are there any tricks to this. ive never soldered anything this large and cant seem to do it. im not really sure why my batteries even have that large of wire but they do and im having one hell of a time putting connectors on them. i have tinned the wire, tinned the connector but i can not join the two. i have a radio shack iron, with pencil tip. should i buy a flat tip and would that make a big difference?

i have watched videos on this and they make it look so easy, most videos i have watched they do a connector in about a minue.



shaun h

Could either be the lead/rosin content of the solder OR the temp of the soldering iron. Right now, I'd probably lean more to the lead content of the solder than the heat of the iron. Try using a 60/40 super flux solder. Hasn't let me down yet !! Could order from MCM Electronics, Tenma part #21-1040 1lb. spool. Hope that helps!!

Try a chisel tip for your iron.

Other option is get a weller 80watt soldering iron, they will solder anything. Get the one with the 8mm (or around that size) chisel tip.

ive been using lead free solder.....i guess that may be the problem. my iron gets to about 900*f according to my temp gun so i dont think that is the problem. so i will go up to the LHS and get a chisel tip and some better solder and report back.

when joining the wire to the connector will i need to hold the two together longer with the iron to ensure bonding? (given the guage of wire)


shaun h

Get you a wooden clothes pin to help you hold the wire. It helps alot. As far as holding the wire longer, usually with the right lead/rosin combination, it will bond pretty quick. Might just blow gently on it to speed up the process.

One of the trigger big black gun weller solder guns works great for the big wires.

Also try scuffing the tip of the iron with either a brass or steel wire brush making it shiny. Sometimes you'll get left over residue & it will oxidize over time as the iron cools down.

How many watts is the iron? Even if it can get very hot when it's idle, it still might not have the proper amount of power and a solid heating element to stay hot when transferring energy to heavy gauge stuff. Getting the iron hot is not so much the issue, it's keeping it hot.

If the iron is getting (and staying) hot enough you should only need to make contact for a few seconds to melt the solder and make the joint. If you are holding the iron there for any longer it's not staying hot enough.

I find that I really have to use the higher temps that my Hakko has to get the 8/10ga wiring to solder correctly... I would bet that your radio shack solder iron isnt going to be hot enough... you definately dont want the wire to transfer to the electronics which is caused by lower temps on the iron....

You can do that, but be careful to make sure you are only removing residue and crud. The tip is copper with a thin plating of iron and/or chrome and you don't want to scrape off the coating.

+1... you should really only use a wet sponge to clean the tip... AND you should tin the tip when you plan on not using it for some time for protection...

The iron is only a 40 watt. So that is probably the problem. Would a 60watt suffice? That would be the highest I can get today. I am really trying to get the connectors on today so I can go practice at the track in the morning.

60w would be very much on the low end of what you may need...

I use a 40w for doing the Turnigy 8awg stuff and it works fine. Use some flux.

The 60 watt will work fine. Get it.