Soldering a wiring harness.

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Libra Monkee
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Soldering a wiring harness.

Post by Libra Monkee »

I've never done it before. Got me a new head unit. Want to get the bugger installed. (CDs are so 90s) What should I know before I end up burning the crap out of everything?

Here's what I know:
Get wiring harness.
Get solder.
Touch wires from harness and head unit together making sure colors match.
Use solder and soldering gun to fuse wires together.
Cover with electric tape.
????
Profit.

Do I have WIN or EPIC FAIL?
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Post by complacent »

Bring it by one evening, I'll get it done for ya.
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Post by sirwilliam »

Colin = WIN!
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Post by zaxrex »

We should have had him solder Darrin's injector leads together. Last time we let that pyro loose under a hood with a BUTANE SOLDERING IRON.
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Post by Mr Kleen »

thought you were going to bring it to the house yesterday. I can show you how one night this week, or Colin can do it and I'll play WoW. :lol:
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Post by chicken n waffles »

Mr Kleen wrote:thought you were going to bring it to the house yesterday. I can show you how one night this week, or Colin can do it and I'll play WoW. :lol:
i'll cheer you all on while i play tf2 :eek:
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Post by Libra Monkee »

complacent wrote:Bring it by one evening, I'll get it done for ya.
Cool, I try to get with you and find out when a convenient time would be.
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Post by Sabre »

I can't even count how many soldering junctions I've done. Feel free to yell if ya need me!
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Post by Phibs »

Ya with mine I used solder and heat shrink, held together nicely and looked clean as well.
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Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Post by BryanH »

not to bring up the other side of the coin here but....why?

Inside the dash why not get some crimps and a set of Klein crimpers from Home Depot and not worry about getting the solder joints right. It is a WHOLE LOT easier to get a crimp correct with a proper crimping tool than it is to get a solder joint correct.

And before anyone here goes saying I don't know what I don't what I am talking about has anyone else been to Micro/Mini Soldering School for the Navy? I have.
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Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Post by sirwilliam »

BryanH wrote: And before anyone here goes saying I don't know what I don't what I am talking about has anyone else been to Micro/Mini Soldering School for the Navy?
How do you get in the door of the school if it is so tiny? :lol:

JK! :mrgreen: Reminds me of this:

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Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Post by complacent »

BryanH wrote:not to bring up the other side of the coin here but....why?

Inside the dash why not get some crimps and a set of Klein crimpers from Home Depot and not worry about getting the solder joints right. It is a WHOLE LOT easier to get a crimp correct with a proper crimping tool than it is to get a solder joint correct.

And before anyone here goes saying I don't know what I don't what I am talking about has anyone else been to Micro/Mini Soldering School for the Navy? I have.

Crimping absolutely works. Is it easier as well? Of course.. {my opinion}Just ask any best buy mobile installer...{/my opinion}

While it technically is just as usable as soldered joints, I've never been happy with the look and reliability of the finished product. If I had a nickel for every time I had to fix or replace a crimped connection - I could have bought a car with cash. Granted, it might be a 15 year old corolla... But it would still be a car's worth. ;)

And before anyone here goes saying I don't know what I don't what I am talking about has anyone else built multiple cars that have placed in IASCA competitions? I have.

:poke: 8)
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Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Post by BryanH »

actually...I have built cars that have been to the Alpine Car Audio Nationals before IASCA was even around...then proceeded to build a few after IASCA was started. And in 1996 I decided to go a little nuts and took a truck of mine and competed with it and got an invite to IASCA Finals.

The best sounding car I ever heard was the SpeakerWorks Buick when it wsa still owned by the Holdaway brothers...before they sold it to the a-hole. All any of this does is prove I am old.

edit: As far as the reliability of the connection....for an interior connection I will put a PROPERLY crimped connection up against a soldered connection any day of the week. For something like this....it will last pretty much forever. Under the hood....well that is a different story.
Last edited by BryanH on Thu Apr 10, 2008 10:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Post by Mr Kleen »

BryanH wrote:The best sounding car I ever heard was the SpeakerWorks Buick when it wsa still owned by the Holdaway brothers...before they sold it to the a-hole. All any of this does is prove I am old.
I have no idea what you're talking about.






none.
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Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Post by BryanH »

look down the page here...

http://www.termpro.com/showcars/terminator/ca1096.html

It was the only vehicle to ever retire from competition undefeated.
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Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Post by Mr Kleen »

sorry, I was being sarcastic. :oops: I remember reading about the car, but never actually got to see/hear it.
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Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Post by chicken n waffles »

yeah, well my (insert random object of lust) can beat up YOAER (insert random object of lust).

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Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Post by complacent »

BryanH wrote:actually...I have built cars that have been to the Alpine Car Audio Nationals before IASCA was even around...then proceeded to build a few after IASCA was started. And in 1996 I decided to go a little nuts and took a truck of mine and competed with it and got an invite to IASCA Finals.

The best sounding car I ever heard was the SpeakerWorks Buick when it wsa still owned by the Holdaway brothers...before they sold it to the a-hole. All any of this does is prove I am old.

edit: As far as the reliability of the connection....for an interior connection I will put a PROPERLY crimped connection up against a soldered connection any day of the week. For something like this....it will last pretty much forever. Under the hood....well that is a different story.
Small world, eh? I had vehicles competing starting in '98 up through '02. I think I still have my autographed dynamat t-shirt from Alma Gates back when her bronco broke 170-ish db.

I threw the IASCA stuff out there just to make sure my point wasn't blown off as one with out experience (some random e-opinion).

Your emphasis on the word proper is what the whole argument hangs on. And as I mentioned in my first reply, the best buy level of installation that a first time crimper can only aspire to is... questionable. Again, in my opinion.

I still say "meh" to crimp connectors in general. They aren't the first thing I'd reach for. But to be honest, it's as heated a debate as "tastes great" vs "less filling". Both will perform the duties required when used properly.
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Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Post by Mr Kleen »

if I have 2 wiring harnesses that I can bring into the house, I solder. if I have to make the connections directly to the vehicle's wiring harness, I crimp.
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Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Post by BryanH »

Mr Kleen wrote:
BryanH wrote:The best sounding car I ever heard was the SpeakerWorks Buick when it wsa still owned by the Holdaway brothers...before they sold it to the a-hole. All any of this does is prove I am old.
I have no idea what you're talking about.






none.
I missed the RED earlier....sorry about that.
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Mr Kleen
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Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Post by Mr Kleen »

I edited my post to add the red. sorry about that. :wink:
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Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Post by Phibs »

Mr Kleen wrote:if I have 2 wiring harnesses that I can bring into the house, I solder. if I have to make the connections directly to the vehicle's wiring harness, I crimp.
Ditttooooo! In general though, crimped wires make me wanna :puke:
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Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Post by zaxrex »

Well then, you wouldn't want to look at my vampire tabs for my gauge setup. Hey, maybe that is why the EGT is so wonky?
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