T-taps, for RS
Printed From: the12volt.com
Forum Name: Car Security and Convenience
Forum Discription: Car Alarms, Keyless Entries, Remote Starters, Immobilizer Bypasses, Sensors, Door Locks, Window Modules, Heated Mirrors, Heated Seats, etc.
URL: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay/forum_posts.asp?tid=47594
Printed Date: April 30, 2024 at 1:54 AM
Topic: T-taps, for RS
Posted By: MikeHusain
Subject: T-taps, for RS
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 1:07 AM
I was wondering if you could use t-taps for remote starters, i use them for door locks and parking lights, dome light, but how bout the wires in the ignition harness, like the starter, accessory, ignition.... should u just splice into them tie the wires around them and then solder them? that takes alot of time, i was wondering if i could get away using t-taps. I am assuming that t-taps are more for low current connections. Thanks..
Replies:
Posted By: profuse007
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 2:24 AM
i try to stay away from t-taps. i use it sometime when i cant get my hand somewhere in a tight space, other than that i just manually splice it through.
definitely stay away form the IGN harness or any high current line. there not a proper t-taps size that doesnt cut the strands.
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Houston,TX
"The two most common elements in the universe are H+ and stupidity" (Ellison).
Posted By: KarTuneMan
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 9:03 AM
I won't use a T-tap on anything....Its sad to have to troubleshoot, only to find a failed tap. I keep some on hand only for small guage wires, like profuse007 said, for a REALLY tight space -------------
Posted By: thepencil
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 9:37 AM
Use t-taps as your only last resource. Don't make it a habit of it. You will sleep better at night. ------------- Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. 
Posted By: kgerry
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 3:58 PM
true, true, true.... and for you stubborn buggers who insist they're ok for low current applications i can only say most of the intermittent RS connections i have to deal with here ( parking lights, locks, brake shutdown, etc ) are from people/dealers who used those crappy T tap connectors..... if you care about the quality and integrity of your installs, solder your connections.....
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Kevin Gerry
Certified Electronics Technician
MECP First Class Installer
Owner/Installer
Classic Car Audio
since 1979
Posted By: brcidd
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 4:59 PM
The first time I saw these taps- I saw that the alarm installer use two of them- so even the installer know they are NO good- so he doubles his chances by putting two on the same lines............
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Brcidd - Engineer That Does Remote Starter Installs on the side.
Posted By: CutDog504
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 10:51 PM
I use t-taps but not in all situations. Definitely not for remote start. I usually use them for door triggers, parking lights, and some doorlocks (not if I have to use relays). And I'll only use them if the wire is at least 18 guage. I wont use them if the wires are very thin (as with most japanese cars) because they dont bite into the wire enough and give you a bad connection. So I avoid them in those situations. I never have any comebacks becuase I use good judgement on when and how to use them. Another thing I use is the brown scotchlocks. I use them to tap into a hot wire in the ign harness to get a constant for alarms. I have NEVER had any problems with the scotchlocks. But then again, they are double piercing, and you have to squeeze hard as hell to get them all the way closed. And when they're closed, believe me, they aint coming loose from anything short of much prying with a screwdriver.
Posted By: lions-freak
Date Posted: January 13, 2005 at 11:58 PM
t-taps suck,,,,,I won't use them for anything like was previously stated they are a touble-shooting nightmare just solder or if you are in a hurry use the "stripe, poke, wrap and tape method".....I have never had any problems with it. I have just started useing it this remote start season, about 50 or so and no problems in the last two months.......
Posted By: Ravendarat
Date Posted: January 14, 2005 at 11:40 AM
I cant stand the damn things. I just had to remove a comand start that had been installed using them and trying to pry those damn things off sucked, and then I had to repair all the wiring that had been cut into by these things. I cant stand em and have never used them. I have also never ran into a place where I couldnt get in and solder, and I am like 6' 2 and 280 pounds so I cant see how people can say they cant get into these places.
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double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer
Posted By: Jschult3
Date Posted: January 14, 2005 at 4:58 PM
You should NEVER use T-Taps on high current wire. If you can't get in somewhere to solder a door trigger a T-Tap is ok but use them as a last resort. Soldering is permanent. ------------- Jeff
Always Verify Wire information before Connecting! Just a Darn Good DIY'R
Posted By: BoominRolla
Date Posted: January 14, 2005 at 8:00 PM
I use t-taps for everything... hate me forever... how do you get the batter wire in older dodge caravans like late 90's where the battery wire is in the top plug at the bcm?... and how do you solder onto the lock wires in those same vans when I can only pull out MAYBE a 1/2" of wire... How do you test your install if you solder? what if you accidently tap on to the wrong wire that tested as it was supposed to? We use t-taps for everything except some tach wires and security wiring like vats especially... We've never run into an issue of a tap cutting a wire in half... If you use the good 3M taps and not the gross knock offs You should be fine I strip the wire that is getting the male spade maybe 3/8's to 1/2" and twist the wire tight and crimp on a 3M insulated male spade. and plug it into the corrisponding (spelling?) tap. We do alot of de's and re's where I am so soldering would take longer to install and to pullout. But to all you who solder especially to the big guy who says he dosen't have a problem getting any wiring... I wish I could too but i've only been doing this for 2 years and was trained on t-taps not solder... Please don't hate me... i'm just saying it can be done but alot of people out there don't like to
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Posted By: metaverse
Date Posted: January 14, 2005 at 8:29 PM
I know of the arguments here..but, I personally use t-taps, scotchloks and butt crimps. I do use 3M exclusively..especially if you can find the dual tooth scotchloks which grabs a wire in 2 places. I also use a good dab of di-elec grease in the whole connector before making the crimp. I wrap it up tightly with electrical tape (3m 1700 vinyl) In the last 8 years never had one come back from my backyard install for friends/family. The cars have died..the alarm brains have miraculously survived...no complaints..
I use 3 different crimpers, an ideal ratchet crimpmaster, a klein J1005 journeyman crimping plier, and a craftsman stripper/crimper. The Ideal does the red or blue butt crimps insulated..the klein does the yellow and blue insulated..and the craftsman does the non-insulated crimps (very rarely) Never had a crimp fail on me..trust me..I have suspended things from crimped wires to see if it will hold...nothing short of a tug-o-war will.. Also I use the right connectors for the wire guage...no shortcuts..
I always wonder how folks managed to get into tight places and solder everything..especially with 18-22 guage doorlock wires.. Not a big fan of poke and wrap method..makes no safety sense to poke a wire with plastic bordering it..especially with voltage situations. Also, solder can and will react with various elements...surely a tech has heard of cold joints.. To those who solder and wrap..to each his own..more power to you.. I'm also amazed at how folks can complete a car in 4-5 hours from start to finish with soldering..I guess everything is clockwork orange for a pro.. It takes me sometimes an hour just to find a concealed siren mounting spot.. Glad I'm not doing this for a living and I have respect for the pros..
Posted By: gcorrea
Date Posted: January 14, 2005 at 8:59 PM
solder. nuf said.
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gcorrea
Posted By: Ravendarat
Date Posted: January 14, 2005 at 9:54 PM
Just to respond to the caravan questions above. I just got home from doing a 97 caravan and there is a Red wire in the ignition harness to tap into and the door lock relays are right in front of your face when you take the knee bolster of so you can just pull the relays and solder trigger wires on there. Its far easier than using resistors and relays and just as reliable. Hope this helps out in future jobs.
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double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer
Posted By: Ravendarat
Date Posted: January 14, 2005 at 9:57 PM
Also just to point out, I never said I never had a problem reaching a wire, I said I never ran into one I couldnt reach. Big difference, I have spent 15 minutes trying to get at some parking light wires and I burn myself damn near ever time trying to do locks in the mid 90's intrepids, but like I said, I believe that t-taps are better left in the backyard and outta my shop. Just an opinion and not a direct shot at anyone. ------------- double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer
Posted By: danieljaluise
Date Posted: January 15, 2005 at 2:36 AM
who really cares what anyone uses. connect one wire to the other is really the only requirement. It's not like one way is gonna make the car run better. I use whatever I have laying there. It's more fun that way and it makes me feel like MacGyver.
Posted By: hayman
Date Posted: January 15, 2005 at 9:22 AM
I used to use crimp tabs and what not years ago and I never liked it. Maybe it was because as a tech I fixed cars also and seen all the grieve factory wiring had with spade conectors and connections. Over time some will fail plain and simple. Yes an improper solder job is just as bad, seen that before. In higher current applications personally I think your taking a risk. But I know it comes to time and money . Maybe T-tabs will let you do an extra car or two a day.
Posted By: forbidden
Date Posted: January 15, 2005 at 1:48 PM
If I could find the moron that invented t-taps, he would be first on the list for unsolicited phone calls at all time of the night. Hello Mr. Idiotstick, it is John Doe from the national big dick enlargement clinic wondering if you have time for a couple of questions....... T-taps may for the short term work OK at best, but for long term they suck sweaty goats balls. High current = solder, good connection = solder, low current = solder or a damn good crimp with a proper crimp tool. There is this dude who works for FS in Saskatchewan somewhere, I heard he loves T-taps. ------------- Top Secret, I can tell you but then my wife will kill me.
Posted By: gus1
Date Posted: January 15, 2005 at 3:52 PM
Forbidden.... I completely agree. In over 10 years in this circus, I have not found a single vehicle where I have been unable to make a proper connection. Yes,I have spent a lot of time on some of them doing the "hmmm.... there's got to an easier, alternate location to get this". Yes, I have also taken apart many many cars, and havehadto spend far too much of my time fixing scotchlock damage, intermittant connections, etc. They have no place under a dash as far as I'm concerned... they also shouldn't havebeen used in the $8000 featherlite trailer I bought 3 years ago, and have spent several hours completely rewiring due to the fact the factory deemed scotchlocks a-ok to wire the lighing with. The intermittant nature of the lighting system made for a nice lightshow at night sometimes, however, if I could, I would willingly kick whomever thought of those cursed POS square in the junk, with a running start.
Ugh.
Gus
PS: We have the duboius honour of having a total of 3 shops using those damn things... and 2 of them are mechanics. Iget to fix many of them..... and haveactually sent the scotchlocks back to therespective shop, with a bill....
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Wherever I go, that is where I end up......
Posted By: NismaX
Date Posted: January 15, 2005 at 9:18 PM
Hi,
I have been reading the debate of weather to use "t" taps or not. Personally I found they work very well. I have had little to no problems with them at all. I don't use them under the hood of a vehicle those wires are always soldered. However I have never found them to be troublesome under the dash of a car. I don't use them for high current connections because I don't feel that they can carry enough current.
My reasoning is this I have soldered many connections in my life. Having to go back and remove a soldered connection can be more damaging to a wire than the taps. Simply unpluging a tap is a better way. When I put in a remote starter I prefer to make the install removable so the dealer can unplug things he feels necessary for troubleshooting instead of cutting wires and pulling the starter out.
Vehicles come from the factory with few if any soldered connections. Everything I have ever seen in electronics radios to bypass kits use crimp connectors on their leads. Heck the telephone industry uses punch down connections When "t" taps are used in a smart way they make life easier.
Just my opinion though and 20 years of experience.
Jon
Posted By: auex
Date Posted: January 15, 2005 at 9:32 PM
I used to work at a shop that was exclusively t-tap. These aren't that bad, but I still recommend solder and I solder exclusively now. I have seen many cases where the t-tap had corroded, cut the wire tapped, and have had many stupid male connectors that did not go into the t-tap correctly. Bad T-taps are also horrible to troubleshoot, everything appears good but still doesn't work. And as far as not being able to solder the wire in some cases, in the rare situation that I couldn't solder the wire easily it would still take longer to get the t-tap on then it would take to just solder the same wire ( and I have a set of pliers that are perfect for t-taps, snap on storx pistol grip pliers).
Here is the list a connection should be made IMO, solder then direct wire termination( butt conector or crimp cap), then t-tap. NEVER TWIST AND TAPE!!!!!!!!
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Certified Security Specialist
Always check info with a digital multimeter.
I promise to be good.
Tell Darwin I sent you.
I've been sick lately, sorry I won't be on much.
Posted By: Ravendarat
Date Posted: January 15, 2005 at 10:39 PM
Rob you cut me deep, real deep  . If you dont have time to solder, another acceptable way to wire a command start is to wrap the wires and then cover them in strip chaulk or chewing gum. Make sure its something like big league and not trident, trident does not stick worth a sh*t................................................. God I hope you all caught the sarcasim here. ------------- double-secret reverse-osmosis speaker-cone-induced high-level interference distortion, Its a killer
Posted By: auex
Date Posted: January 15, 2005 at 10:47 PM
No man you can't use big league, it has to be BAZOOKA bubble gum.
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Certified Security Specialist
Always check info with a digital multimeter.
I promise to be good.
Tell Darwin I sent you.
I've been sick lately, sorry I won't be on much.
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