GU50 Build – Yellow heater wire won’t hold a twist

Hi Stan,

The yellow heater wires are definitely a little trickier than everything else. I’m using the same stuff in the build video that you use in the kits so it is definitely possible to get them to take a twist. Here’s a couple of things that might help.

Make your twist tighter, as tight as you can get. We included lots of extra heater wire so if you lose a bit of distance it’s not a big deal.

Twisting “Technique” is key here. When you’re twisting two wires together you want to make sure you’re doing three things at the same time. With your off hand that’s holding the already twisted wire, you want to make sure you are grasping it firmly just back from where the next twist is happening. Essentially you’re supporting the current twist until the next twist locks it in place, then you move up with it to the next one. Next, when twisting you want to make sure that you are twisting both of the wires around each other evenly and at the same time, it can take a bit of practice to get this right (It took me a bit) but you want the two to be as even in their twist as possible. This helps the twist hold a lot better. Next, once the twist is done, you want to continue holding those wires while you move up your other hand to “Capture” that twist with the thumb and forefinger. Essentially at no point does the wire have the option of unravelling because you’re always holding onto both wires in some way.

Take your time with it, I didn’t show me twisting the wire on camera fully because it takes time to do it right. My instinct is to rush with it, and sometimes I even have to go back when I see I twisted a section unevenly or too loose. So try to be patient with it and follow the above advice and it should make a difference.

Let us know if you have more trouble with it, and thanks for posting on the forums to add to the resources for the kits.