a Cat I and R/S and you've shifted a reel!

Yes.  Personally I do feel soldering is the best option.   Of all 4 connection types, soldering makes the strongest bond when applied right.  Keep in mind, though, if it isn't done right it can be just as problematic as any other.

I realize that, since I'm not a professonal I may not have the expertise to use and apply T-Taps as properly as the OP does.  I was just giving my opinion on the psycological and sociological impact of T-Taps from a consumer's standpoint.

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but I just got this Email and I thought I would share:

This is exactly the problem though, that many people misuse them.

I would almost guarentee that the wrong size was used.

I've never had an Email about someone who used the wrong size solder joint!