PanzerAce Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Redoing some stuff on the Z that PO's and shops got wrong over the years But that includes removing a bunch of old solder material from the light/wiper stalk wiring. I'm pretty comfortable with soldering stuff together, but what's the easiest way to *remove* all the old stuff first? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FricFrac Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Either cut off the wire near the connection if you have enough length and heat the solder up. Most of the excess will stick to a tip that has been cleaned off. You can also heat it up and knock it off (CAREFULLY and wearing goggles!). You can also use desoldering braid. I personally don't like solder suckers but that is another option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted October 9, 2009 Author Share Posted October 9, 2009 I think I'll do the clean solder trick then, considering I had to get a new iron anyway (couldn't find the old one, probably left it at my parent's house when I moved out...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeleriousZ Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 get some good flux and some wire braid, it works pretty well. The fastest way IMO would be just to cut and replace. That way you can heat shrink it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phlebmaster Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 When I repaired my radiator I torched the old solder off. So re-heating it will do the trick. Probably won't want to heat you wires with a torch though. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted October 10, 2009 Author Share Posted October 10, 2009 When I repaired my radiator I torched the old solder off. So re-heating it will do the trick. Probably won't want to heat you wires with a torch though. lol Considering it's looking like I'm going to have to do this inside the driver's footwell, probably not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
h4nsm0l3m4n Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Best way to remove solder material is with a tool called a "solder sucker." They are pretty cheap and make things really easy. I used this tool quite a bit when cleaning up the nasty solder connections my teammates created when building a robot for one of my school design projects.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solder_sucker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FricFrac Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Best way to remove solder material is with a tool called a "solder sucker." They are pretty cheap and make things really easy. I used this tool quite a bit when cleaning up the nasty solder connections my teammates created when building a robot for one of my school design projects.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solder_sucker Just be careful with the solder sucker as they require more heat than any of the other methods (unless you use a soldering iron with a built in vacuum). If the part you are desoldering doesn't care about having excessive heat then it should be fine but if you are working on a circuit board, etc its probably not a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cockerstar Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 The desoldering braid is my favorite approach. It's cheap, easy, and effective. In your case I would get something to place behind the wires (maybe a smaller chunk of copper or steel) so you have something to press against when heating it all up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skib Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 I used to build printed boards and lithium ion battery packs for aircraft and would recommend the desoldering braid too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted October 11, 2009 Author Share Posted October 11, 2009 As clarification for where this solder material is (if it changes your views), it's the connections right on the base of the stalk, next to the running lights wires as well. To be honest, since the cover for the switch is right there, I'm leaning towards just scraping the damn stuff off, and taking a straight razor to it to make sure I've gotten it all. No heat involved, and while it'll probably take longer than anything else, it's a more sure method... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FricFrac Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 A picture would help if you have one. I would probably say no to scraping it off with a razor because a) you are putting mechanical stress on whatever the solder is attached to eg. your switch and you have a good chance of cutting into the switch somewhere or cutting the end of your finger off. With a soldering iron it should just melt and you can slid it right off with the tip of the iron. Clean the iron again and repeat. A clean tip will attract more solder. Find something to practice on if you are nervous. There are lots of places on the Net that show you how to solder. Its all technique and if you follow a few simple guidelines its pretty easy to do. Clean is very important as is the temperature/thermal mass (eg the size of your tip). If you are soldering something that has a lot of metal or a big ground plane use as large a tip as you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted October 12, 2009 Author Share Posted October 12, 2009 I'll get pictures tomorrow. Half the problem is that I never wake up early enough to get this done before work (I work afternoons-nights), and I'm not going to do this at night with insufficient lighting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK-Z Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Best way to redo the old soldering is to: 1. cut the old solder section out. 2. get some shrink tubing and slide it onto one of the wires you will be joining 3. strip and flux your wire connections. 4. depending on what gauge wire you are dealing with, you might be able to get away with just using a soldering iron, but in most cases that I've dealt with, a pen torch works best. "tin" you connections. 5. get a wire sleeve crimp connector and join the wires with it and crimp it. 6. heat the sleeve with a pen torch so the wires solder in place. 7. slide the shrink tubing over the connection and heat it until its tight around the connection Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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