Strip both wires 1/4 to 1/2 inch. Make sure no strands are broke and twist each wires end. Then twist the two together and fold to one side and wrap with electrical tape.

I don't use this method for all wires. Just some.

If it's out of sight, and, properly twisted and taped, then what's wrong with it? Connectors, solder, soldering iron, crimpers, all cost money. Many of us have no choice but to go cheap. What would be nice is some good instruction on how to splice wires cheap but effective.

Just .02 cents

 

the problem with twisting it is even if its tucked away it can still come undone. my friend did that with his head unit and time to time it comes undone. connectors dont cost that much, they're a couple bucks for a box of them.

i might get a soldering iron, i feel that it is like a welder, or other power tools, once you get it you can find many uses for it.

if you're tapping into an existing wire then twisting is ok from what i've read. what i did for my cutout was cut a section of the rubber off the existing wire of my foglight switch. i then took a safety pin and pushed it through the exposed wire. i took the new wire and fed it through, then tightly wrapped around the foglight wire, and covered in electrical tape.

 

its also about how good a connection you will get. like he said also they may come undone and the connection may just be bad. i believe sotter it if you can get to it and if you cant use a crimp. also think about just how hot it can get in a car electrical tape sucks in the heat it becomes less adhesive and it can just unwrap it's self on you and the wires come apart. just think about the quality and you will understand why its not acceptable even on exposed wires.

 

^This is correct. It depends how long you want the connection to last. A car is a vibrating enviornment that is constantly changing temperature.

A soldered wire with heat shrink insulation is as good as if the wire was never broken in the first place. It's the only way I ever make connections.

 

There is an alternative to solder. If you must splice a wire without solder than I would recommend a "western union splice". Strip the insulation, then cross the wire halfway inbetween and lace them together. This will actually make the splice stronger than the wire itself. I would still use heat shrink over black tape as cheap insurance.

 

i like the western union one ^ but if you were to wanna have a 3rd gen in like 25 years it wouldnt be so bad to solder those wires, and prevent a fire, shorts in electrical are comon, and unchecked, had a bro in law switch his V6 out with a V8 in his 80 something cutlass, but had wiring issues. Just an example, he had to get rid of such great car

 

just to echo what most have said, it comes down to reliability. with the temperature swings, changes in humidity, and insane amount of vibration found in a car environment, "twist and tape" is not a long term solution and will fail. I'm a huge fan of soldering; yes it costs a bit more, but the job is done once and there's no trying track down electrical problems weeks later

 

Throw in corrosion and generally tugging the wires apart you WILL have a failure in the future

A soldering iron kit with plenty of solder to do most jobs short a complete harness build can be had for less than $15. Theres really no excuse aside from being lazy

Also, 1/4" is way too short of a splice area, even for tiny gauge wires. I strip about 3/4" on one end and 1 1/2" on the other. Twist, fold over, solder and cover