How'd you learn to solder?

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 7:39 am

I want to solder my FCD in place since it doesn't work now.

How'd you learn to solder?

It's pretty friggin weak that I can't solder, but I've never had the need until now.

So do you guys have any tips? Anyone want to do it for me? I want my 15psi damnit!

LegacyPunk · Post by **LegacyPunk** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 8:00 am

Get a soldering Iron and some solder wire stuff, radio shack should have these things. 1.plug in soldering iron
2.let it get hot
3. DO NOT TOUCH SOLDERING IRON..it hurts
4. touch tip of soldering iron to solder stuff onto the wire your soldering. kinda like welding.

basically you just melt some soft melty metal onto the wires you're soldering, and your done. then you probably want to wrap some electrical tape on where you soldered.

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 8:01 am

lol, I know what soldering is, and I've done it before.

I just don't know how to do it properly, and with something as delicate as an ECU harness, I want it to work properly, lol.

THAWA · Post by **THAWA** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 8:02 am

the only way to do it right is to practice, which is what he was suggesting

LegacyPunk · Post by **LegacyPunk** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 8:08 am

told you I was going insane, lol.

Flip_x · Post by **Flip_x** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 8:11 am

Use shrink tube. makes the install look nice.

mTk · Post by **mTk** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 2:35 pm

practice

MK

ultrasonic · Post by **ultrasonic** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 5:07 pm

Here are a few tips...

1. Get a damp sponge. Wipe the hot tip of your iron on the sponge every so often. It cleans the crap off the tip and makes it nice and shiny. Plus, the iron works better when you do this.

2. Heat the joint, not the solder. This is somewhat akin to "keep your eye on the ball." Until you get it, you just don't get it. In practice, put a little solder on the tip of your iron before you touch the joint. That will increase the surface area and make the heat transfer to the solder joint much faster.

3. Add solder to the heated joint, let it flow, then remove the iron tip.

4. For electronics use 40/60 rosin core solder, about .030" diameter.

5. You want the end result to be a smooth, shiny solder joint. If its dull, pitted, lumpy, and has black streaks or veins- you are doing it wrong.

6. Practice, practice, practice....

7. Don't pronounce the "L" in the word "solder."

8. Neatness counts.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 6:37 pm

I agree with everything everyone's said so far. I'll just add to it:

Hm, this isn't really an addition so much as a repetition, but it's important: practice, practice, and practice. Get some scrap wire and practice making the joint on the bench before you have to do it at an awkward angle inside your car.

Keep the soldering tip well tinned as well as clean. If the tip doesn't end in a nice point, file it down to the right shape (assuming it's a copper tip that can be filed). Tin it properly after filing it. Or just get a nice brand new tip.

For this kind of job, you'll want to use something around a 25-watt iron. You could probably go as low as 15 or as high as 35 if you're careful.

When you're doing the job in the car, make sure you have a nice long flexible extension cord on the iron so that you're not fighting the power cord to get things positioned right.

It can help to apply rosin flux to the joint with a toothpick or something before soldering. You can also just dip the stripped end of a wire in flux and wipe away the excess. If you can work the flux in between the strands of the copper it'll help capillary action do its job.

Make sure that the wires you're going to solder are clean (aside from flux, of course). If they have corrosion or oils on them, you might need to clean them with contact cleaner, alcohol, or brake cleaner before you can solder properly to them.

Make sure you have a strong mechanical bond before you solder. The solder is just used to ensure a good electrical connection. I would strip away a small portion of the harness wire's insulation and tightly wrap the stripped end of the FCD wire around it.

Make sure there aren't any big gaps between the conductors. You actually want very little solder in the joint.

Make sure the joint doesn't move as it cools (if you did the mechanical connection thing right, this'll be a lot easier). Don't blow on it to cool it either.

Of course, don't apply heat for too long, since electronic components don't like it. I usually don't hold an iron against a joint for longer than a second or so.

63/37 (63% tin, 37% lead) eutectoid solder is the easiest to work with. It'll help you avoid applying more heat than necessary.

If the joint isn't coming out right, resist the urge to try to fix it with more solder and more heat. Let it cool off, then desolder it with wick and/or a solder sucker, and try again.

Make sure you're well hydrated. It makes a huge difference in how steady your hands are. Really.

...or, commission me to make you a plug-and-play FCD.

Really, though... if you just practice on the bench for a short while, you'll be fine. Don't touch your car's wires until you're confident that you'll get it right.

evolutionmovement · Post by **evolutionmovement** » Wed Jul 21, 2004 9:45 pm

Everyone else's tips are great. I taught myself how to solder and then my boss at Sylvania taught me how to do it correctly (cold solder joints are bad).

Try to get everything as mechanically together as possible. Maybe even build up little fixtures/supports to support the component as much as possible as it sometimes feels like you need three hands. Simple stuff should only take a few minutes of practice to get. The trick is doing it quickly so you don't use too much heat while still getting a good shiny fillet. Dull finish is cold solder and will likely fail.

Steve

Bosco · Post by **Bosco** » Thu Jul 22, 2004 12:19 am

Lots of good advice here... So I'll add something totally worthless for balance.

I learned to solder by:

Totally frying out the amplifier inside a stereo I had just purchased... OOPS...

Wiring diagrams are so useful.
I was pissed, and not about to let my purchase go down in flames like that.

So I opened up the deck, and found little tiny dots on the main circuit board that had FR, FL, RR, RL labeled next to them...
I soldered wires on to them, ran them out the back, and used the regular wires from the harness for the grounds, then hooked it to a small external amplifier I had lying around... Presto! I had Music!

That was my first soldering experience...Although not too complex, the dots I had to attach to were extremely small, and pretty close together which added quite a bit of difficulty.
I practiced on some old modems and computer parts I had lying around so I didn't mess up the real thing. I'm really glad I did too... A few practice runs can really help.

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Sun Jul 25, 2004 4:18 pm

I'm thinking I'll secure the FCD wires to the harness wires, then hold the wires close together with alligator clips and just hook it up that way. Shrink wrap the whole unit and I should be gooooood to go

.

I'm going to practice like the dickens tonight and tomorrow morning. I'll solder it up on Wednesday after I finish my coolant tank (So I can immediately start the car and make sure everything is copesetic). Wish me luck guys! Thanks for all the help!

Vikash - I'd commission a plug and play unit, but that's coin I'm short on right now. This project has been expensive enough as it is.

vrg3 · Post by **vrg3** » Sun Jul 25, 2004 10:33 pm

Yeah, alligator clips are very useful to keep the joint from moving... Hemostats are useful for the same purpose too.

Yeah, I was only half-serious about getting a whole new FCD.

Good luck!

scottzg · Post by **scottzg** » Sun Jul 25, 2004 11:18 pm

How did i learn? My dad is an EE- i've been commissioned to build small electronics since i was a kid.

I can't believe this hasn't been mentioned- do not actually touch the solder to the iron. You will burn up the resin (stuff in the solder that keeps the surface tension down) You want to heat the metal you will solder to, and apply the solder directly to the component. If the solder is sticking to the iron, get rid of it, the solder is no good anymore, the resin is gone.

example

iron > | ------ solder
..........wire

The iron is not touching the solder, it is heating the wire.

BAC5.2 · Post by **BAC5.2** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 6:17 am

So I just heat the wire and touch the solder to it?

Shit, I've been doing it wrong all this time, lol.

I'll get a new tip tomorrow and get started practicing.

THAWA · Post by **THAWA** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 6:19 am

heh, me too.

evolutionmovement · Post by **evolutionmovement** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 7:58 am

Yeah, I think heating the part/wire instead of the solder is the part most people don't think of until they've been shown the proper way.

Steve

IronMonkeyL255 · Post by **IronMonkeyL255** » Mon Jul 26, 2004 6:02 pm

I remember I used to do it that way until my intro to engineering teacher showed me how to do it correctly......

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How'd you learn to solder?

How'd you learn to solder?