Hot Rods Soldering electrical connections 101

^^^ agree with Bones--I use an old Thomas and Betts tool that I used in my trade for maybe 40+ years. They are available today--Just told a friend where to buy one-he loves it!! On battery cables I use an old Nicopress overhead line tool--never a failure. Neighbor had a high dollar woodie with an intermittent problem. A shop had made the battery cables for him with an indent type tool. I went to help him and was able to pull both wires out of the connectors with a hard jerk. Redid with overhead line tool-no way you can pull that apart!! Have wired a lot of fast drag cars too and no wiring failures as of yet.

 

You nailed it , Squirrel! I also have about five soldering “ guns”! From a small pencil type to my acetylene torch and in between! The one I use the most is my Wellers 220 amp hand held gun type soldering iron! Weller makes two common sizes and the larger on is harder to find. But it heats wires/ solder quickly so the solder job is done in a hurry and the heat doesn’t have a chance to travel down the wire!
Just like choosing the right size wrench!





Bones

 

Current barrel crimper part numbers (as of a year or so ago) are Klein 1006, Ideal 35-5431, and T&B WT111M. The Klein and Ideal are about $30 retail, shopping may turn up a better price. The T&B is the Cadillac, about $45.

My T&B is the very first version, WT111 (no suffix). The difference is mine has three indents, does 22 to 10 gauge, the newer one does 16-10 with two indents but has a cutter which the older version lacks. The older ones turn up on eBay and at garage sales, flea marts, etc, well worth looking for. There's several for sale on eBay right now for reasonable money.

 

Here’s a picture of my battery cable crimper. Been using it for years! But after the crimp, I still solder the terminal!




Bones View attachment 5262634

 

The difference between slow and fast? Making sure the nuts are always tight that hold the tip in place is a must. Something to do with repeated hot and cold cycles.

 

My T&B is my go to crimper for small wire too--have used it for maybe 40 yrs as said. Orange and black covered handles. I have a newer one too that has two indents but says range is 22 to 10 on it.

 

Yep! In my soldering tool bag , and yes I have a soldering tool bag, I have several new sets of tips! I can tell right away, if something is wrong with my gun! It won’t work right if something is out of order!
This could be the OPs problem!






Bones

 

Thank bones, I’ll pick on up at our electric supply house and put it in my stocking. Merry Christmas.

 

Great! It will have a black and orange handle! You will love it!






Bones

 

I design wiring harnesses for off-road industrial equipment at my current job. The only time a harness sees solder is when its not possible to use a mechanical crimp or an ultrasonic weld.

YMMV, but as noted by others the OEMs, NASA, and the military disallow soldered terminals and joints.

Buy yourself a quality ratcheting crimp tool with a variety of dies.

 

Current model T&B WT-111M crimper. Had to teach mine to speak with an Aussie accent (and crimp upside down) but other than that a very well made piece of kit.

 

There're two things I don't like about this version. One, the way they 'cheated' the 18-14 crimp in between the other two doesn't give the same support to the 'away' side of the crimp and it tends to distort the crimp more than I like. The other is the 'anvil' side (opposite the indenter) is narrower and gives a bit less support and that also seems to allow a bit more distortion. This is a cosmetic issue more than anything, functionally either one will work. I just feel the older version turns out a prettier crimp...

 

Thanks! That is the crimper I use…a little older and more beat up…..but still functioning!






Bones

 

After reading all these suggestions here it's pretty clear there is only one way to go. Crimp, then solder the crimped connection.
Should be foolproof. Lol.

 

Personally I like both methods and use whatever seems to suit the situation best......in my opinion. That said, and this being a nostalgia site, the Packard 56 connectors are probably still common. On the other hand, since we are talking about reliability of connections......most harnesses no longer use the old Packard 56 because of lack of protection from the elements. Failures are not caused only by vibration, and we have all sanded connectors at one time or another when they looked less than sparkling (pun intended). These days I use the more modern connectors that have better protection from the elements and they also have some reasonably priced crimp tools that ratchet and make very good connections. That said, if I have to splice two wires together or add a wire to an existing wire so I have two leads, I normally solder the joint. Personally, I really like the newer ratcheting crimpers much better than the old manual plier type crimpers. They make very consistant connections.

 

And heat shrink.

 

The heat shrinks are very important addition to the terminals! Some folks say is hides bad connections, never has been my findings! But everyone here has run into an old terminal that the wire is breaking right at the end of the terminal! Crimp is fine, but the wire is broken , here is where the heat shrink comes in it supports the wire and spreads out the flex of the wire! The factory crimp and wire focuses the flex in one spot, right behind the terminal and causes it to fail!
Again, crimp, solder, heat shrink, support wires = no failure! Just my experiences, in the trenches!





Bones

 

Since this an automotive forum I fail to see heat causing solder to fail as a factor. I can’t imagine where a connection would be exposed to that much heat.

My method? Sometimes I solder stuff sometimes I crimp stuff, I can’t say as either method has caused me any real trouble.

 

In probably 90+% of all heat damaged wire incidents I've seen over the years it's been either a loose/poor connection or a failing switch contact generating the heat. Direct shorts to ground generally account for the rest.

 

That’s how you can find some poor connections…. by running your finger over the wires and connections! Might burn your fingers….but finding the problem is sometimes worth it!lol




Bones

 

A thermal imaging camera can find those sort of issues fast, and w/o burning body parts. Modern solutions to old problems.

 

The OEM's got away from soldered joints because of speed on the assembly line. Much faster to crimp than solder connections when the strength being about the same, crimp saved a few fractions of a cent which added up to dollars in total expenditures. 100 pennies saved was the same as 100 pennies earned.

I mostly crimp, but I don't have a high dollar tool, just a good, heavy, well made cheapo. Never had many come loose, the ones that did were usually because I didn't get a good crimp or were bad terminals to start with. I also solder when I think it might be better, at places like headlights, coil connections, starter terminals. All with mechanical support, regardless of connection. We see a lot of failure in the trucking industry with unsupported wiring. The OEM's do a decent job of supporting wiring, but some lazy mechanics take supports loose and fail to put them back, usually resulting in a wire failure down the road.

 

Damn! I wish you would have told me about that a couple of years ago!




Bones

 

So the solder joint failing is a symptom not the failure…

 

Wow ,thanks for all the great replies.In short I guess what has been said is to do whatever works best for you, practice practice, & use quality tools, I have always crimped in the past and yes the crimping tools were not the best and in regard to splicing the wires ,the tools I used were probably inferior . Pulling the dash down each time I had a electrical issue is really a pain. Hate to admit it but this is the 4th time I have the dash unbolted and pulled back to work on wiring. I will go with soldering right now & see how it goes.
Changing the subject abit, I envy all you guys south of me. Just looked,the temp is 8 degrees right now. I still work out in my shop regularly with the nat gas ceiling furnace on ,it makes it more spendy now but hey it's my hobby & love it.. Gene in Mn

 

In the early 80's I was having my friend pull terminals from bulk connectors to make electrical repairs on his 63 Nova. He hooked his thumb. It would have made a bass fisherman proud and a vampire bat happy.

 

If you've got any of that 8 degrees stuff to spare, send it my way. Frosty the Snowman is looking more like a slushie


Cheers,
Harv

 

Well, yes and no. A solder joint per se won't cause the initial heating if done right, but it can fail in such a way to accelerate the heating process and as a worse case allow the wire to fall out of the connector and arc against other things. A crimp connection doesn't present those additional hazards.

 

A lot of good practical experience mentioned here. To get a little technical, the actual type of connectors is the biggest issue. Don't use the cheapie auto store, HF, etc. connectors that have a split it the barrel where the wire is installed, only use connectors with solid tube barrels, these won't come loose if properly crimped. The very best are the new type connectors that have solder and an extended sleeve filled with a sealer, all activated with a proper heat controlled heat gun. Soldered, and sealed in one step. Not as easy to overheat as a soldering iron can. These are the type a lot of aviation installs are going to, but they are not cheap. In the end it is still clean everything, do it right, one time.

 

One more trick to keep out water is to use heat shrink a size larger than needed, then fill a throw-away syringe with handle dip and shoot some into the heat shrink at the terminal or joint before heating it. Eliminates any moisture or air. The extra step is too tedious for every joint, but exactly the thing for headlights, taillights or anywhere that water and high amps do their dirty work. Learned this trick after repeatedly having issues with my Massey Ferguson.