So i'm trying to attach a Traxxas male connector to my HPI Motive brushless ESC (Castle Creations Sidewinder). But the wires are stranded wires and these seem a lot harder to solder correctly compared to a solid wire. My friend tried to do it for me but it ended up being so messy that the metal bars wouldn't even fit inside the connector housing correctly. I'm going to try and do it myself, so can i get some tips for soldering a stranded wire? Thanks

Well tin both the wire and the connector is the best advice in my opinion

and a 40watt soldering iron

Hmm, i was thinking about using a small wrench to hold the strands together at the very tip, then solder the midsection a little bit. Afterwards i can quickly remove the wrench so that the solder doesn't hold the wrench onto the wires. And finally to finish it off i can solder the rest of it since there are no loose strands which would make the solder blob up all over the place. Think this would work?

Either CarAction or RCDriver had a "how to" on soldering within the last couple months. That would be the easiest way to "see" how to do it.

Take the metal connector piece and a pr of pliers (needle nose if you have them) and use a rubber band on the plier handle to hold the piece of metal with the end to solder pointing out. Heat the piece of metal - hold solder iron under it til you melt a little solder onto the metal where wire will go (this is called tinning). Take the wire, strip insulation back a little (~1/4") and twist the strands together - I use a vise to hold the wire and heat it with the solder iron as I hold solder on the wire, when it gets hot enough, the wire will pull the solder in and it will be tinned.

Take the wire and hold it on the metal connector end where its been tinned and heat under the metal. Hold it until you see the solder melt on the metal piece and on the wire. Without moving the wire, take heat away and wait for it to cool and solidify - will be a good solder joint. Takes longer to read than it does to do it. Prob is holding everything, you need 3 or 4 hands. The pliers and a vise make it easier.

Here's traxxas' how-to on soldering their connection - 2nd one -

http://www.traxxas.com/products/video/support/

Oh man nice lol, thanks a lot

i like to use a small clamp.. its like a pair of scissors that you can pinch the wire with and lock it in the end to hold. it has saved me a lot of burnt fingertips over the years