Battery Cable Crimp Question
The ring connectors that connect to my battery are the type where you can see the cable strands on the ring side of the connector. If I wiggle the cable, the strands on the ring side move. My unde...
Forum Discussion
marcsbigfoot20b27 wrote:IMO its exactly the opposite. A GOOD crimp more reliable than solder (Where's the aircraft assembly guys at to comment?) without all the drawbacks.
I soldered all my battery lugs. Crimping is a pain, can come loose and corrosion can get in. Not to mention soldering gives you 100% contact area.
If the battery cables get to 360 degrees (solder melt point) I would be glad for the wire to come out because that would be a sign of a problem on correct size wiring, like no fuse, etc.
Properly soldering wire that big requires a solder pot and knowledge of how to "solder" like that. Even so there here is no possible way to solder welding wire and get full penetration without it wicking up the cable and causing all kings of rigidity and fracture problems with movement and vibration regardless of how you heat it. Then there are the cold solder issues that often cannot be seen from the surface and would easily survive a pull test.
Crimps simply work and are now the standard of the world. All we're doing is working on getting around $600+ tools with the same results. At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is as little resistance as possible. If a crimp can perform exactly the same as a soldered connector without the mess and wicking, then case closed.
Disclaimer: I was like you 20 years ago and have been drug screaming all the way away from soldered connectors and lugs of all kinds. But they need to be done right.
