Have access to a WIREFY crimper and Dupont connectors thru a Makerspace. However I cannot get the crimped connector to go all the way into the housing. It seems the rear end is too wide. If i play around with a lockjaw pliers, i can get the front groove re-shaping the connector and sliding in easier, just seems unnecessary. Any idea what I am doing wrong?

 

Hello.

Which of the dies are you using to crimp? Keep in mind that Mini-PV connectors (DuPont) expect a cylindrical crimp which is unusual to find. That tool is not making one, but it can still be used. It is normal to reshape the crimped connector to fit it. In particular, the part that covers the insulation must sometimes be carefully make narrower.

Don’t overdo it, you can easily cut the wire with the connector. It just needs to be enough to fit, and you should never have to force it into the shell.

 

I should add that the tool you are using is a blunt instrument when it comes to sizing. I use this iwiss tool and the 1.6mm die is very close to exactly right. I can fit the crimped pins into connector shells easily without additional shaping, even though the die is not round.

 

Based on his picture, he is not crimping correctly. A proper crimp will crimp the back end of the connector over the insulation of the wire. His back of the connector pin is un-crimped.
Play around with the positioning of the connector in the tool. He may not be inserting the connector/wire deep enough into the tool. The tool has 2 levels of crimps, one for crimping the connector to the bare wire portion, and the wider part is to crimp the back end over the insulation of the wire.
Verify the stripping dimensions - the amount of bare wire to expose, and verify the maximum diameter of the wire including insulation. Some wires come with too much plastic insulation around the wire.

 

That is possible, but even if the wire in the connector is only stripped as far as the exposed one, the tool still has a very broad size range on that die. It will probably make the pin too wide to fit the connector shell and it will require "finishing" with needle nose pliers.

The procedure I use is:

• Insert the pin, with no wire, into alignment in the proper die;
• Close the crimper until the first ratchet tooth engages the pawl and holds the pin in place;
• Insert the wire until the wire is into the front of the pin, and the insulation is laying in the channel formed by the "ears";
• Complete the crimp cycle.

 

By the way, I didn't see the poor stripping of the wire when I first responded from my phone but in the desktop it was much more clear.