Sealed beam headlight harness

The plug for one of the low beam bulbs on my 88 Silverado is worn out. I stopped at the U-Pull-It on Saturday to grab a new plug.

That was a real eye-opener, since there was only one vehicle in the entire yard that had a set of quad light sealed beams. That means my truck is getting too old to even find junkyard parts!

Fortunately, one vehicle is a lot more than none. My question, how would you attach the wiring to the new plug?

Butt connectors, strip/twist/solder/seal, or something else? I've done a bit of marine wiring for boats, but the issues for this are vibration, heat and the power draw. 

Strip/twist/solder/seal, with emphasis on seal.

I don't know where you live, but here in Canada pretty much all failed wiring repairs underhood are a result of corrosion from moisture entry. I make good money fixing poorly installed DRL systems on American vehicles brought up into Canada.

Heat shrink butt connectors.

Either one probably will work. The butt connectors will be easier, and I've got a decent set of crimpers from back when I used to build shark fishing leaders.

From my (limited) boat rigging experience, I know that the sealing of the connection is vital.

When I've soldered connections, I've then wrapped them in the stretchy rubber tape that you use for pin holes in radiator hoses, etc. I forget what the stuff is called.

Either type of connection will then be finished off with liquid electrical tape. That stuff really seals.

I've never had corrosion problems on any of my connections, even the ones that ran through the bilges.

I hate butt connectors even the heat shrink ones suck for lasting more then a few months.  slide heat shrink with water proof glue over wire, strip do a western union splice, solder and shrink on the tubing.

splice video

moisture proof extra thick shrink

I've used the Western Union splice, didn't know it had a name. I will be doing that. 

I agree that butt connectors can fail pretty easily, although I'm more confident in them now that I have a really good crimper. I used them for the new lights on my trailer. We'll see how they hold up. 

Good discussion, thanks for all the replies. 

Heat shrink butt connectors and a ratcheting crimper. They should outlast the wire.

Also, your local auto parts store probably stocks a headlight connector that's brand new and ready to crimp on.