Just wondering what everyone else has in their general electrical tool box... not just tools but common fittings etc.

I only ask cause im trying to set up some tool sets for home, and i have the basic obvious stuff (wire strippers, good ratchet crimping tool, general low voltage wires, box of assorted insulated fittings, cheap and nasty multimeter, etc... but just wondering what others have in their setups?

cheers...

My car tool box consists of the following...

Sidchrome 1/4+3/8 Socket set which has both shallow and deep sockets in all sizes(inc the 15's and 18's)
Kinchrome 3pce double ended, double sided ratchet spanners (8 thru 19)
1/4" cheap nasty wobble bar set
3/8" cheap nasty wobble bar set
Sidchrome thru tang screw driver set (the square shaft ones)
Stanley or equivalent combination pliers, pointy nose pliers, sidecutters
Kinchrome stanley knife
Small vice grips
small shifter
Small do everything multimeter
LED test light
Incandescent test light
Earth-less test light
Cigarette lighter torch/globe thingy
My TFI tester I designed and made
My EEC-IV / EEC-V code diagnosis tester...
Portasol Butane Soldering iron and little solder tube
Std Spanner Roll with all sizes
Utilux terminal kit with common rings, spades, bullets in predominantly red and blue sizes...
Spare globe kit with two of the the main globes in the car
Spare fuses, about 3 or 4 of every amperage in the car
Tire slug repair kit
Replacement tire valves and tool
Ethernet lug kit (obviously not car related but handy for making ethernet cables)
18" long 1/2" breaker bar with deep 22mm socket for wheel nuts
24mm socket for towbar hitch
3/8 drive spark plug socket because socket doesn't have one
spare bits of wire for bridging out relays or different gauges
D shackles
spare relays inc the fuel pump and EEC special relays

few other odds and ends no doubt...

My other box has spare smartlock module, spare computer and 12V fluro, spare map sensor, I remote mounted my TFI to avoid killing that and don't have spare one of those... Spare fan belts... Lengths of rope... Flat tow strap and proper tow ball D

And separate to that is my monster jumper leads you'll never buy in any shop... 6Meters long and to avoid voltage drop they are 50mm square cable with monster aligator clips on one and 175Amp anderson plug on the other which plugs into the 39AH battery pack in my boot...

And I wouldn't take any of this out either... Should be ab,e to fix most common faults on the side of the road with spares I carry... Anything that was hard to change (coil and TFI module) I modified so as to avoid them playing up... because they're hard to change no matter what and very simple to make Ford's poor design so much better...

Cheers,
Tim

Random electrical wires of different sizes/lengths/capacity.
Male/Female blades
Cable connector blocks
Heat shrink
Soldering iron
Crimping tool
Electrical tape
Assortment of resisters/LED/capacitors/etc

That's all I can think of at the moment.

I really need to get a multimeter though .

LED test light
Incandescent test light
Earth-less test light

got most of the items listed except for the above, and from memory they arent too expensive either...
hmm always good to see that your heading in the right direction. oh also need to get an assorted fuse kit to keep as spares... forgot about those little suckers. will need it for the audio setup at the very least...

oh soldering iron too... i've got a SCA one that s**t itself. umm the butane vs electrical, butane ones any good? and do you have any suggestions for other stuff to get with the soldering iron, eg that stuff that looks like a bar of soap, etc...

I would suggest a good quality soldering iron & forget the crimps, this will bring you longivity. Then throw out all the cheap schitt you own because electrical isn't for tight asses.

Jesus Christ timmy I reckon you could gain a few full seconds on the quarter without all that schitt in there.... so many tools is only a testament to an unreliable car.

And a jump pack setup like that, as good as it is and full credit where credit is due, either you do alot of stationary stereo pumping or you need a better battery setup.

I carry a shifter & a blade. The only thing thats ever left me on the side of the road was a failed fuel pump and that took me one phone call & a quick changeover on the side of the road at 2am, back at work at 6. The shifter is for... well nothing I've never used it and the blade is for those 2am pitstops.

I got stuck once with a dodgy fuel pump too going to work... Short of that... Never had an issue... No quater mile out here and I do 8-9L/100km without any worry at all... So seems to me it costs very little to carry... Never used most of it on my car... Used a lot on other peoples cars... Was thinking I'll take some out, sure as s**t I'll take something out and then need it two days later... Gotta give it to the old ED... It's bloody reliable but so easy to carry these odds and ends and so easy to self diagnose anything on the side of the road... Couple of spare modules and anything that prone to heat damage, I should be able to fix...

The battery pack I put in to run the winch on my trailer which makes it tip to 80 degrees... The jumper leads which work off it were then an added accessory... It is also s**t hot for running the WAECO on holidays...

I don't have any inline crimps... You can make do without in an emergency with male female blades etc... For proper work as mentioned a solder joint and heatshrink far out does anything else...

I had Iroda butane iron and it was s**t despite costing me $130 odd bucks... So I threw it in the bin and then bought a Portasol iron... The biggest they make which is equivalent to 120Watts electrical... Comes in a red case with two double flat tips, hot knife, hot air blower, sponge (which i never use) and such... Runs for may half and hour flat out... And I use it often in place of an electrical iron at home because it is so much hotter... For cables 4mm and bigger it is a must... If you get one I highly recommend Weller/Portasol... $130 from d**k Smith I think...

Other trouble with a 240V iron in your car is, where you plug it in and you need to fix a wire on the side of the road? And not sure how the 12V irons work... Never was game to get one and try... I know my 12V car kettle is s**t and never boils water despite drawing 20 or 30 amps...

Only thing that upsets holidays is having this tool box which leaves heaps of boot space anyway, but then trying to fit all my DSLR camera gear in too... Then I run short on space...

Cheers,
Tim

sounds like you could live out of your car Tim, for like a whole week without having to even turn it on lol well nothing like being prepared i guess... and like you said, it will be the day after you take it out that you really need it.

hmm might invest in a good butane iron. how much is the butane gas/liquid?

I carry bulk assorted s**t, mostly. But I have a decent toolkit. Bits and pieces make it into the car, stay there till I get sick of seeing the s**t or hearing it bang around. electrical wise though, yeah, I got the basics, anything more detailed EVL-098 is never more than a call away to fix up what I f**k up.

Doesn't upset me too much having it in there... lives in the corner of the boot in it's tool box... Never causes me any upset... No kids so travelling is always just for two... Easy...

Can probably get gas from heaps of hard ware shops... I'll probably get Weller gas next time too but still on the Iroda gas I bought years ago at the moment... I never carry the gas in the car... (good fire hazard that)... Just make sure the iron is full and that's the limit on that...

http://www.altronics.com.au/index.asp?a ... m&id=T2451



Matt's one of those handy people to know Dave?

Cheers,
Tim

cheers for not taking that the wrong way either tim

like you said, the day you take it out will be the day you need it lol

I'm just frugal... That and I'm usually driving around in my work ute which has more tools than I would ever need lol. Always whinging about carrying too much weight.

Takes a bit to upset me man... Pretty chilled out here...

My Ranger work ute is the same... ARB suspension upgrade so I can GVM 3330kgs and I still only have 200 spare when I'm in it... PITA...

Cheers,
Tim

hey Tim i assume this is the kit you have...
http://www.portasol.com/product-r3.asp?P_ID=327

where did you get it from, i looked at their website and the australian distributors are all in NSW. im thinking i might have to get one posted up... looks like a good kit to me...

If a Jaycar store is near you go look and buy from them due to it owns Electus Distribution

very helpful, cheers mate... just saved me a lot of mucking around...

for anyone else looking for a butane soldering iron...
http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=TS1328
equivalent to 125W electric iron - $159 for the set
http://www.altronics.com.au/index.asp?a ... m&id=T2451
250mL gas refil $7.50