Soldering...

[Koop]

so i have my iron,electrical solder, im gonna buy a sponge and some steel wool to keep the tip clean. Also im buying isopropyl to clean the wires. the job is to soder the wiring for my aftermarket headlights and tail lights. right now the are just capped up. so does anyone have any basic first hand tricks of the trade b 4 i go to town on my own? i plan on laying some cardboard down under the work but other than that im gonna give 'er!

 

[t3t4delsol]

tip, do it inside a garage or the wind will blow your bead off

Vaseline also help with bonding

 

[whiterabbit06]

Don't use cardboard it will get burned through see if you can get a small piece of wood. When you start soldering strip the wire ends and cover them with solder. Then put the ends side by side and heat them up until they fuse together. Cover with Electrical Tape or Heat Shrink.

 

[Koop]

Don't use cardboard it will get burned through see if you can get a small piece of wood. When you start soldering strip the wire ends and cover them with solder. Then put the ends side by side and heat them up until they fuse together. Cover with Electrical Tape or Heat Shrink.

all the research ive done points to twisting the wires together first and then applying soder.... is this a technique uv tried and decided works better or am i just out to lunch?

 

[whiterabbit06]

As long as you make sure the solder from both ends gets fused nicely and the wires are tight together it will hold up just aas fine as if you twist them. Look at it like this wether you twist the wires together and solder them or you do it my way, you can yank on the wires and they will separate in the middle of the wires nowhere near where you solder them. Twisting them will help hold them together while you try to solder them but it will take longer for the solder to soak through the wires. It's important to make sure the solder soaks through the wires so it makes a good connection and doesn't come apart.

 

[Jeef]

I usually solder over an extra ceramic tile I have laying around. But yeah don't use cardboard or anything that will easily ignite.

 

[Koop]

i have a bunch of connectors that clamp on. should i clamp one on after i solder or is that unnesesary

 

[Jeef]

What kind of connectors are they? IF you use the connectors and use an actual quality crimping tool then you should be fine. I would solder unless you need it to be removable.

 

[whiterabbit06]

What kind of connectors are they? IF you use the connectors and use an actual quality crimping tool then you should be fine. I would solder unless you need it to be removable.

What he said.

 

[Koop]

shit i dunno just an array of 3m shit. ill solder and tape... i think it's the best. what kind of connectors would i want if i was to go that route...???

 

[Jeef]

I would use a bullet type connector, a spade should be fine. You can always make a molex type connector and use that. I would solder. If you think about it everytime you use a terminal you are leaving a possible weak point in the system. A wire could come out of the terminal, the terminal will corrode over time and terminals do break. Its unlikely that it will break or have a wire come loose, but if it happens it could suck trying to figure out why car isn't running.

 

[BodyDroppedNikes]

u dont need to use a piece of wood or cardboard under the wires when you solder. you are just gonna burn a hole in that shit. remember, the soldering iron creats ALOT of heat...around 600 degrees on average. what you can do is twist the wires together, they will be fine suspended in the air, place your soldering iron and solder on the wires you want to solder together and hold it there for 3-6 seconds and let the solder flow. you can move your solder iron and solder around a bit to make sure you have good coverage. all you need is a thin coat of solder. you dont need to glob it on there. thats about it. soldering wires is REALLY easy. i work in a field where we have to solder alot of wires together. been doing that shit for about 10 years or so now. any questions feel free to ask.

btw, what are you gonna do to cover the solder connections after you solder them up?

 

[Koop]

u dont need to use a piece of wood or cardboard under the wires when you solder. you are just gonna burn a hole in that shit. remember, the soldering iron creats ALOT of heat...around 600 degrees on average. what you can do is twist the wires together, they will be fine suspended in the air, place your soldering iron and solder on the wires you want to solder together and hold it there for 3-6 seconds and let the solder flow. you can move your solder iron and solder around a bit to make sure you have good coverage. all you need is a thin coat of solder. you dont need to glob it on there. thats about it. soldering wires is REALLY easy. i work in a field where we have to solder alot of wires together. been doing that shit for about 10 years or so now. any questions feel free to ask.

btw, what are you gonna do to cover the solder connections after you solder them up?

we were thinking just eletrical tape, im aware i can heat shrink it aswell but we were just tossing around the connectors idea if you read the above! i will totaly post pics so you can tell me if i have any obvious problems with what ive done. i planned on doing this project a day or two ago but the thread has been too lucrative to just go ahead without hearing everyone out. I may attempt to solder one side in this evening after i make my grandparents, and family a meal. *whew!

 

[BodyDroppedNikes]

hell if anything, get some scrap wire and practice.

id use heat shrink if i was you...