jjmcnc

Thought I'd pass on a little technique I use when repairing or modifying our vintage Mustang's wiring.

Tools: wire strippers, soldering iron, flux, solder, heat sink clip, shrink tubing, (not shown) hair dryer, safety glasses.



First I cut the wire pretty close to the connector I want to splice in, 3/4" or so. This leaves the original harness wire close to its original length.



Then strip the insulation off both sides of the splice to expose about 3/8" of each wire.



Next slide about 1" of shrink tubing onto the to-be spliced wire. If you are splicing in more than 1 wire (like when making a pigtail) be sure to use a tube wide enough to fit over the additional wire.



Next dip each end of the splice into some flux. Be generous. Flux is your friend.



Now carefully slide the 2 exposed wire ends together, kind of like when you interlock your fingers when bringing your hands together. You want the individual strands of the wires to intermix. Only push them together the length of the splice - don't push them over/past the remaining insulation.



Next apply a spot of solder. The flux will flow it through the splice.



Let the solder cool, then slide the shrink tube over the now-soldered splice.



Shrink the tubing with a heat gun or hair dryer to finish the job.



Nice.

Chromeshadow

I'd like to add, using an acid flux like H20 with Hydrochloride can result in corroded solder joints in a couple of years. Only Rosin flux is allowed in soldering any electrical connection. H20 is for copper pipes not electrical connections. If you use rosin core solder and clean wires, no other flux is needed.

Starfury

+1

Never use acid flux or acid-core solder on electrical. I generally don't have problems using rosin-core solder on electrical joints, even without additional flux. Just make sure your soldering tip is tinned properly.