My Atwood furnace has been giving me fits. The control board would just buzz and motor would come on. I finally tracked the problem down to a loose connection in the lower wire on the rocker switch on the furnace. The wire has some sort of blue inline crimp connector that is mostly round but incorporates a connector to attach to the spade on the switch. The connector is in the middle of the wire. This connector isn't making good contact and if I work with it the furnace will run just fine.I need to replace it so I don't have to open the furnace to wiggle it every time it works loose. My question is where in the world do I find the correct replacement connector and what it is called? I could rig it up with a regular butt splice and a tag line with a spade, but really?

Auto parts store carries all sorts of such connectors. You might also look at the electrical connectors at Lowes and Home Depot in the "telephone" and "wired networking" sections. As for what they are called, I dunno, show us a picture.

You're probably looking at a standard 1/4 inch crimp-on connector available at any hardware or automotive parts store. Do a search at Google.com for "crimp connector images." I'll bet the connector on the wire is female and mates to the male terminal that is 1/4 inch wide.

Displacement connectors like that are notorious sources of intermittent connections. The best fix would probably be to cut and strip the wire and then crimp the two ends in a standard spade connector and push it on the switch terminal. Soldering the two wire ends together before crimping wouldn't hurt either.

Dutch_12078 wrote:Displacement connectors like that are notorious sources of intermittent connections. The best fix would probably be to cut and strip the wire and then crimp the two ends in a standard spade connector and push it on the switch terminal. Soldering the two wire ends together before crimping wouldn't hurt either.I agree with this. Why replace a connector that is clearly not lasting well with an identical one that likely also won't last too well when there are other simple alternatives that do work well?Another alternative (what I initially thought of) would be to run a pigtail to a spade connector and splice the three together, but Dutch's solution sounds simpler and probably more trouble-free to me, so I would go with that.

Where do I find these connectors | Good Sam Community

17 Replies

Coolerman
Explorer
Oct 21, 2015
They also make crimp bullet connectors with dielectric grease AND heat shrinkable tubing so that the connection is completely sealed. I used that type when I re-wired my Sonic's brake system last month.
j-d
Explorer II
Oct 21, 2015
I knew those blue folding taps as Scotchlock too. The trailer rental places used them and often not all that carefully.

Carefully applied, they'll serve "OK" for quite awhile. Easier things to do than have the wires positioned "just so" AND get the pliers "just so" and make the squeeze without something getting out of place or crooked. I've reconditioned a lot of those by squeezing the little metal insert so the notches are right again.

On a boat, in wet places, where they can't be stabilized from pulling or vibration, nope. But they have their place (well, a few place....).

Those Bell Tel connectors are pretty nifty. They include a gel inside to keep corrosion out of the pinched wires. Carefully engineered for a certain application to a certain type of wire in a certain environment applied by a trained tech with a certain tool. But I've seen them misused too.
fitznj
Explorer
Oct 21, 2015
I hate Bullet and Crimp T Connectors. They are susceptible to corrosion as it's to seal them from the weather and they can vibrate loose. I have a boat
where salt water wrecks havoc with these connectors.

I would solder the joints and then use a weather proof shrink tube - may be a little more work up front but much more reliable

Gerry
gbopp
Explorer
Oct 21, 2015
smkettner wrote:
Just solder it. If you need to cut for service use then use a butt connector.

X2. Don't make the repair complicated.
Chris_Bryant
Explorer II
Oct 21, 2015
Those are called Scotchlock T tap connectors.
While I agree that type is not great, there are thousands of Hydroflame furnaces out there that work just fine using them.
MrWizard
Moderator
Oct 20, 2015
those things are a copy/branch off design of the original BELL telephone plastic button connector for splicing 22ga solid strand copper phone cables in a system junction box
those had a round button in the center, a special tool for the crimping and those wire were NEVER subject to vibration and were locked in a weather proof junction box

the original design worked fine for its intended purpose
the Bas^^^^ off spring "T taps' are worthless
landyacht318
Explorer
Oct 20, 2015
The previous owner of my vehicle used those t taps and similar. Each one had broken about 1/3 of the stranding on installation, and corrosion took out the second third, then the resistance took out the final third.

I had to splice in a bunch of new wiring everywhere one of those evil contraptions once resided
MrWizard
Moderator
Oct 20, 2015
I really really dislike those T tap things
i would put both wires into a normal push on spade female
or splice/solder them onto a pigtail with said 1/4" female connector
enblethen
Nomad
Oct 20, 2015
Blue indicates 14-16 wire gauge.
Bullet connectors
Dutch_12078
Explorer III
Oct 20, 2015
tmoo wrote:
These are not a standard connector you will find at Lowe's, I am familiar with all of those. Cutting and crimping the 2 ends in one standard connector may be the best bet. I thought with the huge number of these furnaces out there it might be some sort of connector used just for RVs.

I've never looked for them at Lowes or Home Depot, but they're not hard to find online:

3M 3MBTT 18-14 Gauge T-Tap