Slee Headlight Harness

[landtoy80]

The ends of the wires on the harness has bare copper wires.
It is on the wires that go the the ground and the battery.
Do I need to seal them?
I don't solder very well, can I use that liquild tape stuff for covering wires?
Does it last very long?

 

[T Y L E R]

....I made my own harnesses . I believe I added a circular connector to the ends .. soldered that , and heat shrunk everything .. then filed the areas that I would be attaching my leads to and lubed it up with dielectric grease after ...

Don't sweat the soldering .. just let it get really hot , and learn from one of my mistakes .. don't try soldering on the fridge circuit . I was trouble shooting the wiring on a friends bike , and kept getting cold solders .. much later , I realized the base fridge was just behind the wall on which I had plugged into ... everytime it cycled up , I lost the heat in the gun ...

Once it's hot , I just get the wire really hot with it , and then get the resin-cored solder over top of that and let it melt down into the wire . Just play with it a few minutes , I'm sure you'll do fine ...

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[Doc]

I'm fairly new to soldering too, my biggest mistake is not letting the wiring get hot enough. I tried to use the soldering gun to melt the solder onto the wiring- and got frustrated when it balled up and fell off of the wires.

Once you get the wiring hot, the solder will suck up into it like a sponge.

 

[landtoy80]

My problem is when I get the wire hot enough the coating of the wire starts to melt.

 

[Big_Moose]

Doc - sounds like you are not using "Flux", first on the wire before you add solder to tin the wire

Kurt - first dip the bare wires in flux, dip the soldering iron tip in flux and get the iron hot - so the flux is burning / smoking off the tip. Now using the soldering tip you melt the flux on the wire with the soldering tip, and then when hot enough the solder will flow onto the copper wire. You should be able to get the wire tinned w/o burning / melting the insulation, and the finished tinned wire should have a nice smooth / shiney finish.

You can use crimped on ring terminals to connect to the battery and ground. If you want to protect the wire you can use shrink tubing, etc.

Joe

 

[landtank]

I don't use flux. Just let the iron get good and hot. If working out doors then try to block the wind. If just soldering wire then I'd get a high wattage iron (verses a low wattage one for electronics) that way it will heat the work up faster and stop some of the insulation melting from a long contact period. If you want to add insulation you would want to use heat shrink tubing. This works best with a heat gun but matches will do in a pinch. To help keep the tip clean have a sponge soaked with water to wipe the tip on.

 

[Rookie2]

[quote author=landtoy80 link=board=2;threadid=16851;start=msg162477#msg162477 date=1085351904]
The ends of the wires on the harness has bare copper wires.
It is on the wires that go the the ground and the battery.
Do I need to seal them?
I don't solder very well, can I use that liquild tape stuff for covering wires?
Does it last very long?
[/quote]

Don't know what you're talking about?? The slee upgrade harness is pretty much plug and play. You shouldn't have to solder anything. At least I didn't, and the directions (which are pretty thorough), didn't say anything about it. You talking about the auxilary harness?? ..didn't do that one.

 

[Safado]

As for soldering tips...use the iron to heat the wire, then apply the solder and it will melt in. But yes you will most likely have problems melting the plastic.

I have the harness, and didn't worry abou the exposed copper. If you're still worried about it, and want to seal it. You can spray it with that battery terminal sealer and that would protect it fine.

 

[Beowulf]

>> This works best with a heat gun but matches will do in a pinch. <<

Wife's hair dryer also works well.

-B-

 

[mabrodis]

[quote author=landtank link=board=2;threadid=16851;start=msg162519#msg162519 date=1085360246]
I don't use flux. Just let the iron get good and hot. If working out doors then try to block the wind. [/quote]
That doesn't always work. I soldered my trailer wiring connector on, and solder would not stick to that, wire was old, corroded, etc...solder just would not stick no matter how hot you got it. Put some liquid flux on there, solder just stuckto it instantly...I was impressed.

For normal wires a hot gun and solder (which has some flux in it normally) should be fine, but for nasty wires, a bit of flux will do wonders.

 

[landtoy80]

Would Super Glue jell work?
It comes with a brush to brush it on. Would it hold up the the enviroment?

 

[Cube Dweller]

Another soldering tip: to help reduce/stop the insulation from melting, clip an alligator clip or forcep on the exposed wire next to the insulation. The clip acts as a heat sink reducing the heat on the insulation side of the wire. Harbor Freight used to sell a whirlygig that had two clips on a cast iron base that could hold two pieces of wire or other components in position while soldering. Electronic supply catologs carry them as well, sold as "3rd hands" or "extra hands".

tony