Lost a whole afternoon to a bad crimp tool on a nav light harness

Bought a cheap crimper for about $35 at a local tool shop. Thought it would be fine for a quick repair on a Piper's nav light wiring. Every single pin in the D-sub connector failed continuity. Had to redo the entire harness with my old, proper tool. Anyone know a good, affordable brand for crimpers that actually work?

3 comments

3 Comments

luna_jackson282mo ago

Feel your pain, cheap crimpers are the worst. My old faithful is a Klein Tools one, got it years ago and it just works.

murray.troy2mo ago

My Klein crimpers are going on fifteen years now. They just keep working no matter how much I abuse them. That's the real test of a tool.

lily8927d ago

Ngl, that "Klein Tools" thing is a bit off. Klein doesn't really make crimpers for aviation connectors like D-subs. They're solid for standard terminals and stuff, but for those tiny pin crimps on nav lights you really need a ratcheting crimper from someone like Daniels or maybe even a DMC brand. I've seen guys mess up whole harnesses trying to use a Klein on Mil-spec pins. Honestly, your cheap crimper failing wasn't just about price it was probably the wrong style tool for the job. The old proper tool you mentioned is probably the right kind, so stick with that.