Soldering Question

[GRINCH]

I'm not a rookie when it comes to soldering but occasionally have problems.

Last night I was trying splice two wires together. One end was some factory 10Ga wire from a Ford Windstar fan and the other was some new 10Ga stranded wire.

I stripped the wires back, added some flux and tried heating up the connection using my pen type soldering gun. It just wouldn't get hot enough to melt the solder through the wire. I just soldered some 12Ga with no problem.

Frustrated I took out my OXY/ACY torch and put on a small tip and heated it up really good and still could not get the solder to flow. I did manage to hack solder it, but not happy with the job.

I am also using some of the older style "real" lead solder.

Any ideas what could be the issue?

 

[folkenheath]

Was the old wire clean or was it corroded? Both copper?

I always use the resin core solder for electrical work, then it seems like you always have the correct amount of flux.

Also, sometimes you can burn the flux with the torch and get it too hot to flow right.

If it was clean, it was probably not hot enough with the pen gun, and too hot with the torch.

 

[GRINCH]

I cut off a good section of the old wire. It wasn't green or burnt. But not shiny new copper looking either. Yes both copper. Unless Ford uses some copper colored crap wire.

Never thought about to much heat.

 

[SUPER'BURB]

sometimes you can burn the flux with the torch and get it too hot to flow right.

My very first thought.

I don't solder wiring much but this is a problem while soldering light gauge sheets together.

 

[Blue85]

If the solder is melting, the wire is hot enough. If it doesn't flow onto the wire, it's not clean enough or it's an incompatible alloy. Don't worry about soldering the joint together until you have tinned the ends of both wires separately. What kind of flux are you using? You should try pre-cleaning the wire with contact cleaner, sandpaper, whatever. Then hit it with your flux-core solder until it's clean. You may have to waste some solder getting it ready like this. Soldering wire with a torch is hard. You don't want to flow with the flame present - just use it to preheat and then apply solder. Or get a bigger iron and/or use 2 irons at once.

 

[cuervo]

One thing I do to get the heat going in the wire is put the iron on the bottom of the two wires and then dab a bit of solder on the iron right where it meets the wires. Sometimes I do it a couple of times and the place the solder on top of the wires. The wires tend to move the heat a little fast this way for me. Of course once the wire is hot it just melts the solder from the top down into the wires.

 

[Fordum]

You say you are using the old style lead type solder.....What alloy?

50/50 is hard to solder wire with, since it melts at a higher temperature, and does not produce a good joint.

Its too stiff and brittle. The joint is liable to crack if flexed.

For wire, you need 60/40. You should be able to find it in rosin core.

If you are using non-rosin flux, for instance the same flux used to solder copper pipes with 50/50, then your joints will fail from corrosion.

If you are using rosin flux, try tinning the wires. Dip them in the flux, heat one of the wires until the flux smokes, and then add the solder. The solder should flow.
Odds are one or the other wire is not going to tin. If it does not, try cutting back to a clean section, or spreading the strands and clean them with some emery paper or scotchbrite.

 

[diesel4me]

I think a lot of wires in newer vehicles LOOK like copper,but are stainless steel coated with copper or something,they repel solder !--no matter what type of flux or solder you use,it just balls up and rolls off..I use crimp connectors when that happens--but I'm no fan of those things either really...

 

[GRINCH]

Thanks everyone

I think it was a combination of all the suggestions/comments.

I was using the 50/50 solder and it was solid core (Meaning no flux).

Diesel4me may be right. Every time I have soldering problems it seems to be on vehicle wiring.

I never though of scuffing the wires before soldering. I do it all the time with copper pipe so why not wires

I hate using splices.