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Soldering?
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Author:  Lobster1 [ Mon Jan 21, 2013 6:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Soldering?
What are the thoughts on soldering as opposed to crimping? I am having some intermittent problems with my fuel injection. My first inclination is to solder all connections There are dozens of new ones and due to my poor crimping skill and connecting different wire sizes a few connecter have failed.
1. Is soldering better than crimping?
2. What brand and model soldering iron would be good for this application
3. Solder and flux?
4. Other tips?

Cheers,
Barnaby
Author:  nuttyprof [ Mon Jan 21, 2013 6:46 pm ]
Post subject: 
1) they each have advantages/disadvantages
2) depends on how you intend to use it in the future, if just for small wires and still in the car a pencil type is probably more controllable.
3) for small wires use a small diameter solder, for electrical use a rosin type flux. (acid flux is for plumbing where you can clean it all off)
4) PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. be sure the wires are well joined before you solder, I try to interweave the strands before I twist then solder that way the strands have the most contact. Also do not "coat" the wires with solder, instead heat the wires and melt the solder on the wire and let it soak into the strands.

Hope this helps, if not keep asking till you get the information you need.
Author:  Pierre [ Mon Jan 21, 2013 7:14 pm ]
Post subject: 
Why not both?
Author:  Danarchy [ Mon Jan 21, 2013 7:28 pm ]
Post subject: 
Quote:
Why not both?
+1
Author:  Lobster1 [ Mon Jan 21, 2013 8:13 pm ]
Post subject: 
+1 indeed.
But what iron should I use?
Won't it take a lot of heat to get decent coverage between the wire and crimp. A friend suggested a Pace, but they start at $125.00 and look like lab equipment? But I guess that is better than the Harbor Fright that melted in my hand earlier today. The housing that help the tip was low temp plastic??? I thought it was ceramic until it melted.
Author:  Pierre [ Mon Jan 21, 2013 8:36 pm ]
Post subject: 
You can spend $5-500-5000 on an iron. For what your doing, general car work, $25-50 is reasonable for a decent unit. Go to home depot and get a Weller brand, common and good.

Yes, a bigger terminal will take more heat to solder to but the smallest 25w will be fine. The biggest is what, the bulkhead connector stuff? 25w is fine, you can get the 40w for insurance. For super-extra-overkill you can get the 140w soldering gun. Heavier. Heats up in seconds though.

If your buying separate solder make sure its flux core rated for electronics.
Author:  Reed [ Mon Jan 21, 2013 8:37 pm ]
Post subject: 
"How to solder"

I used those instructions when I was modifying the fuel injection wiring harness on my 89 Ford van. 2.5 years of harsh daily driver use and no wiring harness issues yet (knock on wood).
Author:  nuttyprof [ Mon Jan 21, 2013 9:06 pm ]
Post subject: 
Good primer!
Author:  Lobster1 [ Mon Jan 21, 2013 10:09 pm ]
Post subject: 
Thanks, great link and I'll buy the Weller.
Author:  64ragtop [ Tue Jan 22, 2013 12:45 am ]
Post subject: 
You can't go wrong with the Weller, that tutorial and some practice!

ATB

BC
Author:  Sprag [ Wed Jan 23, 2013 6:05 am ]
Post subject: 
While I'm not opposed to soldering, I never do it, I've had ZERO* problems with crimping. Between automotive and industrial applications I've made a gajillion manual crimps, 90% of which were done with a pro quality crimping tool but I have complete faith in the cheapie ratcheting crimpers you can get for $20. It's my belief that most problems with crimp-only connections are directly related to operator error mainly due to a general lack of attention to detail, and the routine disregard for proper harness routing and/or terminal/connection strain relief.

I now use this $20 el-cheapo ratcheting crimper for everything. http://www.tooltopia.com/tool-aid-18900.aspx
Crimp pressure is adjustable and it provides repeatable, worry-free durable crimps time and time again but I still I pay attention to *and check* each and every crimp that I make (I really, really, really hate connection-related failures : )
Image

*EDIT - That's a lie. I've had numerous problems with crimped connections. A few were my fault when I first used solderless connectors with a crappy tool (operator error) and since then I've fixed I-don't-know-how-many crimped connections that were performed by hacks. Don't use this: http://www.harborfreight.com/305-piece- ... 67684.html
Author:  64 Convert [ Wed Jan 23, 2013 7:51 am ]
Post subject: 
I spent over thirty years in the aerospace electronics business, so have some knowledge of terminating wires.

If done properly, mechanical crimps are usually superior to solder terminations because the wire remains flexible. If you apply too much heat, solder will wick up the wire and provide a sharp edge where it is prone to break.

Soldering performed with the wrong flux can also cause problems. Acid core flux is obviously bad, but there are non-acid, mildly activated fluxes that are also corrosive and can cause a wire to corrode through and break. If you need the mildly activated flux to get solder to flow on some types of wire, make sure you clean the connection with alcohol, or other solvent.

As for an iron for the hobbyist, I recommend the basic Ungar with replaceable copper tips. They are cheap (around $25) and durable, and even for mass producion I preferred them over the expensive Wellers. Just keep the tips clean and filed to shape and they work great. You can get different wattage elements and different shaped tips for the universal handles, so they work for most applications. I've had mine for more than twenty years.
Author:  mcnoople [ Wed Jan 23, 2013 7:17 pm ]
Post subject: 
I have never had any good luck with weller, they seem slow to heat and don't maintain heat well IMO. I like the good cheap $6 GE pen tip soldering iron. Walmart sells them in what passes for their electrical department.
Author:  Lobster1 [ Thu Jan 24, 2013 7:58 am ]
Post subject: 
Thanks for the input! I'm off to by the iron today.

Any thoughts on where I can buy non shielded crimp connectors? Unfortunately the EFI kit harness wire gauge is not the same as the sending units it connects to and I hope that crimp-solder combo resolves the slippage problem?

Fingers crossed that this will resolve my problem.

Cheers,
Barnaby
Author:  Pierre [ Thu Jan 24, 2013 9:07 am ]
Post subject: 
Depending on how much bigger the terminal is, you can sometimes "double up" on the smaller wire. Strip twice as much as you normally would, fold it back on itself half way, then put it in the terminal. Twisting the strands before folding helps keep things from fraying.

There are plenty of terminal houses online. I haven't bought in ages but last I did was from delcity.net - Just checked, looks like they have "step down" butt connectors too.
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