Environmental Inline Splice

Has your dog ever chewed through a cord that you you did not think could be repaired? I am here to show you that there is a way to fix it, so today I am going to instruct you on how to do an environmental splice. Before we get started there are some safety precautions that need to be in place. First and foremost when working with electrical wiring ensure that the power is turned off and disconnected if not it can be a shock hazard. Secondly remove all jewelry, and lastly always were PPE such as safety glasses while cutting or stripping wires. At the end of this instructable I hope you are competent enough to repair severed wires.

1. Wire

2. Environmental Splice

3. Safety Glasses

4. Wire Cutters

5. Wire Strippers

6. Crimp Tool

7. Heat Gun

All of these items can be purchased at your local hardware store such as Lowes or Home Depot.

Locate the wire number and find where it says the wire gauge. In the picture above the gauge is 22AWG. The gauge of the wire will affect what splice you use as well as what hole you will use on the strippers and crimpers.

Use your strippers and the correct hole to strip the outer jacket off of the conductor. Check for nicked and broken strands. Insert the wire into the crimp barrel and ensure you can see the wire in the inspection window and check the insulation gap. The gap should be no more than the width of the wire and the outer jacket should not be in the crimp barrel.

Slide the environmental sleeve or heat shrink over the wire. NOTE: If this is not done prior to splicing the wire together you will have to cut the wire and start over.

Insert the crimp barrel and wire into the proper hole of the crimpers and squeeze until it is crimped and the tool releases. Inspect the crimp barrel and make sure you can see the wire in the inspection window as well as all strands are in the crimp barrel and crimp indentions are in line with inspection window.

Repeat step 4 for the second wire. Insert the crimp barrel in the appropriate hole on the crimpers. Ensure the inspection window will be lined up with the crimp indentions. Squeeze until it is fully crimped and the tool releases. Inspect for wire showing in inspection window as well as crimp indentions lined up with inspection window.

Slide the environmental seal over the crimp barrel. Heat until the red and blue ends ooze. If using heat shrink heat until it is fully sealed.