Soldering instead of crimping

pcmentor29 wrote:
I soldered some wires in my Toyota MH engine compartment. One joint had six wires 14 or 16 gauge. My 40 watt iron wasn't working so I used my 260/200 watt gun. I still could not get the wires tinned completely it seemed. I tin them then solder two at a time then heat and stick the pairs together. Can someone tell me if I need a higher wattage iron or another solution to solder wires that have old maybe weathered ends. On fresh copper wires the heat flows great. Is there a technique to get old copper wire to tin properly or is this the best I can do? Thanks

First of all, on old wire, its best to scrape the wire to remove any corrosion or oxidation. Then use a flux-cored solder (not acid core) for best results.
Now, a trick - for soldering wires that are really difficult to solder, and for soldering STAINLESS (such as caps on rechargeable batteries, etc) with regular lead-tin solder - flux the metal first with a tiny dab of phosphoric acid, then use regular solder. Its the only sure-fire way to solder stainless steel. But be aware that the acid will do a job on your soldering iron tip over time.

I learned years ago that the best electrical connection is both crimped and soldered.
Crimping for a sound mechanical connection and soldering for a sound electrical connection.
Gives the best protection against vibration and corrosion.

A few links about crimps-
http://workmanship.nasa.gov/lib/insp/2%20books/links/sections/201%20General%20Requirements.html
http://www.molex.com/pdm_docs/ats/TM-640160065.pdf
https://docs.google.com/file/d/1G8ZPhm3DcLKb4lSrZRH6yRvNmFMfpfVc5F0WcpLvfPSw2pzk9WVWsqHhnYfi/edit?usp=sharing
Some interesting reading.

pcmentor29 wrote:
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Can someone tell me if I need a higher wattage iron or another solution to solder wires that have old maybe weathered ends. On fresh copper wires the heat flows great. Is there a technique to get old copper wire to tin properly or is this the best I can do? Thanks

With stranded wire, the only thing you can do is strip the insulation back until you have clean wire.

If this results in the wires being too short, just add on some new wire.

With that size wire, I would use a 150 Watt IRON.

I soldered some wires in my Toyota MH engine compartment. One joint had six wires 14 or 16 gauge. My 40 watt iron wasn't working so I used my 260/200 watt gun. I still could not get the wires tinned completely it seemed. I tin them then solder two at a time then heat and stick the pairs together. Can someone tell me if I need a higher wattage iron or another solution to solder wires that have old maybe weathered ends. On fresh copper wires the heat flows great. Is there a technique to get old copper wire to tin properly or is this the best I can do? Thanks

If your set on soldering after crimping and are not highly skilled and knowlegable about soldering and don't have all the proper tools I'd suggest buying adhesive lined heat shrink crimp connectors with a built in solder preform. Then use good marine grade tinned wire. Use the proper crimp tool and a real heat gun to heat seal and solder the connection.

Even though I have all the tools for soldering and the skills, for the few cases when I want a crimped and soldered connection, I use the solder filled heat sealed connectors. Gives a crimp joint with solder along with the proper strain relief to minimize the chances of flex failure. the connector is designed so the heat shrink extends beyond the solder joint.

OK found a Ideal crimper, like the sargent, in the pawn shop. Still does not have the jaws I am looking for but I can order those.

Raften wrote:
Looked at the three links to crimpers but did not find any with a middle nib so guess it must not be a factor. The 3M did look like it might on the biggest opening. Still ever time I buy a item that has a good crimp seem to be better formed instead of mashed flat. Yea, I know, picky.

the sargent crimper (see link in previous post) has many inserts you can use. For non insulated "split" ring connectors, they have and I use one of the inserts that crimps the ring with the classic two simicircles onto the wires. nylon insulated connectors take a different crimp form as do the ones with heat shrink. I have about 10 jaw sets for the sargent crimper for different types of connectors. non insulated connectors that aren't "split" ring take yet another crimp form.

Looked at the three links to crimpers but did not find any with a middle nib so guess it must not be a factor. The 3M did look like it might on the biggest opening. Still ever time I buy a item that has a good crimp seem to be better formed instead of mashed flat. Yea, I know, picky.

Raften wrote:
I get it that crimps seem to be the better choice but it brings up the question of what is a proper crimp tool. Some of the cheap stuff I see does not look like it will do that good of a job. I'm guessing that on most crimping tools you need a nib that pushes down both sides at the crimp split, not just mashing everything.

Within this thread there are some links.