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Soldering a wiring harness.

Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 12:06 pm
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?

Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 12:11 pm
by complacent
Bring it by one evening, I'll get it done for ya.

Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 1:10 pm
by sirwilliam
Colin = WIN!

Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 1:17 pm
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.

Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 2:16 pm
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:

Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 2:25 pm
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:

Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 3:43 pm
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.

Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 3:57 pm
by Sabre
I can't even count how many soldering junctions I've done. Feel free to yell if ya need me!

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 2:23 pm
by Phibs
Ya with mine I used solder and heat shrink, held together nicely and looked clean as well.

Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 9:10 pm
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.

Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 10:19 am
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:

Image

Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 11:09 am
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)

Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 10:30 pm
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.

Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 10:32 pm
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.

Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 10:35 pm
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.

Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Posted: Thu Apr 10, 2008 10:40 pm
by Mr Kleen
sorry, I was being sarcastic. :oops: I remember reading about the car, but never actually got to see/hear it.

Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 8:06 am
by chicken n waffles
yeah, well my (insert random object of lust) can beat up YOAER (insert random object of lust).

E-FIGHT

Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 9:10 am
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.

Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 12:34 pm
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.

Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 4:07 pm
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.

Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Posted: Fri Apr 11, 2008 4:44 pm
by Mr Kleen
I edited my post to add the red. sorry about that. :wink:

Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 3:23 pm
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:

Re: Soldering a wiring harness.

Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 8:42 pm
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?