flyrv9
New member
I have been soldering for years; and still do it today in my present job as an avionics and instrumentation tech. I carry a soldering cert, but don't solder as much as I used to because other forms of making connections (at least on aircraft) seem to be the norm now. I thought I'd provide some info to those of you modders out there who are new to soldering.
First let me emphasize that soldering is not a means of making connections. It is a means of insuring connections stay made. If you don't have a solid connection before soldering, you will have a poor solder joint.
For equipment a 40 Watt soldering iron will suffice for most jobs. If you want a solder station that is temperature adjustable - go for it, but they are pricy. I use one at work, but I don't own one.
40/60 solder will work best for most applications. I use it along with liquid flux for almost all my work. I do not like lead free solder and don't use it.
Some other items that are nice to have are solder wick and a solder sucker for d-soldering - both available at Radio-Shack or on-line. Both are cheap too. I like the spring loaded plunger type of solder sucker.
Sometimes tools are handy for cleaning up a previously soldered connection. Used dental pics are perfect for this because they are stainless steel and solder won't stick to stainless. You can get pics like this at Harbor Freight.
To make a good connection and solder joint I suggest the following:
Clean the areas to be soldered.
Tin all wires to be connected by applying flux and then heat and tin lightly with solder.
Make your connection and then clench, crimp, to make it tight.
Apply more flux (I use a small brush) and then solder. Less solder is best - you already have the wires tinned, so only a little solder is needed. For delicate circuits use a heat sink (alligator clip, hemostat, etc.) to protect the componet from the heat source. Don't linger. clean the tip of the iron (brush against a wet sponge), tin with solder, make your connection and get off.
Clean and inspect the joint. Take an acid brush and trim the bristles so they are stiff. Soak and brush the joint with alcohol until clean and flux free. Joint should be nice and shiny. If it's dull and grey, you probably have a cold solder joint and will ned to re-do it. Remove the solder by heating and using the solder wick or sucker. Clean, reflux and try again.
After you're finished and have tested the operation of the connection you may want to cover it to protect it from the elements or future shorting against something. Depending on the type of connection you can use heat shrink tubing, tape, or in the case of a terminal, a lacquer coating. There are special products for this like humaseal but nail polish works well. Use a bright color so you can see it. You or someone else may be checking with a meter sometime in the future and will get a false open circuit because of the coating. Clear is hard to see.
If you are soldering in your vehicle remember there may be power on the circuit you are working on and to remove power first.
I mentioned in the beginning there are other forms of making connections instead of soldering. If you are just putting a couple of wires together I suggest using a crimp splice of some kind. There are crimp splices with heat shrink covers made by Raychem that work well. There are also many types of crimp terminal lugs for all wire sizes and applications. I can go into these if there is an interest. For those interested in Cannon plugs / pins / daniels crimpers, etc. I can provide info on these too. There are lots of options out there. I also have a pin crimper cross reference if anyone needs something looked up.
Regardless of your connection type here's a few things to remember.
When making a connection leave a little extra wire. You don't want a taught banjo'd (as we call it) wire, as it will eventually fail. An extra inch or so, at each end, will provide a strain relief and allow for retermination if necessary.
ID your wires somehow. Labels at each end make connecting and troubleshooting much easier. Use a sharpie or something that won't fade due to heat or time.
Make a drawing of what you're doing. Include wire numbers, wire size, routing info, etc.
I suggest you use only quality stranded wire. Do not use solid core wire.
First let me emphasize that soldering is not a means of making connections. It is a means of insuring connections stay made. If you don't have a solid connection before soldering, you will have a poor solder joint.
For equipment a 40 Watt soldering iron will suffice for most jobs. If you want a solder station that is temperature adjustable - go for it, but they are pricy. I use one at work, but I don't own one.
40/60 solder will work best for most applications. I use it along with liquid flux for almost all my work. I do not like lead free solder and don't use it.
Some other items that are nice to have are solder wick and a solder sucker for d-soldering - both available at Radio-Shack or on-line. Both are cheap too. I like the spring loaded plunger type of solder sucker.
Sometimes tools are handy for cleaning up a previously soldered connection. Used dental pics are perfect for this because they are stainless steel and solder won't stick to stainless. You can get pics like this at Harbor Freight.
To make a good connection and solder joint I suggest the following:
Clean the areas to be soldered.
Tin all wires to be connected by applying flux and then heat and tin lightly with solder.
Make your connection and then clench, crimp, to make it tight.
Apply more flux (I use a small brush) and then solder. Less solder is best - you already have the wires tinned, so only a little solder is needed. For delicate circuits use a heat sink (alligator clip, hemostat, etc.) to protect the componet from the heat source. Don't linger. clean the tip of the iron (brush against a wet sponge), tin with solder, make your connection and get off.
Clean and inspect the joint. Take an acid brush and trim the bristles so they are stiff. Soak and brush the joint with alcohol until clean and flux free. Joint should be nice and shiny. If it's dull and grey, you probably have a cold solder joint and will ned to re-do it. Remove the solder by heating and using the solder wick or sucker. Clean, reflux and try again.
After you're finished and have tested the operation of the connection you may want to cover it to protect it from the elements or future shorting against something. Depending on the type of connection you can use heat shrink tubing, tape, or in the case of a terminal, a lacquer coating. There are special products for this like humaseal but nail polish works well. Use a bright color so you can see it. You or someone else may be checking with a meter sometime in the future and will get a false open circuit because of the coating. Clear is hard to see.
If you are soldering in your vehicle remember there may be power on the circuit you are working on and to remove power first.
I mentioned in the beginning there are other forms of making connections instead of soldering. If you are just putting a couple of wires together I suggest using a crimp splice of some kind. There are crimp splices with heat shrink covers made by Raychem that work well. There are also many types of crimp terminal lugs for all wire sizes and applications. I can go into these if there is an interest. For those interested in Cannon plugs / pins / daniels crimpers, etc. I can provide info on these too. There are lots of options out there. I also have a pin crimper cross reference if anyone needs something looked up.
Regardless of your connection type here's a few things to remember.
When making a connection leave a little extra wire. You don't want a taught banjo'd (as we call it) wire, as it will eventually fail. An extra inch or so, at each end, will provide a strain relief and allow for retermination if necessary.
ID your wires somehow. Labels at each end make connecting and troubleshooting much easier. Use a sharpie or something that won't fade due to heat or time.
Make a drawing of what you're doing. Include wire numbers, wire size, routing info, etc.
I suggest you use only quality stranded wire. Do not use solid core wire.
