I agree with most everything that everyone has said. The
procedure that I use for permanent connections is to
FIRST: slide a length of heat shrink insulation onto one
of the wires to be joined. SECOND: solder the connection
with ROSIN core solder. All of the books on soldering
state that you should "make the splice mechanically sound
before soldering". This will insure that the solder, which
is rather soft, is not the mechanical bond as well as the
electrical connection. This one step can all but prevent
cold soldier joints. And while on the topic, when soldering,
allow the joint to cool SLOWLY. This allowes the metal to
grow larger chrystals and will be much stronger. Third:
slide the heat-shrink insulation over the cooled solder
joint. Heat the insulation with a heat gun or with a
very hot hair drier. It will shrink to form an excellent
insulator. Splice completed. For reasons that will become
obvious, when splicing multiple connections within one
section of harness, stager the splices. That is, don't put
all of the joints together. This mistake can lead to abrasion
and failure of the heat-shrink insulation (or any other
kind of insulation for that matter). Additionally, stagering
the splices produces a re-taped harness that does not appear
to have been repaired. You know, no lumps.
For removable connections such as push-on connectors, (What is
it that Lucas calls them? "LUCAR" connectors or something
like that.) I use uninsulated crimp-on connectors. Here's
the trick. Use two pieces of heat-shrink insulation - one
that is the correct size for the crimped portion of the
connector and another piece just large enough for the
outside of the connector. This is obviously a technique
for the female connector only. The male requires only the
small size heat-shrink insulation. I solder the crimped
connection! The crimp provides the mechanical strength
while the solder provides the gas-free electrical connection.
Following the procedures above, heat shrink the smaller
insulation onto the connector crimped area and back onto the
wire insulation for 1/4 inch or so, then shrink the larger
insulation around the entire connector. The result is
a connector that is insulated clear out to the tip of the
connector as well as back onto the wire providing additional
strain relief support to the connection. It also looks great!
OK, OK. I jabber on... Good luck.
Rick
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Richard O. Lindsay / __ __ __ __
Senior Research Scientist / / /_/ /_ / / /_/ /_/
Amoco Production Research / / / / /_/ /_/ / / / \
/ /_/
/
My opinions are my own, untill they're worth something, at
which point they become the property of my employer...
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