Soldering

[landozer18]

Lets begin here I just did a bunch of soldering and such on my 95 YJ wiring mainly for the winch gun cable that got ripped. So im not that bad
Anyways I though now we be a great time to solder my connections for my motor on my RTC ax10 that I just got.(Got my first RC last christmas a sc truck....now Im only thinking more RC's.)Anyways I start solding and uh the solder will not melt into the wire just melts onto the little plate. My dad says you need flux.....I think. Of course he adds think. Another buddy with SC truck 2 touring cars a couple crawlers says your not letting it get hot enough but I mean come on I held it there 5 minutes and I know it aint my solder gun( I trying my gun style & my torch style same result) Some one help my dumb ass please

[TURTLE]

I don't use flux, just a hot soldering iron and it melts into the wire for me.

What gauge wire are you using?

If you touch your solder to the iron does it melt instantly? It should.

What solder are you using?

What is the rating on your iron?

Sounds like your iron isn't getting hot enough.

[landozer18]

If I touch the solder to the tip it instantly melts bang boom.
Im using Rosin core solder....lead free silver bearing by bernzomatic.
The wire is stock about 12 Gauge
150 or 230 w it says on the gun...peak temp of 538c or 1000 f

[landozer18]

The Gauge appears to be 12...stock.
Yes it melts instantly
Im using bernzomatic rosin core solder lead free
The gun is 150 or 230 W it says

[Spiike]

Okay, since it works on other metals, there is 4 possiblies.

1. you need flux

2. the wire is the wrong type of metal.

3. the solder is not getting hot enough to heat the solder for it to stick to the wire.

4. wrong solder.

it could be all 4 put together or it could just be one problem. some metals won't take the solder well. and some solder is different. or your solder iron sucks.

Flux cleans the connection, you could also try sandpaper to clean up the wires to expose other metal inside the wire, might work, flux would work better.

buying the right solder could make the difference, buying some with silver in it, very little silver would make the solder connection stronger, helps when the rock crawler is bouncing around and taking abuse.

buying a good solder iron could help too, just to get the solder to the right temperature to stick to the wire.

most people don't know but make sure you got a desk fan goin to blow the solder smoke away from you, as it is deadly, hope that helps your question

[xv-townboy]

Soldering well takes practice.Make sure that you do this>>>

Keep the tip of your iron clean
Use a wet sponge
Try a bigger tip (More heat)
As stated above,make sure that iron is hot.No dont touch it just give it a few minutes to heat up

Now this part is VERY important!.Tin the tip of your iron!!..Thats how the heat gets transfered fast.
You want that heat to transfer as quickly as possible in order to get that solder flowing for a good solid conection and i'm talking a few seconds here..Ideally you want the finish to look nice and shiny

If your solder joint has a dull cooked look to it,that means heat was applied for to long and usually not as secure of a connection.Probably not a huge deal in something like a crawler but in a RC helicopter for example,there can be alot of vibration.Those over heated solder joints can break off pretty fast.Really sucks..Ask me how i know

If you want a good "How to" video i can PM you a link.Not sure if this Forum allows links to other RC forums posted here so just PM me if you want it..Good luck

[Spiike]

Originally Posted by xv-townboy

Keep the tip of your iron clean.Use a wet sponge.Try a bigger tip.Tinning the tip of your iron is VERY important to transfer heat!!

I forgot yeah, i use damp paper towel, its cheaper, my dad is an electrian, and he uses wet paper towel and a dry one

[xv-townboy]

You can use a sponge all day long..Just keep it damp

[prusik333]

I don't know if this is your problem or not but......
I was soldering pretty good, then one day it just stop working for me. it would stick to some stuff but not all. my buddy told me to keep the tip clean! you might need to lightly file the tip, to get the old solder off?
I tryed it and boom started soldering again, so aparently i wasn't keeping the tip clean enough

[Spiike]

Originally Posted by prusik333

I don't know if this is your problem or not but......
I was soldering pretty good, then one day it just stop working for me. it would stick to some stuff but not all. my buddy told me to keep the tip clean! you might need to lightly file the tip, to get the old solder off?
I tryed it and boom started soldering again, so aparently i wasn't keeping the tip clean enough

yeah thats what buddy and i were talkin about, he uses a wet sponge. every time you solder, before you set your iron down, whipe it on the wet paper towel (thats what i use) remove all left over solder form the iron tip, this will increase the heat to your solder. I use the gun and have no problem keeping tip clean

if its really thick on there, and you can't clean it, can't use it, they have replatement solder heads, including smaller for smaller projects, or if you use the solder gun, they have replacement solder gun tips too, with smaller tips as well for the smallest stuff you want to solder

[Charlie-III]

Pretty much what everyone has stated:

1-Wire & tabs should be "clean looking", Scotchbright/sandpaper can work here
2-Flux helps "wet out" the solder. Rosin core electronics solder takes care of this....the rosin is the flux
3-Make sure both sides of the connection are hot, touching the solder to the connection will tell you this
4-Keep the "tip" clean (damp sponge/paper towel) of old solder & flux
5-A small amount of solder on the tip helps heat transfer to the connection.
6-Make SURE the tip connection to the gun/iron is CLEAN & TIGHT!. I know on the gun type you may need to loosen the 2 nuts and clean the black stuff (carbon) out and then reassemble. The nuts also loosen over time. The "tip type" iron also need to be clean & tight. If the connection is loose or dirty, you reduce the heat going into the connection.....

side note, a bigger "tip" does NOT get hotter, that is a function of the windings/element in the gun/iron. A bigger tip retains heat better so it has a more constant heat where a small tip, while easier to get into small spots, cools off faster when doing big connections.

Lastly, keep the connection still while it is cooling off, if it moves while cooling, the joint looks "grainy" which is the sign of a "cold joint". These usually fail soon. If you get a cold joint, reheat it to get a nice shiny surface.

[rc_pimp]

Try a different piece of wire. 5 minutes is a long time to heat any metal. Once metal has been over heated it is nearly impossible to get a bite. If the wire looks glazed or bluish then that's likely the problem. Also try flux/rosin core. It helped me a lot along the way.

[GRIMGREG]

Yeah, solder won't stick to oxidized copper at all.

[xv-townboy]

Pro trick----- Pre tin both the wire side and the connector seperately. Then let them cool and trim the wire as necessary...... Joining them only requires you to heat and reflow the solder. This takes less effort than tinning and joining in the same step.

[ZacUSNYR]

You should def. always pre-tin wire connections, but make sure you use like a helping hands setup and flow some new solder. Otherwise you'll end up with a cold solder joint which will not be very strong. Biggest issue i've seen people new to soldering having are they use the iron to heat the solder and not the parts they are soldering. The solder should flow with out ever touching the iron. Keep the iron tip clean and well tinned and you'll get the best heat transfer.

[Spiike]

Originally Posted by ZacUSNYR

You should def. always pre-tin wire connections, but make sure you use like a helping hands setup and flow some new solder. Otherwise you'll end up with a cold solder joint which will not be very strong. Biggest issue i've seen people new to soldering having are they use the iron to heat the solder and not the parts they are soldering. The solder should flow with out ever touching the iron. Keep the iron tip clean and well tinned and you'll get the best heat transfer.

thats what my dad taught me too, touching the iron to the wire, then putting the solder on the wire instead of the iron. your right, the iron should never touch the solder.

good point

but remember that touching the wire for TOO long will melt the wire casing and other plastic that will be heating up by touching the tabs and wires. Just so you are aware

[landozer18]

I always use the stack method solder gun(bottom) metal(middle) solder(top)




Im gonna buy a sponge tomorrow cause everything else except new gun thats been suggested i've tried/already doing.
If that doesn't work im going to my buddies for the weekend im gonna get him to try.