How to connect an FBC T Harness

Hi,

Just received my harness to wire up the upper brake light on my new camper shell (awesome!). I'm very capable, and could just experiment, but want to do this right, and to take full advantage of all that came in the package.

1. It looks like the clear tubes with red stripes should be used to crimp the brake light wires to the harness...correct?
2. How do I make best use of the black pieces? I can imagine various combos...My pic shows my thought to use the long narrow piece to wrap the crimps...but...what about the larger piece, and those short pieces? Or maybe use the large piece to wrap the crimps...and use the other pieces to wrap and secure/protect the wires.
3. and...I don't own a hair dryer...is it OK to utilize another heat source, e.g. a lighter, to shrink the wraps (assuming that's the idea...to shrink with heat).

Thank you for entertaining my newbie questions.

Chuck

 

I haven't experimented with a lighter but I've seen youtube videos of others employing that approach successfully.
A heat gun should be about $20 and is a worthwhile (in my opinion) investment as it should last a lifetime. Being able to apply heat shrink is really nice for tons of uses. That and a pair of wire strippers would be a basic kit recommendation for anyone doing anything with any copper wire.

As to the pieces and how they were intended to be used:

1. First place the long PVC tubing over the 2 leads once you've cut the wires to your desired length (if you want them shorter than 12"). You decide on this based on where you want the joint. Also you might want to stagger the two lengths so that each red heat shrink solderless butt connector is independent of the other side so that you have the thinnest possible girth. But with only 2, it's really not that big of a deal.
2. Once the PVC tubing is in place, use the two 1/4" heat shrink tubing pieces on each end of the PVC, to make a clean end. These are entirely optional, mostly for looks, but they will mostly seal against water intrusion. The more important of the two is on the upstream end, nearest the T of OEM connectors.
3. The 1/2" heat shrink is meant to cover up the red connectors once they are shrunk. So, you push that over one end, keep it away from the heat source, and then move it over and shrink it down once you've completed the connections and tested everything.

NOTE: You won't be able to see the wire labels with the PVC tubing in place so a photo or decent memory of which is which can be helpful. White w black is the Toyota standard for ground and what I use as well so for a two wire this is easy but for anyone with a parking light feed, that's typically the green wire while brake is blue and reverse is red. These color standards can vary a little, 2.0 Gen Tundra specifically, but 2nd gen Tacoma, 3rd gen Tacoma and 2.5 gen Tundra are all the same for blue, green and red which is nice.

Did that help? Or should I post a photo?

I'm also entirely open to learning from others as to better ways to do this and/or creative solutions I haven't envisioned. I could include additional helper pieces in the kit if someone has a better plan.

Feel free to cut any of the tubing and/or use tape as desired.

 

Perhaps most specifically, and in response to your photo, the red heat shrink solderless butt connectors are NOT intended to fit within the 3/16" PVC tubing. The tubing would be to protect the wires _before_ the joint where those connectors are used. The 1/2" heat shrink is meant to cover those connectors and is sized for 2-3 side-by-side which is not necessarily the ideal in terms of girth/bulk. Also, heat shrink tubing is relatively inexpensive so DIY allows you to do as you wish with other sizes. The 2:1 shrink is best for this in my opinion since the PVC tubing gets soft with heat so you want to shrink it quickly rather than relying on 3:1 or 4:1 which needs more heat. I also like tubing without glue as it's easier to undo and adjust but the glue can aid in strength as far as the tubing itself.

 

Thank you for your prompt, detailed, and helpful reply, Dave! Yes, this helps. I'm glad I now know that those solderless butt connectors are HEAT SHRINKABLE (kept me from doing it the dumb way ). I have strippers, and will also invest in a heat gun . Cheers!

 

Would you mind updating the title so others might find it easier, given this is likely a common point of confusion, just another thing I haven't fully explained well.

Something like "How to connect an FBC T harness" or Brake T Harness or something along those lines?

 

Also: https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/howto-connect-ebay-grille-lights.759814/