If you're going to be doing any electrical work on a vehicle — whether it's a car, motorcycle, etc — and you're not familiar or comfortable with soldering wires together, having access to a set of quick-splice T-taps is the next best thing.

The way these little doodads work is, you place any part of an existing wire into the T-tap connector (there's a grooved slot for it) and use a pair of pliers to close the plastic shell over that wire until it clicks shut. Then, you insert a second wire into one of the included quick-disconnect spade terminal pieces, crimp the "neck" of it to secure, then simply plug the wide mouth of the spade onto the T-tap's flat edge.

Boom — you've just connected two wires together without having to fuss with soldering, stripping, or cutting!

Here's the photo version of what I just described:

While these connectors making wiring jobs a cinch, you have to keep in mind that they're not rated for weather exposure. I know some people will seal all the openings by coating them with liquid tape for that reason, but the spade bits will no longer come off the way they're designed to. Just something to consider if you're going to use these things.

The TICONN-branded male connectors come in packs of...

• 120 ($9)
• 240 ($12)
• 360 ($16)
• 480 ($20)

Each set comes in a divided plastic case.