Hi,

A wire in my vacuum has split in half.

What is the best way to insulate the wire after soldering them together?

1.electrical tape ( have at home)

2. heat shrink tube (need to buy)

3. leave it without insulation considering all other wires around the split wire is insulated?

 

Given that it’s a vacuum, it’s likely to run at mains power. That eliminates 3. as an option.

You could probably get away with the electrical tape, but I wouldn’t. That eliminates option 1.

That leaves Option 2. But you’re going to have to cut the wire. And the wire for needed splice may not be there.

So, option 4. is to cut the wire out completely, replace it with a new wire (if the same gauge) with wire nuts and either tape or shrink wrap.

 

Why and how did the "wire split in half"? Burnt? Broken? Split insulation jacket? As DJ said, wires don't stretch so the best solution is to cut the break out and replace the wire with suitable end connections and insulation. But that may not fix the underlying problem... Why did it happen?

 

A wire in my vacuum has split in half.

A picture would be helpful so we can understand what you mean by "split in half".

 

Why and how did the "wire split in half"? Burnt? Broken? Split insulation jacket? As DJ said, wires don't stretch so the best solution is to cut the break out and replace the wire with suitable end connections and insulation. But that may not fix the underlying problem... Why did it happen?

A picture would be helpful so we can understand what you mean by "split in half".

It's not easy to replace the whole wire; the wire goes into the plastic and I can't seem to disassemble the plastic.

 

It's not easy to replace the whole wire; the wire goes into the plastic and I can't seem to disassemble the plastic.

Show us a picture of where the wires go through the plastic:


What gauge is the wire? How much current does the wire carry?

 

Looks to be a light gauge. I would likely tape and heat shrink but only because I have heat shrink. A good clean tape job should work and I would solder the ends. A simple Google of "how to join two wires and solder" will bring up a dozen or more hits including short videos and pictures. Obviously leaving them bare and exposed is not a good idea.

Ron

 

Show us a picture of where the wires go through the plastic:
View attachment 205741

What gauge is the wire? How much current does the wire carry?

The wire is 0.2cm wide but I do not know how much current the wire carries

 

Looks to be a light gauge. I would likely tape and heat shrink but only because I have heat shrink. A good clean tape job should work and I would solder the ends. A simple Google of "how to join two wires and solder" will bring up a dozen or more hits including short videos and pictures. Obviously leaving them bare and exposed is not a good idea.

Ron

Thanks for letting me know that i can use electrical tape.

I checked many videos online but they all used heat shrink tubes. I didn't want to buy a packet of heat shrink tubes and only use one of the tubes.

 

Solder the wires together and then wrap in electrical tape. The tape has a high voltage insulation rating and what you have doesn't look like high voltage. You should be good to go. Use enough tape to complete the insulation then maybe tape the two wires together. And make sure you're not over stressing the wires because the blue wire will be shorter than the brown wire.

 

I'm with @SamR - in addition to making sure this repair is safe and secure, make sure you've identified the cause of the break and dealt with that too!

As for safely sealing it, I'd agree that tape is fine, although I've found that some tape peels and unravels over time. There are probably lots of good tapes to choose from, but at this point I've been frustrated by enough bad ones that I only use Scotch Super 88 for anything critical. I don't mess with cheap stuff anymore, unless what I'm taping is very temporary and doesn't pose any safety hazards.

***EDIT: I think the Super 33 sticks equally well, stays flexible for years, etc just the same as the 88, and is just a bit thinner. I'm ok with that one too. I'd forgotten there were two very similar offerings there.