soldering aluminum to copper???

[smithbm]

Soldered wires are suseptable to breakage in high vibration environments. Soldered wire connections are NOT approved for use in aircraft or the marine industry.
Crimp connectors are approved. I do not use soldered connections on a motorcycle.

Earl

I normally use crimp connections as well, however most of the threads I have read through insist that R/Rs be soldered and shrink wrapped. Is this correct?

[crc1214]

You know, I heard the same thing regarding soldering - a lot of boat guys absolutely WILL NOT do it. They would rather use crimp connectors.

A lot of boat forums (this link is from a Jeep forum though) recommend using these........

http://thejeep.com/posi-lock/

I gotta tell you - I may be swayed into using them. I was very surprised to read that they are actually used as OEM equipment on some connections on newer Saab cars.

Right now I've got the replacement R/R mocked up on the bike using wire nuts so I could just test it out. Some drama there. I'll start another post to explain.

Chad

[crc1214]

Here's a much better link.....

http://www.posi-lock.com/index.html

Looks like Wal-Mart, Napa and Carquest have all recently started carrying them.

[crc1214]

Jesus people..... I'm becoming more intrigued by these little things.....

they've got all kinds of connectors - check this demo out for their tapping connector..

http://www.posi-lock.com/posi-tap.html

[earlfor]

The problem with soldered joints is that where the solder adheres, the wire is changed from being stranded and flexible to being solid and rigid. It takes much more flexing of a stranded wire to cause fracture than it does in a solid wire. Its true that corrosion is the biggest problem with crimp connectors and that is solved in marine applications by sealing the connectors with electrolytic grease. Soldering the wire after crimping a connector voids the reason for crimping as the wire exiting the crimp will be solid. The crimp will hold, but the wire will break. In 30 years of making various repairs on high end yachts, none that I can remember used soldered connections and none of the companies I worked for permitted their use. I was also involved in an EAA chapter and of maybe 20 aircraft I had personal experience with, none of them were built using soldered electrical systems. I would simply twist the wires together and put heat shrink tubing over the splice before I would use a soldered joint. I have seen fractured soldered wire connections. I've never seen a wire broken off of a crimp connector due to vibration. For corrosion protection, a little grease will work fine. Connections can be greased and then have heat shrink applied over it to seal the grease and connection.

Yep, they make a crimp connector for any application you can imagine. :-)

Earl

[earlfor]

None of my three bikes have those connections soldered. For R/R and stator connections, I use insulated, blade, crimp connectors with grease and heat shrink.

Earl

I normally use crimp connections as well, however most of the threads I have read through insist that R/Rs be soldered and shrink wrapped. Is this correct?

[crc1214]

Cue Boondocks.........

[earlfor]

Awww Philip is the oil man, he aint never seen no lektrical wyars afore. :-)

Earl

Cue Boondocks.........

[Boondocks]

Actually, Earl, I don't really disagree with you. Since so many people here are making solder connections with better results than they had before, I thought that it was a subject worthy of discussion. As I mentioned, it gets controversial and there are adherents on both sides.

One viewpoint that I thought was well expressed was from Bob Nuckolls of The AeroElectric Connection:

I've made the statement numerous times and will repeat it here. There is no significant difference in a properly soldered versus properly crimped joint on a wire. Crimping takes specialized tools and less skill; soldering uses very in-expensive tools and takes some practice. I cannot cite any reason for saying that one technique is better than the other with respect to service life in your airplane.

This quote is contained in the downloadable PDF file Crimp_vs_Solder_and_other_nagging_questions

I like to get both sides of the story out when there are good points on both sides. Now hold on, Earl, are you ready for this? As you know, my bike still has the original stator and R/R working just fine after 26 years. My main wiring, like yours has no solder connections. I have replaced the burnt-out original connectors with crimp butt-splice connectors with electrical non-corrosive grease coating the exposed wire and connectors. Very similar to your setup, except mine are permanently connected.

When I was hooking up the Digital Voltmeter, I inserted a plug and socket in the wiring to be able to remove it if desired. The voltmeter wires were so thin that I soldered them to the plug and socket to keep the connection diameter of the 5 wire group at a reasonable size. This is not exactly a critical part, but it is taped up firmly and I don't expect any flex problems with it.

[earlfor]

OMG!!!!!!! :-) :-) :-)

Earl

[QUOTE=Boondocks]
I like to get both sides of the story out when there are good points on both sides. Now hold on, Earl, are you ready for this? As you know, my bike still has the original stator and R/R working just fine after 26 years. My main wiring, like yours has no solder connections. I have replaced the burnt-out original connectors with crimp butt-splice connectors with electrical non-corrosive grease coating the exposed wire and connectors. Very similar to your setup, except mine are permanently connected.

[argonsagas]

If you really want flex, and also want it to be fully sealed, and also do not have the required type of grease available, you can still use a crimp connector (with or without an overlay of shrink tubing) and cover the ends or any other opening with liquid electrical tape.

You can buy it at any place that sells mobile home components, and also Walmart...which is where I got it. It comes in several colours if you want identification, or just for decoration.

SHAKE the can well before using it.