I have to jump in on this one. Soldering is a good idea whenever you connect
wire to a non-moving object (like a PCB) or two non-moving objects together.
But I do think that soldering is not appropriate for wire to wire connections
in cars.
Have you ever worked on the wiring in VW beetle from the 50s? By now all the
solder has oxidized broken loose, solder joints have broken off, and it is just
a big mess. Each time I work on one of these I wished they had just crimp
connections - even the two-way bullet connectors for the Spit headlights are
superior to deteriorating soldered connections.
Do not use solder to join strands of wire together that go under a screw
terminal. The solder is too soft and the wires will work loose eventually (one
of the VW problems).
If you do not want to crimp - and they are reasons for doing this - use screw
terminals, like Euro Barrier strips (Radio Shack has them).
And now if you still do want to solder: the right way to do it is:
1. Heat up one wire, than let solder melt on it (the wire, not the iron), make
sure it soaks through
2. Do the same thing for the other wire, or the part it is supposed to go on.
3. Now join the two presoldered part and touch them with the iron so that the
solder in both parts melts into one piece.
Remember, you want to solder the parts together not glue them with solder. If
you are done and it still looks like to separate parts - heat it up again and
redo it.
Marcus
(certified Radio- and TV-technician)
>>> "Simmons, Reid W" <reid.w.simmons@intel.com> 7/12/00 20:02:29 >>>
No it truly isn't rocket science but about half of all those I have
encountered in the workplace over the years who have been trained and
believe they can solder produce some really awful results.
Although I never personally liked wire-wrap it did prove to be superior to
soldering and properly done crimps can be too especially when compared to
bad soldering.
Reid
'79 Spitfire (original owner)
-----Original Message-----
From: John & Tracy Knox [mailto:jknox@erie.net]
Sent: Wednesday, July 12, 2000 4:27 PM
To: spitfires@autox.team.net
Subject: Soldering wire
Just saw the post and had to reply. Soldering wire is not rocket science.
I can show anyone how to solder in a couple of minutes. Heck, the
directions in most soldering irons are pretty good. I see way too many
crimp on connectors. Or the even worse squeeze EZ connectors. If the wires
are worth putting together for more than five minutes it's best to just
solder them.
John
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