[SRR]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHoP0QSofqI

What say you?

"For decades soldering electric wire was the best way to make connections. Now it’s outlawed in aircraft & never used in cars or trucks. But why are people no longer soldering wires & it’s become one of the worst ways you can make solid electric connections. Learn the truth about solder, common myths & why you probably should never solder another wire again."

[KS circutguy]

Been soldering for decades and decades in the automotive industry and it's an absolute necessity for keeping out corrosion on things like grounds where the terminals are exposed to the atmosphere... I have had 0 come backs after being soldered. I get what you are saying, I'm just saying I don't think it's as big of a deal as it might come off as. I also realize that wire splices in the automotive industry are just copper wires twisted together and then heat-shrink / epoxy tube covering it but I have seen where these are problematic and soldering it fixes it. So I don't know... I'll just keep doing what has always worked for me over the decades. I also used solder with lead in it because the lead free stuff doesn't work.

...

[Mr Anonymous]

And on the opposite side of the argument is the almighty ScotchLok, the absolute bane of my electrical existence. Like KS said, I do what I know works for me.

And for the ScotchLok, I hope the inventor broke his damn leg and they fixed his *ss the same way. They are the worst things in the history of ever. On an enclosed trailer of mine whose ramp door I was repairing, I found TWENTY-TWO of the damn things just within the door itself. Its a wonder anything worked. My solution was to start over and make my own harness the way God intended.

[JSchmitz]

Nothing wrong with GOOD solder joints. Not good if subject to bending stress.

[burd]

Crimp it then, your car.

[Held for Ransom]

As an IPC member, I find nothing wrong with soldering. I agree though that no soldered end should be terminated (crimped). But, that doesn't mean a lug end can't have solder on it, just not where you're crimping. Vibrating areas are a large concern too.

[Sun Tuned]

They fella that wrote that article probably didn’t take into account the problems he listed were from young guys who didn’t know/learn how to “properly” solder and made a carload of cold solder joints….

They ain’t teaching this stuff anymore folks. And the young guys don’t wanna learn it. And then the stuff has too many damn epa/VOC hoops to jump through , so the “new “ replacement stuff ain’t worth a diddly damn…

Man that article struck a nerve…

[Sun Tuned]

And after watching the news the last month or so…. And seeing all the aircraft crash, turn upside down etc …

Maybe they oughta go back to doing it the old way…

[george kujanski]

I've been soldering wires forever, and crimping, using the proper tools, is the accepted way in a lot of applications. Automotive-wise it's quick and provides a reliable connection. Soldering in a high-volume environment is more costly.
Nothing wrong with soldering if done correctly. How else could you connection aftermarket radio to existing car harness, for example? I do it all the time. Make a good mechanical connection, solder properly, then insulate and then restrict movement with the final assembly.

George

[Shiny]

The video is well-meaning but inaccurate...in some cases just wrong...

Soldered connections have excellent electrical performance and are inherently reliable. But as the video attempts to say, solder alloys are poor choices for structural applications.

Make the joint, don't bend or crimp after, and as George says, don't let it experience any tension, compression, or bending in service.

If you don't have soldering skills, crimping may be a better option but can also be done poorly.

There is rarely only one way...

Mike

[JLMounce]

Anecdotal so take it with a grain of salt. I have a friend that was trained by Qualcomm for ECU upgrades in transport vehicles. Per him their standard is uninsulated butt connectors with heat wrap. These are on transports that do a million miles.

This doesn't necessarily mean this is "better" than soldering, as you're talking about mass scale workmanship where labor costs are a factor. But it does show that at least in that situation, using a simple butt connector was deemed appropriate. I think Shiny makes a good point that if you don't have the skill to solder connections well (I certainly don't) other methods may be a better choice.

[Sirrotica]

In my own experience I had the transmission wiring harness get wrapped up in the front driveshaft of one of my own trucks. I searched wrecking yards for weeks to find a suitable replacement, but never was able to find a used one.

There were approximately 20 wires in this harness that needed repaired, I laid under the truck, repaired and spliced them all back together with soldering and shrink wrapping every repair. Some wires required more than one repair per wire. These wires have to go into a split plastic conduit and then be retained so the same thing that I experienced didn't happen again. The previous owner had worked on that harness previously replacing a defective a thru case plug and never secured it properly, that's how it became entangled initially. He used crimp connectors and wasn't able to fit the harness inside the conduit, leaving it hanging lower than factory issue.

There would never have been enough room to do all the repairs within the small area GM provided and be contained within the plastic conduit with crimp connectors. I soldered it all back together and rewrapped it, drove the truck for years afterwards in a salt and water, severe vibration environment without any problems before the body and transmission deterioration finally deemed retirement of that truck at 280,000 miles. The splices survived about 80,000 miles under severe conditions, that's good enough for me to trust soldered and heat shrink splices. I wouldn't have any problem re-using that harness in another truck if I ever needed it.

[Squidward]

Good info.

High current applications like starter/battery cables and stereo amp power wires always need special treatment. But for typical signal wire applications, like lower power stereo, engine signal wires, etc. I have fallen in love with low temp solder heat shrink connectors. 1000x better than crimping butt splice connectors.

https://youtu.be/v9kDUKU8PIE?feature=shared

I did a digital gauge cluster install recently, also using heat shrink connectors. I am doing a stereo install now. Oh, sooooo nice.

[mrennie]

I resisted watching the video because I assumed I would get irritated. IMO 90% of YouTube videos are just attempts to get some attention and are inaccurate or misleading.

Being bored on a Saturday morning, I broke down and watched it, and as expected, I am irritated.

Firstly, the entire premise of the video is that soldering is "bad" or "dead" because of problems with flexing. OK sure that could be a problem in specific cases...but the same can be said for solid wires in general, which are still in use in all kinds of applications and superior in many, and really, that would have been a better topic of discussion than making bold statements about solder being "dead".

Second, the person doing the soldering in the video to show why it is bad clearly is clueless on how to properly do it themselves. While saying many people don't know how to do it correctly (which is true), and attempting to show good joints, he actually showed he was one of the ones not doing it correctly. You do NOT slide the wires into each other and then solder them. Proper soldering of wires requires a mechanical connection first, then the soldering to ensure an electrical connection. If the way the wires are put together before soldering allows them to easily fall apart with barely any tension, you have already failed before the solder touches them. Typically, a "Western Union" splice (both wires wrapped around each other) provides the mechanical connection, which would not come apart unless some effort is provided; a Western Union splice should actually provide a very good electrical connection. The soldering that comes after is enhancing that electrical connection and eliminating any chance of oxidation or corrosion between the strands.

Third, the points about solder joints having voids. If done correctly, that is seldom a risk. While attempting to show "good" soldering techniques, the video incorrectly showed how to solder numerous times. I saw several instances of where the tip was placed against the wire and then the solder was then being applied to the wire right beside the tip. WRONG! This error is exactly why you get cold solder joints and voids. Soldering works with capillary action, and solder always flows to the hottest point of the joint. The proper way to solder is to wet the tip first, which increases the thermal transfer when you touch the item being soldered, then place the solder on the back side of the joint, away from the tip. Doing it this way, when the solder starts to flow it will flow towards the tip, and because the joint was hot enough to melt the solder on the back (coolest) side, you have some assurance that the entire joint was hot enough to melt the solder and should be good.

Lastly, there were several shots of trying to melt solder on a tip that was not tinned and all full of crap. Another instance of not knowing how to do this right, then blaming the process. Tips should be scraped cleaned and tinned, and putting a good amount of solder on the tip to wet it just before you touch the wires is the key to improving thermal transfer and making it work well. Putting a "dry" tip on the wires you are trying to solder does nothing for thermal transfer, and frustrates people with limited soldering experience; because the solder won't melt, they instinctively start putting the solder on the tip instead of the wire, and solder starts to melt, but the wires are still not hot and this is where the cold joints and voids are created.

One thing I agree with, if you have trouble soldering correctly, a crimp connector is probably better. For me, anything I care about and want the best connection is getting a Western Union splice, followed by solder, followed by adhesive lined shrink tubing that goes 3/8" past the soldered area. This way there is no concern about flex from vibration.

P.S. Scotch-loks...agreed, these should be banned. For some reason they are a magnet to trailer wiring and nothing but problems. Seen so many trailers with sketchy lights and upon close inspection all the wiring is Scotch-loked together with no environmental protection, everything is corroded, copper wires are black, ugh...

Rant over

[limejudge69]

I’m guessing the ‘no soldering on aircraft’ pertains to new builds because I can 100% assure you that repairs on existing aircraft are still using solder joints and environmental splices. All day every day. Most avionics connections are crimped and pinned, but a lot of switches and relays still get soldered

[VCho455]

If you were a manufacturer of specialty crimping tools and accessories how would you try to expand your sales outside of existing OE manufacturers?

[NeighborsComplaint]

I’ll never understand all the ScotchLok hate. I used them for years on trailers and pigtail connectors and they were more reliable than crimped butt splice connectors where you can easily miss the crimp ferrule or overcrimp.

If you’ve ever undone a ScotchLok, you know how tightly the internal blade wedges over the wire for a tight connection tap. A dab of silicone in the wireways makes them weatherproof though I never had one fail due to water intrusion and corrosion when installed dry.

If they made them in black, no one would have any reason to complain.

[george kujanski]

Misuse is probably the biggest issue. The prongs in the connector are designed for a certain gauge wire. Using the wrong connector for the wire gauge may cause a poor connection or a broken wire.

George

[OG68]

“Western Union Splice”

Wow, I haven’t heard that term since Basic Electrical School in the Navy 50+ years ago. I may have forgotten the terminology but have always used the process when soldering.
Thanks for the refresher course! It’s always good to review and drop the bad habits picked up over the years.