Soldering...
#22
Re:Soldering...
lay solder on the tip of each wire by itself. then bend the wire tip into a hook shape. link the two hooks together and squeeze down.make sure you put the heat shrink on one side of the connection before you solder them together. then lay solder on both together. move the heat shrink ontop of the connection, heat it w/ your lighter. and you're done!!!
#23
Re:Soldering...
A few tips: some people like to put a dab of solder on the iron first. what this does is when you touch the iron to the wire, the liquid solder allows the iron to have more surface area to conduct heat to the wire. this is called "tinning the iron"
i recommend using solder with lead in it, it melts quicker and flows better. when soldering add solder by touching the wire to the PART NOT THE IRON. that's the most important part.
another thing especially when soldering thin wires. don't put so much solder that it runs up the wire. if you allow the solder to run up the wire like an inch, guess what happens when you bent that piece of the wire? it's brittle and it snaps.
finally make sure there is good mechanical contact between the parts you want joined. that means clean (oil and solder don't mix) and pressed together as much as possible.
as for the iron i recommend a good pen. the best that radio shack has to offer is probably the cheapest iron that you should be willing to buy (radio shack is crap). if you want to solder 12 or 14 gauge wire you need at least a 40watt iron.
if you don't want to go through the hassle of using shrink wrap, you can buy a liquid electrical tape. it's like paint but dries like rubber, pretty cool.
is that enough "c'mon DETAILS.. DETAILS" for ya?
i recommend using solder with lead in it, it melts quicker and flows better. when soldering add solder by touching the wire to the PART NOT THE IRON. that's the most important part.
another thing especially when soldering thin wires. don't put so much solder that it runs up the wire. if you allow the solder to run up the wire like an inch, guess what happens when you bent that piece of the wire? it's brittle and it snaps.
finally make sure there is good mechanical contact between the parts you want joined. that means clean (oil and solder don't mix) and pressed together as much as possible.
as for the iron i recommend a good pen. the best that radio shack has to offer is probably the cheapest iron that you should be willing to buy (radio shack is crap). if you want to solder 12 or 14 gauge wire you need at least a 40watt iron.
if you don't want to go through the hassle of using shrink wrap, you can buy a liquid electrical tape. it's like paint but dries like rubber, pretty cool.
is that enough "c'mon DETAILS.. DETAILS" for ya?
#25
Re:Soldering...
Also, If this is something you plan to do more than a couple times, I'd reccmmend getting a temp controlled soldering iron. It's make the biggest difference of any piece of equipment I've used. I bought one from CircuitSpecialists for $42 shipped and is very good for the price. I can chip an ECU in about 20 mins and it looks factory when I'm done. I use a big *** jewelers magnifier to solder under though, but you can do it without it. It just makes it much easier to see the pads and to get a consistant amount of solder on each.
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