The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Solder or just crimp?

I got an EZ wire 21 mini. For my 1950 3100.

I want to do this right but I'm getting a lot of back and forth on whether to solder or not. Each argument sounds convincing too. Are factory wires soldered on new stuff?


I plan to start wiring with next pay check.

Factories don't necessarily do things "right"- - - -they choose to use the methods that will get a vehicle through its warranty period with a minimum of free repair work. If you're interested in your wiring lasting more than 8-10 years without problems, solder the connections. Crimped connections are "good"- - - -properly soldered ones are "better". A poor soldered connection isn't as good as a crimp done right.
Jerry

Better to solder now than wish you had after installing. I soldered as many connections as I could when I first got my 49 3100 in 1987 and while it was a PITA since wiring was already installed I haven't regretted all the crawling around to get it done. Done right you never have to worry about it again!

I hadn't thought of them making the vehicle last just long enough for the warranty...

Solder needs to be resin 60/40?

Are some solder guns better than others?

I did both and heat shrink wrapped all of them. Takes a long time but peace of mind.

You will find out that soldering is not all that easy. Orienting the wire while holding the terminal end in some clamp or other. You need two hands to solder. Then you will melt the insulation. The heating of the insulation and the solder on the joint, will cause the termination to be overly stiff and not flexible. Then getting solder on a place that won't allow terminal to be installed in a connector shell. Screwing up the connector shell trying to get it in there. You may have "cold" solder joints you won't see. Not to mention it will take you forever to finish.

A good crimp contact using a good crimp tool is plenty good for automotive. Solder is not necessary. The crimps will not come loose.

By now it should be obvious that both crimped and soldered connections have good and bad points. I have been soldering since I was 18 and in the army. Personally I don’t use a solder gun but a pencil type. Guns used improperly create too much heat which is bad. As far as crimping always use the type that has a ‘tooth’ to bite into the connector. Always put the tooth opposite the connector seam. The best connection for wire has two components, electo-mechanical. When possible I crimp a connector like the “Staycons” we see so often. Then I tin and heat with the pencil in a selected area and watch the solder ‘flow’ into the barrel of the connector. I would think you could learn some tricks from Utube.

Of course, this issue is a very old issue that never gets resolved.

We always allow the person to do what they wish after all the opinions are in.

Sorry Bartamos, I think Jerry was reaching out to me since I stated I never use a solder gun. I know he can rebuild a carb through the tail pipe, but I seriously doubt he has joined more connections with solder than I. That is, if he didn’t use solder instead of gaskets
to button up all the motors he has built.😜
“We now return you to the regularly scheduled program”.

So what y'all are telling me is that I need to remove all of the wire nuts from my Romex wiring harness?
Carl
Intelgentuli gluteus.

You are AD-D

I soldered mine because the crimps were open (no plastic caps) and I figured, since it was open, I may as well solder them before I shrink wrap. It works for me.

If you can, do both. With a little practice, you can solder an already-crimped wire without melting the plastic insulator on the crimp terminal. I personally prefer a 40-Watt pencil-type iron to a gun...easier for the fine work.

Being able to solder well is a handy skill to have. Either have someone competent teach you, or find a good video on YouTube.

My first two weeks of Army electronics school was soldering. Two weeks. I already had my college degree by then, so I was bored out of my mind. I was making little solder sculptures of soldiers raking the grass, picking up butts, etc. I didn't win points with my instructors with that.

-Kevin

WAIT, you used wire nuts??? A quick twist and couple wraps with Dollar store duct tape works just fine

Man, I best be redo'ing the trouble free crimp connections on my 20 yr old truck and while I'm at it those those 50+ yr old crimps on my 2ea Wheel Horses too....
Funny, the wiring on my 49 3100 is chafeing away and yet there's no problems with the crimp connections.....

All that said, a properly crimped connection, like a properly soldered connection will last most of us.

Wire nuts? sometimes you fell like a nut, sometimes you don't LOL

What's wrong with using wire nuts and tape? I used them when I was putting my $100 wire harness together ( the one that I have $300 into). Of course I removed them later when everything was working ok. I did not use romex, but I did use part of an extension cord for my tail lights.

I'm finding that if a crimp is done properly... it lasts. And the same with soldering but if either is done wrong it's a failure.

And going back to factory warranties and things mafe to last only so long... do the crimps ever fail or is it the cheap electrical component that breaks?

One of the issues with crimping only, is corrosion from road water and dirt/salt. Once a crimped joint becomes intermittent, the hunt goes on. Remember, NO acid core solder!

Ed

Ok, after reading several different forums, sites, rants etc on this topic I'm going to go with just a good quality crimp.

I think I have the tools narrowed down.

How do you guys feel about the Klein 1005 or 1006? and do I need a Jaw style crimper for plug terminals?

Double walled heat shrink sounds like the best and I have a new heat gun for them too.

I'm not familiar with all the different brands of terminals and connectors.... what should I look for?

Get a ratcheting crimper. Watch this video:

Duraseal Heat Shrink Wire Connectors is what G.M. has us use for wire to wire splices.

I do a combination of both. If it's a connection that's going to be exposed to harsh environment (water, road salt, grime, engine compartment) I solder it and apply NO-OX grease to the solder joint and then heat shrink it. If it's something simple like under the dash I crimp it.

bartamos On those crimp connectors,cheap thin connectors wont compare to a real T+B ring terminal. Youcan tell when you feel the pressure it takes to crimp it. I mostly solder them too,with a hot fast iron and dutch-boy real solder rosin-core. Also have a real set of T+B crimpers

The B-52's I maintained for a lot of years had over 100 miles of wire onboard. Most of the connections were soldered. Battle damage to wiring harnesses got crimped connections at times, mostly to get a bird back into the flying schedule quickly. Even then, we had very specific procedures for crimping and insulating repair work. One memorable fix to a star tracker wiring harness over the bomb bay involved a sheet metal repair of some flak damage- - - -the tin bender hit our wire harness 17 times with a 1/8" drill bit while applying a temporary patch to the top of the plane, and the harness had over 100 wires in the bundle! The crawl space over the bomb bay where we were working was about 18" tall, the plane was painted black, and it was in the middle of summer in Okinawa!
Jerry

HRL, I (almost) feel your pain. I was in Oki in 94, the previous AAV Company left us with "brand new tracks!"... that had been sitting in storage for 4-5 years. ALL of the electrical connectors were corroded. We spent our six months of unit deployment repairing the harnesses!

Matt Texas When I learned to buy hi-quality ring terminals ,use a klein or thomas and bettes crimper my connections got a lot better. Cheap light weight terminals will break-off. If in a dirty,wet place better solder. Don't be surprised at what these cost you get what you pay for,Tand B are the best IMHO !! Heat shrink em too !

Matt texas solder

Maybe I’m not soldering correctly but I’ve had soldered joints break right next to the solder, on joints that are subject to movement, with only a year of service. I’ve attributed that to hardening of the copper wire from the heat. Those same joints were repaired with crimps and waterproof heat shrink and have been good for years.

I do agree the you must use good crimp connectors.

When I built the wiring harness in my 34-36 IH, I put a drop of solder on the end of the wire at the connection point when possible (ring and fork type) and used heat shrink as well.

This is a two year old resurrected post. Everyone had their say already. Solder is mandatory on aircraft, spacecraft, computers, data dependent systems like ordnance/armament..........etc. Crucial fail safe systems. AWPS. They too do use crimping at times. Many times a double crimp is specified.

The standard FLAP crimp terminal or the ones supplied by harness vendors are plenty adequate for our low tech, low vibration trucks. Soldering is not necessary and easy to screw up, melt, be too big to fit into a connector shell and gets too stiff sometimes. Do not use fork tongue terminals, only ring tongue. Use shrink sleeve or liquid tape. Soldering is more technical than it seems. Some folks do it as insurance and they are experienced. Others will do too much and solder will wick up under the insulation and make it stiff and melt it causing a mess. This may also cause a break. It's easier to master crimping, especially with the right tools. See American Autowire video online.

All of the harness vendors say crimping is enough. Some say use solder after crimp if you want to. Bottom line is we have discussed this for years and it's always the same. Opinions vary. Do what you want. In my opinion, overkill, sometimes is good. In this case, overkill can cause unneeded trouble for no reason.

I tend to do both. Crimp with a good tool, mines a Klein but any with an arch and a tooth give a positive crimp. These are used where there is no water, oil, or other contaminant like under the dash and I solder ones exposed like gas gauges, brake lights, and any where stuff could work it's way into a crimp only. A test is to clamp a crimped terminal into a vise and pull wire till it breaks. If wire stub is still in terminal you have a good crimping tool.

Matt Texas solder em !

I always solder all of my connections. I was an electronics technician for all of my work life, and I personally don't trust any connection that is not soldered. Good soldered connections are trouble free, and they tend to be that way forever.