08-10-2022, 05:20 PM
Re - soldering wires
Maybe I should have made myself clearer. I tin just the last few millimetres of the twisted core, using minimal time and a good sized hot iron. Not enough to allow the solder to wick up the cable. In most situations the loom is supported and there is little or no relative movement between the loom and the components it's connected to. With soldered bullets the wire insulation is supported by the back of the bullet, all the solder is inside the bullet. So in no situation is the solder being tasked with any mechanical supporting role.
In a couple of situations (Distributor Low Tension, Dynamo) there is a higher risk of vibration fatigue, so a bit of loom support onto the engine mounted components is recommended.
Being softer than copper, the solder deforms under the screws of Lucas style terminals and gives more than enough contact area.
I accept that the auto industry moved to crimping many years ago, for a variety of reasons. A properly crimped joint is ideal, but I have seen far too many improperly crimped joints when working on other people's cars. If you can afford high quality tooling it is the way to go, but most people can't justify the expense for one or two cars.
Maybe I should have made myself clearer. I tin just the last few millimetres of the twisted core, using minimal time and a good sized hot iron. Not enough to allow the solder to wick up the cable. In most situations the loom is supported and there is little or no relative movement between the loom and the components it's connected to. With soldered bullets the wire insulation is supported by the back of the bullet, all the solder is inside the bullet. So in no situation is the solder being tasked with any mechanical supporting role.
In a couple of situations (Distributor Low Tension, Dynamo) there is a higher risk of vibration fatigue, so a bit of loom support onto the engine mounted components is recommended.
Being softer than copper, the solder deforms under the screws of Lucas style terminals and gives more than enough contact area.
I accept that the auto industry moved to crimping many years ago, for a variety of reasons. A properly crimped joint is ideal, but I have seen far too many improperly crimped joints when working on other people's cars. If you can afford high quality tooling it is the way to go, but most people can't justify the expense for one or two cars.