Needles to say I re-did all the connections, soldered them and wrapped properly with electrical tape. What actually had prompted me to check all connection, as I originally just wanted to clean up the routing, is that one of the turn signal wires came out the moment I tried to re-route it. Not only the routing was bad, as it was outside the motorcycle frame and in the elements, but the connections, although shrink wrapped, the wires were not sufficiently twisted together. All of which are I'm Ok with, However, the wiring leaves a lot to be desired. Make sure the tip of the soldering iron is tinned, heat up the joint and then apply solder to the connection.The previous owner installed a fender eliminator, aftermarket LED turn signals, brake light and brake light modulator. Use pliers to push the tip of the wire down so it doesn’t create a sharp edge which can cause issues such as poking through the insulation. Depending which way the wire will be running will depend on it’s orientation, you’re looking at about five times of wrap. First wrap going in the opposite direction once, then go back and continue to wrap the other way. If you are working with stranded wire, the wire can be separated into two sections if you desire, but isn’t required. If you are working with solid wire, intercept the new wire at 90 degrees and then wrap it tightly around the existing wire. Remove about a 3/4” of an inch of insulation back on both pieces of wire. Strip the section of wire you want to intercept, here I am using a knife, but be careful not to cut existing strands of wire. When the connection is heated, the rosin will eventually burn off.Ī "T" or Tap splice connection which is intended to attach a new wire to an existing length of wire without cutting into it. The rosin core in the solder will also clean a connection if it’s not overly dirty. Rosin flux can be used besides Rosin core solder to maximize cleaning, contact cleaner can also be used or rubbing alcohol with a toothbrush. Stranded wire can be especially hard to clean than compared to solid wire. If the wire was corroded, it’s best to cut that back and find a clean section to work with. Cutting the length can be wasteful, whatever we don’t use can be rolled up.Ĭlean wire is extremely important as this can cause adhesion issues. This helps prolong the life and promotes heat transfer to the connection.ĭo not cut a length of solder, simply unroll a couple feet so we have plenty to work with. Once the tip has been cleaned, now we must tin it. If this isn’t done, this will cause heat transfer problems along with introducing impurities into the soldered joint. This is done by heating the tip, then rubbing it on a wet sponge. It does have a higher melting point, but it about to withstand higher heat applications and is more environmentally friendly.Īlways clean the soldering iron’s tip before and after usage. Due to the change in environmental regulations, lead free solder is becoming more common. Lead solder tends to be a little easier to work with, has a lower melting point but is hazardous to both your health and the environment. Do not use an acid based flux such as what is found in plumbing applications as this will cause the connection to corrode and eventually fail. Rosin core solder does have the chemical to clean the connection which is rosin and is a just when soldering wiring or electronics. There are two different types of solder used in electronic soldering. There are different types of soldering tools you can purchase, the first is a soldering iron which I am using here, next there is a soldering gun, and finally a soldering station. Video tutorial on how to properly solder wire.
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