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gakali Samba Member
Joined: August 19, 2007 Posts: 448 Location: Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2015 1:55 pm Post subject: Solder Or Crimp?? |
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To solder or crimp? That is the question.....
For years soldering has been considered by many as the best method of repair for automotive wiring in most service applications. Does this still hold true today?
Of course nobody can argue the fact that a properly done soldered repair can be a very good permanent solution for connecting wires together. This has been done for years and has been considered by many the "professional" way to connect two wires together.
On the flip side, butt connectors have commonly been viewed as a "hack" amateur type of repair (especially in wet environments). If this is the case than why is this the only method of repair that VW allows to be performed on their vehicles under warranty??
We've all seen both methods performed incorrectly and fail miserably over time. This is a fact.
VW engineers today prefer the crimp method. They say this method delivers consistently superior results when using quality connectors and crimp pliers. They say there are too many variables that can affect reliability when soldering in the field. Vibration resistance/wire hardening being one of the main concerns. I can't disagree with this.
VW does sell several butt connectors with self sealing shrink tube but they are available from 3m or dare I say Asian sellers on ebay. I've tried both and they seem to work equally well. To be clear here I'm not talking about the connectors with the hard plastic insulators you can buy at Dollarama.
As for crimpers - below is an example of the crimp tool type that I like to use. You can adjust the crimp pressure to release before the shrink tube insulation gets damaged. Also below is a link to the type of connectors I'm talking about.
You may get the impression here that I'm an advocate of the crimp. True! First off, for me it's way quicker to crimp wires together (seconds versus minutes) Second - I usually find it easier to make repairs in tight areas or when the wires are a bit short. Third - I've drank the Kool-Aide and I believe it's less prone to vibration and oxidation damage over time. And lastly - it just seems simpler.
I'm not an engineer, electrician, or scientist. I have worked as an auto repair tech since 1990 and have probably made thousand of wiring repairs by now (24 alone when rebuilding my EV door harness Haha). I worked with Chrysler for 13 years and all we did was solder. Then I moved to a VW/Audi shop. First time I asked for some solder I got the "What the heck is solder - what's wrong with you" look. As an example, a very common VW repair is to replace pesky in-line connections with permanent crimped connections for intermittent electrical faults.
So what are your thought on this? Do you think this is all a load or are you going to try crimping your next wiring repair??
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Ratcheting-Terminal-Wire-Cr...RTM2247625
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/100-pcs-12-10-16-14-22-18-G...wdvDgbyAsQ _________________ Why do it? Because you can.
1999 Eurovan
2003 A4 Avant 1.8T Quattro
1992 W201 190e 2.3 Mercedes
2006 W220 S600 V12 Twin Turbo 5.5 Mercedes
Last edited by gakali on Fri Dec 25, 2015 10:54 am; edited 2 times in total |
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M_atthewanderson Samba Member
Joined: January 25, 2005 Posts: 288 Location: Seattle
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Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 11:21 am Post subject: Re: Solder Or Crimp?? |
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I work in aerospace and they don't solder. Professional crimpers and connectors are much more readily available from ebay, alibaba and amazon then they used to be. I dont think theres an excuse anymore for home mechanics to have poor hack job crimps. _________________ 1980 2.0 Sunroof Vanagon |
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gakali Samba Member
Joined: August 19, 2007 Posts: 448 Location: Cambridge, Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 1:58 pm Post subject: Re: Solder Or Crimp?? |
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mattography wrote: |
I work in aerospace and they don't solder. Professional crimpers and connectors are much more readily available from ebay, alibaba and amazon then they used to be. I dont think theres an excuse anymore for home mechanics to have poor hack job crimps. |
Do you consider a crimped connection superior to a soldered one? If so why? _________________ Why do it? Because you can.
1999 Eurovan
2003 A4 Avant 1.8T Quattro
1992 W201 190e 2.3 Mercedes
2006 W220 S600 V12 Twin Turbo 5.5 Mercedes |
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M_atthewanderson Samba Member
Joined: January 25, 2005 Posts: 288 Location: Seattle
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Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 11:49 pm Post subject: Re: Solder Or Crimp?? |
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I prefer however the connectors engineered. I've only done electrical on vw's and audis, 60s to present, and they're all crimped. Nevertheless, if I purchased an awesome connector that was engineered to be soldiered I'd soldier it. _________________ 1980 2.0 Sunroof Vanagon |
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CdnVWJunkie Samba Member
Joined: February 01, 2004 Posts: 1110 Location: Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
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Posted: Wed Dec 23, 2015 8:08 am Post subject: Re: Solder Or Crimp?? |
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I prefer the crimp connectors and heat shrink. The only time I break out my soldering guns or pens these days is to repair circuit boards.
I recently had to replace my 25 year old well pump at our property. The replacement pump came with crimp connectors and clear HD heat shrink. This is designed to be under water 100% of the time. |
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Jeff's Old Volks Home Samba Member
Joined: December 19, 2011 Posts: 819 Location: Chester Basin, Nova Scotia
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Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2015 9:06 am Post subject: Re: Solder Or Crimp?? |
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CdnVWJunkie wrote: |
I prefer the crimp connectors and heat shrink. The only time I break out my soldering guns or pens these days is to repair circuit boards.
I recently had to replace my 25 year old well pump at our property. The replacement pump came with crimp connectors and clear HD heat shrink. This is designed to be under water 100% of the time. |
I agree 100%. I've been fixing VWs and Audis professionally for 30 years. Soldering makes for a weak, brittle connection. _________________ www.jeffsoldvolkshome.com
2004 Jetta TDi Wagon
2002 Smyth Ute TDi
1990 Vanagon weekender Syncro AAZ
1987 Syncro Doka AAZ...soon to be TDI
2014 DL650ABS Xpedition
1986 Weekender Syncro (Under construction)
1987 Westfalia (Under construction)
1987 Syncro Single cab |
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MacLeod Willy Samba Member
Joined: February 18, 2014 Posts: 933 Location: Ontario Canada
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Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2015 9:29 am Post subject: Re: Solder Or Crimp?? |
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My opinion, if it matters, is crimped or soldered, the main thing is make sure it is sealed from moisture entering the connection |
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Gruppe B Samba Member
Joined: January 16, 2007 Posts: 1331
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Posted: Fri Dec 25, 2015 11:02 am Post subject: Re: Solder Or Crimp?? |
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Years ago I was helping a friend fix a non working aftermarket stereo in his pontiac. He had used solely crimp on fittings to connect the harness but it was only working intermittantly.
We pulled out the stereo causing the wires to pull out of the loose cheap crimp ends that had come from a $10 crimper and terminals package from Canadian Tire (Canadian NAPA). Within a second we see the whole harness short out from the exposed ends and burn
After replacing the dash harness, we soldered the connections to the stereo.
Either use high end crimp fittings and a proper high quality crimper or just solder and heat shrink. |
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Wildthings Samba Member
Joined: March 13, 2005 Posts: 50361
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Posted: Thu Dec 31, 2015 3:45 pm Post subject: Re: Solder Or Crimp?? |
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A soldered connection will produce a stiff section of wire that will cause the strands to fatigue and break on either end. I agree with others that a crimp is superior in most cases. I have posted before about the crimpers I use that produce a very reliable crimp. I have developed techniques that give very reliable connections using the crimps I can buy from most any FLAPS or places like Home Depot. |
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