Solderless connection/connectors=SQ?

[Knocker]

If you solider a connection and there is resistance across it then you did it wrong.

I called my electronics buddy and he explained to me you were right because silver solder has less resistance than copper wire.

[bmwking]

All you're doing is mentally creating issues that don't exist.

sounds like my girlfriend

[Soccerballzs]

P.S. Run bigger ground to P99RS. The little skimpy wire they give you is a joke.

[Swordlordboy1234]

Not to bump an older post about SQ on a SPL dominated forum.... But as a SQ and SPL competitor... and also a certified installation tech for a short while.

I have never seen a good solder job fail. I have seen crimps fail many times. If you have a bad solder it will likely still hold together it will just have resistance. If you have a bad crimp it will have problems with resistance and with holding together.

My general rule of thumb.. if its 12ga or smaller then solder and heat shrink it. If its 10ga or bigger then crimp it. To crimp 8ga wires together you can buy copper sleeves in home depot or lowes. Insert both wires into the copper sleeve and use a little hydraulic crimp tool to crimp it down and toss some heat shrink on that bad boy. It will never fail. If your trying to crimp wires like 4ga or 1/0 chances are its a larger power cable and I prefer to just run a new one in those situations.

I solder and heat shrink everything. it is more professional and more reliable.

Also those little wire holders are cumbersome in my opinion. Generally ill bend the wires up a little after I have twisted them together so that the jacket of the wire is touching something on both sides and the part I am soldering is either held up on its own or resting on my solder Iron. I have used this technique to solder wires that are 6+ inches inside a dash cavity (which is decently difficult).

[ShadeTreeMechanic]

X2 on never seen a good solider joint fail. If it breaks, the wire will break on either side of the joint. the joint won't break. I have solidered a few wires in my day. I learned to solider when I was 10 now I'm 44. Lol

[06RTCharger]

Not to bump an older post about SQ on a SPL dominated forum.... But as a SQ and SPL competitor... and also a certified installation tech for a short while.

I have never seen a good solder job fail. I have seen crimps fail many times. If you have a bad solder it will likely still hold together it will just have resistance. If you have a bad crimp it will have problems with resistance and with holding together.

My general rule of thumb.. if its 12ga or smaller then solder and heat shrink it. If its 10ga or bigger then crimp it. To crimp 8ga wires together you can buy copper sleeves in home depot or lowes. Insert both wires into the copper sleeve and use a little hydraulic crimp tool to crimp it down and toss some heat shrink on that bad boy. It will never fail. If your trying to crimp wires like 4ga or 1/0 chances are its a larger power cable and I prefer to just run a new one in those situations.

I solder and heat shrink everything. it is more professional and more reliable.

Also those little wire holders are cumbersome in my opinion. Generally ill bend the wires up a little after I have twisted them together so that the jacket of the wire is touching something on both sides and the part I am soldering is either held up on its own or resting on my solder Iron. I have used this technique to solder wires that are 6+ inches inside a dash cavity (which is decently difficult).

Thats what im thinking of doing with the copper tubing from lowes. But for the smaller dash wires instead of using that for the bigger wire. Small tubing with an Ancor brand Double crimp ratcheting tool, then adhesive lined shrink wrap over that. Theres a guy on youtube that ran a few pull strength tests on different ratcheting crimp tools and that Ancor one was second best, it held to 120-130 lbs of force. The #1 tool was an Amp brand tool but that cost $1,200.00, thats fkn rediculous for some wire crimpers lol that tool i guess is used for aircraft building i think and makes sense it would be the best, it held till 193 pounds of force. He used a simple ring terminal on maybe 12awg wire.

The reason im trying to stay away from solder is for resistance/conductivity. i figure adding liquid metal that is less conductive and more resistant than copper to the equation is a step backward. If i can get a strong copper to copper crimp......that would be ultimate right, if connecting one copper wire to another copper wire? I know theres the point people like to use that "your ears wont notice it" but i dont like to use that as an excuse, i want the best i can do and afford.

[Jessica]

just do this then, its what i usually do in my own builds. It works pretty good. My dad taught me this when i was a little kid

[ShadeTreeMechanic]

You will have more resistance in a crimp connection than you will in a solider connection. Your reason for not using solider is a moot point. Solider has way more surface area in the connection than a crimp when connecting wires like Strange Duck shows with some solider. The solider connection won't break. The wire will break first. Good luck with what ever you do, I'm sure either way will be fine if done properly.

[Skullz]

06RTCharger, on 26 Oct 2016 - 9:27 PM, said:

The reason im trying to stay away from solder is for resistance/conductivity. i figure adding liquid metal that is less conductive and more resistant than copper to the equation is a step backward. If i can get a strong copper to copper crimp......that would be ultimate right, if connecting one copper wire to another copper wire? I know theres the point people like to use that "your ears wont notice it" but i dont like to use that as an excuse, i want the best i can do and afford.

I have done this for longer than you are old and have never once had a problem with a soldered joint failing or causing an issue, i have had many issues with butt joints failing due to the fact that there is just not enough material to hold the wire in place when pulled on moderately and with the bulkiness of that many connectors in one location is just a nightmare. Soldered with a quality sealing shrink tubing is far superior in many ways over crimp connections, even with small ring terminals i will solder those as well to keep them from separating, the main point here is you DO NOT want something that can cause an intermittent electrical issue, as most crimping tools do not have the ability to crimp like a manufacturer's crimp can achieve.

You constantly over think things to the point you make a simple job harder on yourself than it otherwise would be.

[Jessica]

The only trick with soldering is making sure you heat the wire and not just the solder. some people won't spend the money on an iron that gets hot enough to do this properly. You gotta heat the wire quick enough to saturate it with heat and not take so long you melt a bunch of insulation while doing it.

I think that is why people think twice about soldering. Just my .02