wiring and splicing stuff

[greatmaul]

Not a farkle, per se, but part of many a farkle installation is wiring. and.... I suck at it.

I keep wiring up leds and using those ridiculous blue splices that you can buy anywhere,
http://s7.postimage.org/4q8ydc7vb/blue_splices.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/4q8ydc7vb/)
and they just don't work. The lights go on and off, and if you wiggle the wires they come back on. So I clip the wire off and try again, and now I have so many of them there's hardly room to smash the tank back down. I need better stuff, and I'm not too keen on soldering stuff.
So, I'm wondering... how do you wire stuff up?

[ecr959]

Hello Greatmaul.

I can only tell you to give learning to solder another try. I have done lots and lots of soldering in the last 30 yrs, its easy. I use a low-watt iron, fresh solder, I use clips for helping me hold things together, I use little pieces of heat shrink tubing for insulating the connections. It ends up a solid connection and with heat shrink on it , it looks like a pro job.

Get a small soldering kit from Radio Shack, they're not expensive at all. Make sure it brings a solder-sucker. And then I'm sure Youtube has videos on how to solder. Watch more than one, so you are sure that the advice is good.
I can recommend these other websites, you can search to see if they have clear , easy advice and instructions on "HowTo Solder".

• http://www.howcast.com - one of the best how-to sites on the web. They show videos.
• http://www.ehow.com is another one.
• http://www.Instructibles.com is another one.
• http://www.howtogeek.com yeah, its a funny name, but the stuff you can learn here is excellent.

I hope this helps you reconsider.

[JWR]

ecr959 covered it pretty good.

It is skill that you will use the rest of your life.

[greatmaul]

Ok, you guys are both right. Thanks for the links ecr959 and JWR for the reinforcement. I *am* kind of tired of having to be embarrassed by my ridiculous wiring jobs.

[ecr959]

Here's a pic of a solder-sucker. Its in his right hand.

[Water Warrior 2]

Old guy needs to know. What is the purpose of a solder-sucker?

[ecr959]

When you melt solder, you need to suck away the excess solder. Sometimes when you are redoing a connection, you would first melt and suck away the old solder, before applying the fresh new solder.

[Water Warrior 2]

When you melt solder, you need to suck away the excess solder. Sometimes when you are redoing a connection, you would first melt and suck away the old solder, before applying the fresh new solder.
Sort of like a mini vacuum cleaner for liquid solder ??

[Water Warrior 2]

When you melt solder, you need to suck away the excess solder. Sometimes when you are redoing a connection, you would first melt and suck away the old solder, before applying the fresh new solder.
Sort of like a mini vacuum cleaner for liquid solder ??



Ok, now I get it. Just did a search and found out how/why it works. Cool little tool. :2tup: :2tup:

[alantf]

Just one thing more - If you buy solder, make sure it's the type that contains its own flux. :2tup:

[jonathan180iq]

Soldering is hands down the best way to take care of electrical stuff.
But, if you're an electrical dunce, like me, then just get a $5 wire tool and some double female ends and go to town.

http://www.backinblackgp.com/images/image576b.gif

A case of all different kinds of these crimps can usually be had for around $9 and will last you for years.

Also, this website will show you how to make a nice clean splice without soldering anything.

Tapping and Splicing Wires: http://www.backinblackgp.com/Tap_And_Splice.htm

[Gz Rider]

...

[alantf]

On the "how to" page, it says "you can solder the joint". As a retired electrician, I say you MUST solder the joint. No twisted joint is firm enough to stop any slight resistance that can cause heating up of the joint. As for the guy saying that solder can degenerate the joint - utter rubbish - as long as you use a solder containing flux, or a non corrosive flux designed for electrical work. It's the plumbers' flux that is corrosive. In nearly 50 years of soldering I've never known one of my joints go down or corrode. :2tup:

As an aside, a few years ago I was installing a 12v alarm system. In one of the detectors there was a joint that I knew that the maintenance guys would need to uncouple for use as a test point, so I gave it a real good twisting, and plenty of tape insulation. Unfortunately the examiner happened to pick this job for a random check, and also decided to check this very joint. When he spotted the unsoldered, twisted, joint, it was an automatic fail, and the boss gave me one of the biggest bollockings of my career. :cry:

[Gz Rider]

...

[greatmaul]

wow, thank you so much everyone for the advice! I looked up splicing and soldering and it looks like it has many advantages over other options. I just wish I could roll the bike up into the house so the soldering could be done more easily. I'm looking for a good solder gun now that will work outside. I know they all get/stay hot, but I'm thinking a solder gun with its on/off trigger will be safer to use outdoors.

It really isn't easy for me to do complicated stuff outdoors because of the goats, but that is a whole other post.

[alantf]

You might find that a gas soldering iron is best for outdoor work. It's one I always use when I'm away from a power socket. You just fill it up from a can of cigarette lighter gas, and a fill lasts for ages.[attachment=1:27imogxe]Picture 003.jpg[/attachment:27imogxe]

I've also got a soldering iron that can be plugged into a car's cigarette lighter socket, but I've never used it yet[attachment=0:27imogxe]Picture 004.jpg[/attachment:27imogxe]

[mole2]

On the "how to" page, it says "you can solder the joint". As a retired electrician, I say you MUST solder the joint. No twisted joint is firm enough to stop any slight resistance that can cause heating up of the joint.

I've always though solder was the best connection myself. I was surprised in the marine industry that they like the type of crimp connectors that Jonathan suggested over solder it seems.

The marine crimp style connectors have some advantages over automotive connectors in that they can be heat shrinked to keep water out and for marine applications and since you are supposted to be using tinned copper wire,tarnishing/corroding bare copper should not be an issue. I've seen automotive wire go black on the outside and that would interfer with the crimp connector evenutally. With solder, it would not matter. The crimp connector is better than the connectors originally complained of in this thread though.

The marine industry also might be looking at the advantage of being able to do a quick repair at sea with the crimp connectors. My suspicion is that someone wanted to make a bunch of money selling connectors!

The real trouble the marine industry has with soldered connections is that they are stiff and won't flex. Couple that with the fact that due to gov't regulations solder contains much less lead (if any) and more tin wich can corrode.


:)

[Gz Rider]

...

[Dupo]

I'm saving wiring on the LEDs and the use of these absurd low energetic splices that you can buy anywhere...

:fu: banned