I finally learned why my D-sub pins kept breaking after 8 years

Had an old timer at a shop in Denver pull me aside last Thursday. He watched me crimp a DB-25 and just shook his head. Said I was using too much force on the ratchet crimper, squeezing until it clicked twice. He showed me how to back off the tension and do one smooth pull. 20 pins later, zero broken tails. Do you guys back off your tool tension or just let it click?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_cora29d ago

Wait, you can actually adjust the tension on those? I've been squeezing until the second click for like five years now and just accepted the casualties. @evan_harris14 I'm with you, I never thought to mess with the tool. I had a similar thing happen with my old AMP crimper though - a buddy of mine showed me how to file down the little plastic stop on the handle just a hair so it wouldn't over-crimp on those tiny pins. That one mod saved me from buying a whole new tool. I bet it's universal since most ratchet crimpers have some kind of adjustment screw or tab you can mess with.

evan_harris1429d ago

Backing off the tension? That's wild, I've always just let it click twice like a caveman. Did he mention if that trick only works on certain brands of crimpers or is it universal?

nancyd8527d ago

Read somewhere that Klein says backing off by a quarter turn works on most of theirs.