Why do “professionals” give bad advice?

[332_RC]

I have soldered the EC5 to my ESC wires using a 100/110w Weller soldering gun. I pre fit the stripped wires into the bullets. Then pre tin the wires & bullets. Then heat the bullets w the gun having the soldering wire ready, the pre tinned bullets get hot, I insert the stripped wire, then finish off w the solder wire. I also heat the gun tip 'dry' Then add the wire to the tip then put it to the bullets to fill any voids. It's like the opposite of TIG welding.

I also use wooden clothes pins to help hold everything, the wires & such. And needle nose pliers, it gets hot

 

[morrjr71]

I'll admit that the only thing I won't do myself on an RC vehicle is soldering connectors. I don't do enough soldering to be proficient, so I have the owner of my local RC shop do the soldering for me. He's been into RC for over 30 years, and he knows what he is doing, both mechanically and electrically. I would say I only need his soldering services once a year, if that, and that's normally if I get a new ESC that doesn't have the battery connector installed from the factory.

Edit: I've pretty much standardized on EC5 connectors for all my 4s and 6s vehicles. That way, I can move batteries around amongst various vehicles. If I get a new ESC without a battery connector, I'll have an EC5 put on it.

 

[gotnitro]

Heat the bullet with a torch.

Apply solder and make a pool in bullet.

Heat wire and bullet at same time, keep that pool hot, get the wire in the flame for a few seconds.

Stick wire in solder pool straight, hold till firm.

Voila.


Irons.

 

[Lethalcobra2k3]

Heat the bullet with a torch.

Apply solder and make a pool in bullet.

Heat wire and bullet at same time, keep that pool hot, get the wire in the flame for a few seconds.

Stick wire in solder pool straight, hold till firm.

Voila.


Irons.

The bullets are in a plastic connector and it melts instantly with a torch

 

[gotnitro]

The bullets are in a plastic connector and it melts instantly with a torch

I would just solder on 5-6MM bullets with heat shrink unless you have to have those connectors. The only thing you'd need is a new charge lead with bullets instead of a plug/connector. I get it that you might not want to convert your batts, but they can always have a new connector soldered back on.

 

[Saladshooter]

Ngl I gave up on trying to solder connectors and now I just buy the connectors with wire attached already and I solder wire to wire instead

Was struggling to solder some EC5 connectors on Hobbywing ESC wires the other day using a quality iron..... until I realized I could use my plumbing torch on the bullets to liquify and create a pool of solder, then very quickly dip the wires in. Two minute operation.

Lethalcobra2k3 said:
"The bullets are in a plastic connector and it melts instantly with a torch"

My connectors are the kind that the bullets snap into the plastic case after soldering.

 

[Lethalcobra2k3]

I would just solder on 5-6MM bullets with heat shrink unless you have to have those connectors. The only thing you'd need is a new charge lead with bullets instead of a plug/connector. I get it that you might not want to convert your batts, but they can always have a new connector soldered back on.

My batteries have EC5 already, Im not cutting them off. The shop only had IC5 in stock and I hate them. Either way I ordered EC5 connectors and a quality butane soldering iron. I ordered new solder and flux and if this doesn't work Im just going to burn the vorteks and buy a new one with all stock parts

 

[dure16]

SC5 connectors from SMC are compatible with EC5/IC5, cheap, and easy to solder. But I also think IC5 is easy to solder so take that as you will

 

[Lethalcobra2k3]

SC5 connectors from SMC are compatible with EC5/IC5, cheap, and easy to solder. But I also think IC5 is easy to solder so take that as you will

Well I can use the iron to heat the connector for 5 minutes and the solder still wont melt but the plastic does

 

[dure16]

Well I can use the iron to heat the connector for 5 minutes and the solder still wont melt but the plastic does

Tin your wire and connector separately before bringing them together.
Make sure your iron is touching fresh solder and not just the brass.
Install an opposite male/female connector on the other end of the connector you are soldering.

With a 100W iron, that solder should quickly liquify if you effectively enable heat transfer through your process. Much quicker than the plastic melting.

 

[Lethalcobra2k3]

Tin your wire and connector separately before bringing them together.
Make sure your iron is touching fresh solder and not just the brass.
Install an opposite male/female connector on the other end of the connector you are soldering.

With a 100W iron, that solder should quickly liquify if you effectively enable heat transfer through your process. Much quicker than the plastic melting.

I ttied that but once the wire is tinned, the solder never melts again, As soon as I start applying the solder (its super thin rosin core) it hardens up. Im just going to get a butane iron, quality solder and all new brass connectors, Im getting EC this time because the IC ones suck. I really wish they gave you more of a hole to shove the wire in instead of 3mm and a nub

 

[wadedog]

My nipples are farther apart than that, do they sell larger sizes?

You are doing it Wrong on her nipples not yours sorry I had to say it

 

[pierre1111]

Soldering wire and small scale electronics is a bit of an art form. Starting at 10awg and ic5/ec5 connectors is a mistake. Kinda like having your first rc car being a Xmaxx or 8s kraton…. May have some beginners luck but chance of long term success is slim. Start small with 18awg to each other or small bullets. Slowly move up once you get the hang of it.

If you have to hold an iron to a wire or connector for longer then 5-10-15, maybe 20 seconds for larger stuff, before anything happens you need to stop and figure out what’s wrong. Reading your posts about holding it down for minutes at a time sent shivers down my spine.

A good solderer can make cheap or inappropriate tools work. Other direction is impossible. You will have a hard time with a basic iron, soldering gun, or sorry to say even butane iron. You said you spent $140… if you have that much budget get a hakko fx888 with some large tips. You need a temperature controlled iron. Too much heat is as bad as not enough.

Random tip: put a dab of solder on your iron tip before touching it to anything. Liquid solder will conform to the shape of the object and transfer heat more efficiently. It’s not just about getting the joint to the right max temp - the time it takes to get there is just as important.

 

[KnowAir]

You are doing it Wrong on her nipples not yours sorry I had to say it

Oh, that explains some things.. like why I seem to be stuck pointing down whenever I use alligator clips.

 

[Rocketzx1]

50w is definitely not enough but 100w should be more than enough. To keep the connector from melting plug another spare connector into the other side.

Not true. I have a Weller 40amp and it solders xt90s with 10 gauge wires just fine.

Remember the thread asking you guys how you thought my soldering skills were? Did that with my 40amp soldering iron.

 

[Lethalcobra2k3]

Not true. I have a Weller 40amp and it solders xt90s with 10 gauge wires just fine.

Remember the thread asking you guys how you thought my soldering skills were? Did that with my 40amp soldering iron.

I did some research and apparently the harbor freight ones use an inefficient cheap coil for heat and they will get really hot but wont stay hot when you start to heat the wire. I bought a butane Bernzomatic and Ive been practicing and this thing is 1000% better. It heats the bullets in 5-6 seconds and the solder flows in a nice even thin layer when I tin them. Same with the wire, 5 seconds or so and the solder absorbs into the strands FAST. My previous experience soldering was diodes and resistors so the crap tools worked fine on the leads but were dismal for penetration on the bullets

 

[Jerold]

You can dissemble (remove the cup) on an EC5. Then you don't heat the plastic at all. Does that work for IC5 too?

 

[Burnzone]

https://www.arrmaforum.com/threads/...connector-types-choosing-and-soldering.10224/

This was a good resource for me. WoodiE is an expert and has a link in that article to another site that he's posted on about soldering as well.
I'm no expert at soldering, and my hobby store is an hour away, so I either had to do what I could do or make the trip. Some people on here mutter about the help in the hobby stores not being that great as well. Considering all this, I decided to just make an attempt in my own. There's a LOT of good info on this chat if you search it out.
Some say EC3 & 5 have to be very careful to make sure the pins don't get solder on the outside of them or they won't assemble correctly. Something to think about if using them.
I followed the advice on here and used flux, pretinned the IC5 connector and my battery wire. Then I had the best luck carefully, gently clamping the IC5 connector I was soldering (along with mating plug) in a vise to hold it still. Since I had choice of either 40watt Wall Lenk or Weller 200/260 gun I used the big gun. I used it to push/hold and heat the wire in place from the top trough side while I applied a bit more solder. When it was all in a liquid pool state I quick pulled the iron away while carefully trying to keep the wire still until it all solidified. It's not great but it worked good enough for a 2s/3s basher. I have to admit that when I solder terminals on truck wiring I usually heat the bottom of the terminals until it melts the solder I'm holding on top. In this case I tried that with the IC5 connectors and it did NOT work! Lol! It melted the plastic like was mentioned. I had better luck coming in with the whole mess from the top

 

[slick2500]

Not true. I have a Weller 40amp and it solders xt90s with 10 gauge wires just fine.

Remember the thread asking you guys how you thought my soldering skills were? Did that with my 40amp soldering iron.

My Wall Lenk 40w really struggled to do 10 gauge wire on XT90s. My 80w Weller does them without batting an eye.

 

[Burnzone]

You can dissemble (remove the cup) on an EC5. Then you don't heat the plastic at all. Does that work for IC5 too?

Maybe I'm missing some hidden trick to disassembling the IC5 but it doesn't looked like they come apart. They look somewhat similar to pics of the XT60 and XT90 plugs. Got a trough you lay the wire and solder in.

Kinda pricey, but I liked the ability to solder in that trough. And the 3s Granite BLX came with IC5 connectors and didn't want to attempt soldering a new connector on an ESC without a lot more experience