solder technique, Will it hold???

[Wegalaxy]

Hello,

 

Today I soldered for the 3rd time in my life.

I soldered wires together which are connecting the tamiya connector to the gun. 

(rear wired ARP 9)

I stripped the end of the wires and intertwined them till they held well on their own. I then melted the solder onto the soldering rod and smeared blobs of solder to the wires to secure them together. It looks pretty bad but holds. I then wrapped them in electrical tape.

 

I was unaware that the actual way to solder is to heat the wire and then apply the solder direct onto the wire.

 

The gun shoots fine and all its normal actions are working.

 

Will the incorrect soldering method which I have used damage the gun in the long run?

 

I use 11.1 lipos with my ARP 9.

 

Thanks

 

[EDcase]

Firstly why are you using a Tamiya connector with a 11.1v LiPo???  They are not good for a decent connection.

Use Deans or XT

 

The key to soldering is using flux which helps the solder flow but I understand you might not want to buy some just for occasional use.

Using 11.1v means a lot of power (relatively of course) so I suggest re-heating the welds until it all melts together properly and doesn't have blobs sticking out.

You can hold the iron on for 10-20seconds to get things heated properly (hold the plug with pliers)

 

Its also important to insulate each connection properly because if they touch you'll get a fire or explosion.

Shrink wrap tubing is cheap and easy to use  (remember to put the piece on before soldering)

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 00:40 by EDcase

[Rogerborg]

If in doubt, re-do it.  You'll only get better with practice.  I'd stick with 60/40 or 63/37 tin/lead rosin flux cored solder. Brands can be a holy war, I use Stannol, but they've discontinued the 60/39/1 wire that I preferred, so sod em.  

[Wegalaxy]

@Rogerborg @EDcase

Thank you for the help I really appreciate it. Regarding re doing it I'm not sure I can as there is very little wire left with out rewiring the whole thing. 

 

Regarding the solder I've already done. What do you think will happen if I continue to use it with my botched job?

 

Thanks

[ArseBurgers420]

It should be OK imo, I've rejoined wires with as little as a windproof lighter and some solder on a field before, the issues it could cause however are as follows, a bad solder joint can increase the resistance in the wires it's on which can cause the solder joint to heat up under full auto and potentially break the connection, the increased resistance can also make your gun run slower sooner as the battery's voltage decreases, this shouldn't be a massive issue though as it's not likely to destroy the gun or make it explode, if it feels like it's dying quicker than normal consider refreshing the joint, the best way to rejoin them would be to tin both ends of wire with solder (use high temperature solder with a flux core if you can), then using the iron get them both nice and hot, (I often use clothes pegs to hold the 2 wires stable whilst I do this) and once hot. Dab a little more solder on to flow the joint nicely, finish up with a good blow, some heatshrink or sparkies tape.

[EDcase]

3 hours ago, Wegalaxy said:

Regarding the solder I've already done. What do you think will happen if I continue to use it with my botched job?

It depends how good/bad it is.

 

If its OK then it will be fine but if its not making a good connection then it will heat up as mentioned above.

Worst case is it heats up enough to come apart and cause a 'short' (plus & minus touch) then you get fire.

 

Fire 10 bursts on full auto with a few seconds between each burst.  Then feel the cable and plug around the solder point to see if anything gets warm.

If it does then re-solder it.

[Rogerborg]

3 hours ago, ArseBurgers420 said:

a bad solder joint can increase the resistance in the wires it's on which can cause the solder joint to heat up under full auto and potentially break the connection

 

That's a good point, you're essentially introducing a fuse into the circuit.  The only real hazard I could see would be stalling the motor out and locking up the gearbox.

[Wegalaxy]

Thank you everyone I will do the test that @EDcasesuggested and if it dosent heat up we are good to go but if it does I will start a new. 

[Wegalaxy]

@Rogerborg @EDcase

I have resoldered the wires and they are very neat and I have removed the fuse. I have enough space now to fit the battery. One problem. My trigger response seems to have slowed down on semi.

 

What could be causing this???

 

Thanks

[Colin Allen]

1 hour ago, Wegalaxy said:

@Rogerborg @EDcase

I have resoldered the wires and they are very neat and I have removed the fuse. I have enough space now to fit the battery. One problem. My trigger response seems to have slowed down on semi.

 

What could be causing this???

 

Thanks

Possibly a silly question, but have you charged the battery?  If anything, removing the fuse should have improved trigger response slightly, unless your soldering is very poor.

[EDcase]

Could be battery needs a top-up

Could be varying connection with the Tamiya plug (contact quality will vary each time its plugged in because the pins are too small)

Could be a dry joint (a joint that looks OK but hasn't melted together properly)

 

I know its cumbersome but I don't think its a good idea to remove the fuse as its there to help prevent catastrophic failure.

 

 

Edited yesterday at 00:08 by EDcase

[Wegalaxy]

@Rogerborg @EDcase

Hello,

I have been speaking to a friend who does some work on air soft guns and he says that it could be a worn out trigger switch which would make sense as I have been using it once a week for 6 months.

Could this be a cause of the symptoms?

Thanks