Soldering oxidised electrical wire

[PaulO]

I tried tinning the ends of the Tacho, +pos and -neg wires from the Remote controls but the solder would not adhear. The wire strands looked as though they had oxidised in a rust colour. I used a product called bakers fluid which helps solder adhear to difficult surfaces but it didn't work. Does anyone have a suggestion to clean the wire strands to aid in solder adhesion?

 

[marlboro180]

Re: Soldering oxidised electrical wire

I have had luck using lemon juice.Make a little bit in a cup, dip the end of the wire in there for a while, and rinse with water afterward. Scraping the wires with a sharp blade can sometimes do the trick as well. Best of all with the lemon method, you can make a nice glass of fresh lemonade while you are at it.

 

[Lrider]

Re: Soldering oxidised electrical wire

You can use a soldering paste-generally can find it in any electronics store- Lemon is good

 

[cr2k]

Re: Soldering oxidised electrical wire

And as long as you have the lemon out, you might as well get the salt and a shot of Tequila. It will help steady your hands for soldering.

 

[RickJ6956]

Re: Soldering oxidised electrical wire

Bakers fluid is acid flux and should not be used on electrical components (including wire). Rosin flux may remove the corrosion if it isn't too severe. If not, rub the exposed wires on some 220-grit sandpaper.

If the solder still refuses to cooperate you can use crimp-type butt splices.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Soldering oxidised electrical wire

Ayuh,... Use Crimp-connectors,.... No soldering needed....

 

[lowkee]

Re: Soldering oxidised electrical wire

If the wire is oxidized, then crimp-ons won't get a good connection either. The problem is the oxidation making a barrier (in this case, an insulator). Although electronics instructors everywhere shake their heads in disappointment every time I mention this, I use plumber's flux (a yellowish paste in a tin) for any wire which gives me a tough time getting solder to stick. So far I'm yet to come across a wire which resists the flux. My flux is 30+ yrs old, so it may have better chemicals than today's flux, but hopefully it should still work with he modern stuff.

Nothing beats a soldered connection, and kudos to you for not being lazy and actually whipping out the iron.

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: Soldering oxidised electrical wire

Plumber's flux is ACID. Given a moderate period of time (perhaps as little as a year), you will eat thru the wire, especially stranded wire. Even rosin flux is moderately acidic and will eventually eat thru the wire. The proper method is to either replace the whole wire, or at least to cut back the wire until you find clean wire. That said, if you cannot cut back or replace the wire, then scrape the individual strands, sand paper them or whatever to make them clean. Using extra flux is acceptable, just not plumbing flux. First choice is a "no-clean" flux (but hard for the average user to find). Second choice is Rosin flux. If you use rosin flux, then you need to remove as much of the flux as pssible after soldering. Acetone works well, but remember it is explosive. The problem with any flux is that it will wick up the wire under the insulation and then slowly eat the wire away. Also, are you using electrical solder, not plumbing solder? I strongly recomend that you use SN 63 (PB37) or SN 60 (PB40) solder. You may have trouble finding these as they do contain lead, but they will make life a lot easier without sacrificing the quality of the soldered connection. By the way, I hope you are using something other than a torch for soldering. A torch will generate way too much heat for electrical soldering and will make the job tougher.

TerryMSU

 

[Grand Larsony]

Re: Soldering oxidised electrical wire

Listen to Bondo (as you always should)... solder connections have no place on a boat, and are NOT ABYC approved as far as I know. They are not secure in a marine environment.

Cut the wire back a bit and use marine crimp-on connections. Period.

 

[NSBCraig]

Re: Soldering oxidised electrical wire

Solder is definitely not the way to do it!

Use crimps. If you need to strip back wire to get a t good wire then do it and use a butt connector the add length.

Also remember marine wire is tinned so it should not look like copper.

 

[Dunaruna]

Re: Soldering oxidised electrical wire

Flatten out the bare wire strands and give them a good scrub with emery paper. The oxidization is a surface coat, it will easily scrub away. The solder will now stick like the proverbial.

 

[109jb]

Re: Soldering oxidised electrical wire

Come on guys. There is nothing wrong with a soldered joint if just a little common sense is used. Solder will absolutely provide a better electrical connection than a crimp connection, so the concern is not electrical but rather the mechanical connection. The solder takes away the flexibility of the conductor so that you have flexible-inflexible-flexible. This can only cause a problem if the wire is flexed at the soldered joint. So how do you prevent the flexing? Simple. Support the wire so that it can't flex there. I can dream up many many ways to accomplish this in a simple easy to do manner. By the way, ABYC standards don't say you can't use solder and they only mention the mechanical problem of flexing. The standards support what I have just stated above.

E-8.15.19 Solder shall not be the sole means of mechanical connection in any circuit. If soldered, the connection shall be so located or supported as to minimize flexing of the conductor where the solder changes the flexible conductor into a solid conductor.

E-10.8.2 Connectors to battery terminals shall be made with fitted connectors providing secure mechanical and electrical connections as required in the Wiring Connections' section of ABYC E-9, DC Electrical Systems Under 50 Volts. Spring clips or temporary clamps shall not be used.
NOTE: A soldered connection that joins a battery terminal connector to a conductor may be used as the sole means of mechanical connection if the length of the soldered joint is at least 1.5 times the diameter of the stranded portion of the battery conductor. See Figure 2.

 

[hungupthespikes]

Re: Soldering oxidised electrical wire

Listen to Bondo (as you always should)... solder connections have no place on a boat, and are NOT ABYC approved as far as I know. They are not secure in a marine environment.

Cut the wire back a bit and use marine crimp-on connections. Period.

X2 The wire is bad. You can't get rid of all the oxidation. Oxidation, strand separation, flux, lose of material with sanding, scraping,ect. all add ohmic resistance. Resistance = voltage drop. Less voltage,and the life of the component could be shortened or worse.

 

[Lrider]

Re: Goods2010-05-07-seven-194

Re: Goods2010-05-07-seven-194

EDIT: Scary links removed

Looks like scary links attached here

 

[marlboro180]

Re: Soldering oxidised electrical wire

And you just copied it.....now it has a twin.

Back to the wire/solder/tequila/lemonade/crimps question hey guys?-

 

[TerryMSU]

Re: Soldering oxidised electrical wire

E-8.15.19 Solder shall not be the sole means of mechanical connection in any circuit. If soldered, the connection shall be so located or supported as to minimize flexing of the conductor where the solder changes the flexible conductor into a solid conductor.

Is this requirement still correct? It sounds like a military requirement that was dropped many years ago. Modern design practice allows (and encourages) surface mounted technology (SMT) for electronic components. I assume that this applies only at a system level, and not at a board level? Sorry for the slightly off-topic post, but I work for a company who supplies circuit boards to a marine supplier and I know that we supply a surface mount design to them. If this does not make sense to you, don't worry as it does not affect you directly.

Thanks,
TerryMSU

 

[gonefishie]

Re: Soldering oxidised electrical wire

Dip the ends in rubbing alcohol (the higher the concentration the better) Tequila is strong but not strong enough. Let it soaks for awhile then brush it with a wire brush.
Perhaps, it's your soldering technique. The wires have to be hot enough for the solder to stick to. Melting the solder and drip it on the wires won't work.

 

[JB]

Re: Soldering oxidised electrical wire

This topic starts arguments every time it shows up.

"You absolutely have to do it my way" posts only inflame the thread.

The oxidation must be removed. There are lots of ways to do it. If acid is used to clean it it is probably a good idea to cleanse it of the acid before doing anything else.

Once the wire is reasonably clean it may be soldered, crimped or some combination of both.

You are not going to get arrested if you don't do it my way.

 

[seabob4]

Re: Soldering oxidised electrical wire

Terry,
The use of solder only callout is still in the ABYC requirements. It mostly pertains to wires/cables that have ring terminals attached and then are mechanically secured. Butt connectors not so much as the wire into and out of the connector has the necessary flex to resist vibration.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Soldering oxidised electrical wire

The ONLY thing I would use an oxidized wire for would be to pull the new wire in to replace it..... as Bondo said, cut it back to clean wire....or.... As I say, if you don't have enough to cut back then replace it.