Starter Connectors

Common questions about Tefzel M22759 wire and M27500 cable;

• What is Tefzel wire? Tefzel wire is the common name for M22759/32 and M22759/16 wire which utlizes a specific type of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE) jacket. It has now become the standard in high performance wire where size, weight, and durability is most important in the most extreme environments. This is the same wire used in military fighter jets, rockets, and nuclear power companies. Many common uses now are aerospace, aviation, military, and motorsports.
• What is the difference between M22759/32 and M22759/16 Tefzel wire? Primarily M22759/32 has an insulation jacket of 1/32 of an inch, M22759/16 has an insulation jacket of 1/16 of an inch. M22759/32 wire is also cross-linked ETFE jacket, whereas M22759/16 wire is only single layer.
• Why do I see /32 and /16 on your site? Is this shorthand for M22759/32 and M22759/16? Yes, that is correct. Common industry slang is to reference both of these wires as either /32 or /16.
• M22759/16 wire seems to be cheaper than M22759/32. I am a beginner to novice loom builder, will I be able to tell the difference in size? Unlikely. M22759/16 wire although thicker than /32 wire, it is very small in overall outside diameter when compared to standard OEM automotive wire or even TXL wire. Many times the first time using both /32 and /16, buyers will look to confirm they received the right AWG wire because it is so much smaller in overall size than what they are used to using.
• How much larger is /16 wire compared to /32 wire? 1/32 of an inch. Unless you are a loom builder with atleast a mile of wire under your belt, it's unlikely you will be able to tell the difference without reading the part number that is printed on the jacket of the wire.
• Do I need special tools to work with Tefzel wire? To strip them, yet. These wires do require very specialized tooling to properly strip them according to industry standards. As with most things, there is always an alternate way without proper tooling but you run the risk of damaging the cable. However, crimping the wire onto the terminal is the same process for any other wire. Wire AWG is wire AWG when it comes to terminal crimp. However, because the overall wire diameter is very small, you do need proper seals with a small inner diameter. All of our connector kits come with these types of seals.

Common questions about Raychem ATUM and SCL tubing;

• Does ATUM and SCL have adhesive inside? Yes.
• What is ATUM or SCL adhesive lined tubing used for? Both of these are considered adhesive lined tubing for similar purposes. When heated (or recovered as we would call it), both have internal adhesive that activates and turns fluid. Pieces of ATUM or SCL are used for a wide variety in loom building, from covering splices, terminating connectors when no boot option is available, or even used as transition boots.
• What is the difference between ATUM and SCL? Much of this comes down to builder preference. However if you called us on the phone, our primary question would be what type of wire you are using. If you are using Tefzel wire, we would recommend SCL. If you are using OEM automotive wire or TXL wire where the jacket will melt at high temperatures, we would recommened ATUM.
• I normally buy ATUM or SCL in 4' sticks, why does your store sell them in 1' increments? Due to the extremely high shipping cost of a 4' box, we buy the original 4' sticks and cut them down to 1' pieces. With general usage of both ATUM and SCL, it is very rare a full 4' stick of adhesive lined tubing is necessary. In the event you do require a full uncut 4' stick of either ATUM or SCL, contact us ahead of time or leave a note on your order when you checkout and we should be able to accommodate although we will contact you for increase shipping cost due to the 4' box.

Common questions about Raychem DR-25 heat shrink tubing;

• Does Raychem DR-25 have glue inside? No. There is no adhesive or glue inside, even when heated (recovered).
• What is DR-25 used for? In the most basic terms, DR-25 is used as the outer most layer on the wiring loom. This is the protective covering on your wiring loom from abrasion, temperature, fluids, oils, etc.
• I see you have yellow label and white label DR-25, what is the difference? The datasheet from Raychem/TE Connectivity says these products are identical the only difference being the color of the lettering printed on the outside of DR-25 to denote size. The yellow label is generally considered the USA market DR-25, and white label being the UK market DR-25.
• Which DR-25 is better, yellow or white label? This comes down to color or look preference of the loom builder or client, or what stock is available at the time.
• If I am not concentrically twisting my wiring loom, should I use DR-25? Generally we would say no. There are alternative products that are better suited to cover a non-concentrically twisted wiring loom.

Common questions about Raychem RT-375 clear shrink tubing;

• Does Raychem RT-375 have adhesive or glue inside? No.
• What is RT-375 used for? Raychem RT-375 is clear shrink tubing, non-adhesive lined. This clear shrink is typically cut into small pieces and used to cover the node or sensor labels on your wiring loom. For example, you have a label near the connector that reads Air Temp, and you want to protect the label from heat, fluids or oils, and abrasion. This clear shrink tubing does that, and also protects from UV damage, which is helpful especially if you are using white labels for your connector nodes.

Common questions about OEM style connectors;

• What are OEM style connectors? OEM style connectors are what you will typically see on your own personal vehicle or equipment. Generally these connectors are not general usage, and are very specific to the sensor or node they plug into. For example, these would include connectors like oil pressure sensor on a GM LS3 engine or Ford F150 truck, or maybe the ignition coil pack connector a Honda Civic or a Suzuki GSXR motorcycle.
• Are you connectors good quality? Some of them are more expensive or cheaper than I can find at other places. Yes. In almost all circumstances the components we sell for connector housings, wire seals, and terminals are genuine factory pieces. The only time we can't offer genuine factory connector parts is when these parts are discontinued, no stock available USA or international, or it was a connector that was never mass produced by a supplier to OEM.
• The pictures of the connectors you have your website, I see them elsewhere when I search on Google, can you explain? Yes, we have been selling connectors worldwide for over 10+ years when very few people sold this type of part. Our pictures have been ripped off all of the world on multiple platforms including Alibaba. Even sometimes these other companies claim them to be their original pictures, which is false. Many times these other companies use our genuine factory pictures and then receive a cheap connector and it does not look or fit the same. Please be careful where you buy your connectors from, they all are not the same quality or fit the same. In almost all circumstances the node or sensor these connectors plug into on your harness, they are very important to the proper functioning of your vehicle or equipment, and saving a few dollars on a connector could risk damaging hundreds or even thousands, or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Buy your connectors from a reliable source.
• I can't find my OEM style connector anywhere, not on your site or anywhere online. What do I do? Send us a picture. At the very bottom of this page there is a Helpful Links section in the footer and a link that says Help Me Identify My Connector! Click on that link for more information.
• I see an OEM style connector that looks close to mine, will it work? 99.99% of the time, no it will not work. These OEM style connectors are very specific, and many times the connector can be the same color, same shape and size, and same wire seal and terminals but it will not fit. This is because most OEM style connectors are keyed, which means there is a very very small shape change somewhere on the face of the connector or even sometimes internally on the connector housing, which will only plug into a certain key of that same connector family. This helps prevent people from plugging the wrong connector into a sensor, especially if two sensors are nearby on the harness. However, these different keys as they are called, they can sometimes be very hard to see.

Common questions about DTM, DT and DTP family connectors;

• Currently I use stamped and folded terminals with my DTM, DT, and DTP family connectors. What are the solid barrel terminals that you sell with your kits? There are two main terminal options available when it comes to DTM, DT, and DTP family connectors. Stamped and formed terminals or solid barrel terminals. Both are interchangeable in the connector housings. We sell our DTM, DT, and DTP connector kits with gold solid barrel terminals as they are a superior option when compared to stamped and formed terminals. In most connector housings, there is only one terminal style available. In the case of DTM, DT, and DTP housings there are two - stamped and formed or solid. Because the solid contacts are such a better option available, we sell our kits with these. These terminals are easier to crimp, less fragile, and in our case we used gold terminals which have additional benefit over traditional tin plated copper or nickel. Another great benefit to the solid barrel terminals is they will also interchange to the MIL-Spec connectors we sell.