Amp rating of crimp terminals?

[andymach23]

I bought some red and blue insulated crimp terminals from a non marine electrical supplier. (Maplins in the UK).<br /><br />My idea was that I needed red for my positive connections and black for my negative. As there was no black I figured blue must be negative. The kid in the shop said that the connectors were rated at 3-5 amp. I have been checking this out on the internet and have discovered that colour coding of the terminals seems to go with wire size. Red up to 1.5mm square wire and blue up to 2.5mm . Is this a definite international standard? <br /><br />Is the 3-5 amp rating I was told in Maplins a load of BS and are the red crimp terminals absolutely safe for my 10 amp VHF circut (assuming the wire is less than 1.5mm2 and rated for 10 amps)?<br /><br />Are negative black wires usually just terminated with the correct terminal for the wire size, ie red also as in my case? <br /><br />Thanks<br /><br />Andy<br /><br />Andy

 

[crab bait]

Re: Amp rating of crimp terminals?

good question..<br /><br />in this country,, the different color terminals/sta-cons are for the different wire gauges as per 'american wire gauge' (awg).. an has nothing to do with the ampacity.. <br /><br />see that point is moot.. cause the wire gauge size deems the ampacity.. so the sta-con that's for 'THAT'wire IS the right amp sta-con ( already built in )..

 

[Realgun]

Re: Amp rating of crimp terminals?

Red is 18-22 AWG and blue is for 16-14 AWG wire.<br />Yellow does 10-12 AWG wire. I think Burgundy is for 8 guage wire.<br />The color of the wire not the connector is what you go by. Also you could use red and black shrink warp too.

 

[demsvmejm]

Re: Amp rating of crimp terminals?

Just make sur ethat your crimp is SECURE and SEALED!

 

[Paul Moir]

Re: Amp rating of crimp terminals?

Funny, I picked some up today that had an amp rating with them. Lemmi have a look.<br />Ok, <br />1.5mm = about AWG #16<br />2.5mm = slightly weak of AWG #13<br />Anyway:<br />Red (18 AWG / 1.25mm2) - 19 amps<br />Blue (14 AWG / 2.0mm2) - 27 Amps<br />Yellow - 48 Amps (Sorry, no diameter for this one except for AWG 10, which crosses to about 5.2mm2)<br /><br />So it doesn't look standard, but it sounds to me like it should handle 10 amps fine. The ones those numbers come from are tin plated copper 'CalTerm' brand connectors. Make sure they're not steel ones - they should not be attracted to a magnet.

 

[andymach23]

Re: Amp rating of crimp terminals?

Thanks guys. That's help me clear this up.<br /><br />Another thread looking for tinned wire in the UK, was given this link for Sea Screw. <br /> Sea Screw <br /><br />The cable and terminal sections on the site give this info.<br /><br /> Wire <br /><br />1.5mm² (AWG 16) Red Marine Flexible Cable Tinned. Rating 25 Amps(Reference #1.5RED)<br /><br />2.5mm² (AWG 14) Red Marine Flexible Cable Tinned. Rating 35 Amps(Reference<br /><br /><br />4.0mm² (AWG 12) Red Marine Flexible Cable Tinned. Rating 45 Amps<br /><br />6.0mm² (AWG 10) Red Marine Flexible Cable Tinned. Rating 60 Amps(Reference #6.0RED)<br /><br /><br /> Terminals <br /><br />Terminal 4.8mm Female Spade RED Covered(Reference #8-01010)<br />For Cable Size 0.5mm² -1.5mm²<br /><br />Terminal 6.3mm Female Spade BLUE Covered(Reference #8-01111)<br />For Cable Size 1.5mm² -2.5mm²<br /><br />Terminal 6.3mm Female Spade YELLOW Covered(Reference #8-01211)<br />For Cable Size 3.0mm² - 6.0mm²<br /><br /><br />This appears to agree with what you all say and also that red terminals will do 16 AWG as well.<br /><br />BTW Realgun, I'm really enjoying your restoration saga.<br /><br />I decided to rewire my boat after buying some new kit. A VHF, plotter, fishfinder and bilge pump. 2 weeks ago I had no idea of boat electrics. From having joke wiring, I'm on the brink of a correct setup because of the info I've got on this board.<br /><br />Thanks All.