Soldering

[Ben]

Hoping to get my amp etc back in the car today but one problem i had last time is that the live and earth feed from the battery and to the rear light dont have connectors on one end to go into the amp terminal where they are screwed in and the wire simply frays and pulls out from the terminal.

Would it be ok to solder the end of the lead so its all in one piece, drill a small hole through to solder then screw it into the terminal??

 

[Herr_spl1ff]

Oops, I'll wake up before I post! That should do it. If you've got space double up the end of wire before you solder it so you fill the terminal with wire if that makes sense.

 

[Retepetsir]

A better way to do it is to buy some ring terminals and crimp those on the end (use a vice/hammer if you have to).

 

[fox1983]

was guna say the same as pete it will cost u abotu 1 pound for a pack of terminals

 

[Herr_spl1ff]

That's what I originally posted but I reread Ben's post & thought he meant screw down terminal like connector blocks rather than putting a screw through solder. Cuz that would just be daft

 

[Squidula]

yeah i wouldnt rec soldering, crimping is the best way, you dont wanna be in a position where the solder melts and shorts your amp, or possibly a cap. Ive seen some nice cars go the way of the scrappy cos of shorts like that

 

[thacreeper]

Why would the solder melt?

 

[Pink Princess]

I would crimp the ring terminals on however if you dont wnat to do that soldering should be ok, just dont make a mess of it

 

[RIK]

i always thought you should crimp the ring terminals on then run solder into it so its neva gunna come off,, and gives the best connection,but i have no ice so ill probly be wrong

 

[thacreeper]

Its nice if you 'tin' the wire with solder before putting crimp terminals on, as the solder is soft and gives the crimp terminal something good to bite on, rather than just the bare wire, so you're not wrong really.

 

[masterbiker]

Why would the solder melt?

I think the only way the solder would melt is if you used the wrong rating (too thin) of wire to hook up the equipment and they then sucked up too much power, thus the cabling would heat up. I would have thought that the insulation on the wires would melt and catch fire way before the solder would melt tho.

 

[thacreeper]

Yeah exactly, that was my point .. I think if the solder was melting, the real cause for concern would be why that was happening, rather than the fact it was happening.