4mm Bulletts - how on earth???

[MartinW]

Do you manage to get the metal connectors to go inside the red shrouds? I've been trying for ages and can't manage it. Typical as I'm only fitting a couple of connectors for a mate, they're not even mine

Had a look on YouTube the other day and found a guy suggesting to heat the shroud up - well, that melted very nicely and easily

Any tips or knack most appreciated!

[paulsouthport]

Are these the ones with the male and female red shrouds joined together? Can't remember what they're called!
I put the wires right through the shroud, soldered on the bullets being careful not to leave any solder on the outside, then pulled the shrouds up the wire and over the bullets - hard. They pop on. It's tough though!

[dillwhacker]

They are buggers TBH.
You need to make sure there's no solder on the outside of the brass bit where it has the tapered ramp locking shape machined. Then you have to pull / push soooo hard it is painful, to get them to snap into position.
Really, I hardly have the strength sometimes.
You just have to pull on the wire with maybe 50 pounds force...
I hate them!!
HTH

[MartinW]

Oh dear! yeah, I guess that helps thanks

And yes, that's them - buggers indeed!! Thankfully I personally don't have anything that needs anything beefier than XT60'.s

Maybe I'll desolder them and have a go at pulling them through rather than pushing. At least by then if the wires stay in then my soldering's proven to be good

[dillwhacker]

Are these the double-barrelled red plastic HK type ones?
If so, you need to push the wires through the plastic first, then solder, then pull the wire / brass back through the plastic.
Look at the direction of the ramp on the brass bit - does it need to be pulled or pushed through the plastic to lock?
Anyway, it needs a LOT of force in my experience.

[MartinW]

Ahhh, yeah, just had a closer look. There's a ridge up near the wire end of the connector. To the naked eye there isn't a discernible "ramp" as such (well, to mine anyway - I've been in front of the computer all day though), but if I run my finger nail over it it's definitely ramped one particular way, and that way means it will need to be pulled through. Might explain a lot!!

I'll certainly give that a go tomorrow anyway and see if it helps - thanks

[dillwhacker]

Yep, if its like all mine you will have to pull it soooo hard you wouldn't believe it, but then it clicks in place, and your'e sorted!

[cjcj1949]

Solder on the outside will mess things up. Not that easy to avoid. Difficult to remove without desoldering the whole thing. You can use a desolder tool if you have one or desolder braid and flux helps as well. It is a common problem with connectors though. A file is another method. I haven't tried it but greasing the outer surface or masking tape it would keep it clean. A dremel would get the solder off as well.