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Old     (Blueliner)      Join Date: Sep 2013       05-12-2014, 6:22 AM Reply   
Anyone use these in tapping into electrical wires to add accessories, are they a quality product? I am wiring in a Lowrance Chartplotter/fishfinder (don't want to rip the bottom of my boat in an unfamiliar area)

Regards
Blueliner
Old     (Mav)      Join Date: May 2014       05-12-2014, 8:11 AM Reply   
I hate them. I shrink wrap or shrink buttconnect everything. Scotch locks have a tendency to let the wire corrode. All they do is cut the sheathing on the wire, they don't offer moisture protection at all. Just my .02
Old     (boardman74)      Join Date: Jul 2012       05-12-2014, 8:14 AM Reply   
They can cut wires and like Mav said open up another path for corrosion. I'd stay away from them in a boat. Actually I don't use them on anything because of the way they cut the wire.
Old     (phathom)      Join Date: Jun 2013       05-12-2014, 8:28 AM Reply   
I have used them with little issues in the past, but do not prefer them for the reasons mentioned above. I would say that if the only location for you to tap into a wire is in such a limited space that those are the only option, then go ahead if it is your ONLY option. Just know that if you have problems it will be that much more difficult to fix than it was to install.

Otherwise do one of these options:
A) Run the power wire directly to the fuse panel. Run the ground wire to a ground distribution block. You will be much happier with the cleanliness and having it being easy to troubleshoot.
B) Cut and strip both ends of the wire you are tapping into, put heat shrink around the wires, tie in your new connection, solder, seal the heat shrink
C) Cut and strip both ends of the wire you are tapping into, put heat shrink around both the feed end of the wire and around the new and old wires, butt connector the feed side, put the wire and the old wire in the other end of the butt connector and crimp.

That is really all the options I would recommend doing. Anything else you are kind of mickey mousing it and open yourself up to problems down the road/river.
Old     (Jeff)      Join Date: May 2010       05-12-2014, 8:53 AM Reply   
They do seem wrong but they're too easy and I've never had a single issue with them so I've continued to use them when needed. They're all over in the OE harness on my 14 year old MasterCraft, especially on the trailer and I've never had an electrical issue related to them. You can coat them with liquid electrical tape to seal them up if you like.
Old     (phathom)      Join Date: Jun 2013       05-12-2014, 9:22 AM Reply   
Just the other day I was using a punchdown terminal, which uses the same method as scotchlocks to splice the wires. I was at work fixing some wiring and I had a heck of a time figuring out the problem. It turned out that about every other time I used one of them, they were cutting the wire instead of piercing the shielding around them. This drove me crazy as I verified over and over that I had the right wire to put in, but it didn't power up after connecting it. After I saw what was happening, I swapped out the defective punchdown and was in business. I have used hundreds of punchdowns and this is the first that has done this. I'm not saying that this can or will happen with all scotchlocks, but it is a possibilty with how they are designed.
They are easy to use, but when they go wrong, they can give you all kinds of headaches.
Old     (mikeski)      Join Date: Aug 2003       05-28-2014, 11:26 PM Reply   
I use them sometimes. They come in different sizes and you need to use the correct size. You also need to make sure the wire is aligned properly before you push down the lock. I have a couple on my boat in non-critical, low current applications and they work just fine. For the low power, low current application described above they will probably work just fine if they are installed carefully.

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