soldering vs. mechanical connections

[eman2112]

For everyone that looks to make quick splices in wires just to get things working; I say this. Always take the time to make perfect solder joints with heat shrink tubing which can be slipped over the connection after. Save your self a lot of trouble from trying to find shorts later on just to figure out that the butt connector was not seated or crimped properly. Just solder it and use shrink tubing to cover the joint. Our cars demand a lot of preventive maint. Save your selves some headaches.
Now saying all that... I am an aircraft mechanic and we never use any mechanical but connectors or quick splices. Lives depend on it. So why trust you beloved fiat and your life to the same BS connectors. Do it right the first time. Drive her again another day.

[RupertSportSpider]

Holy overpost, Batman!

OEMs today use crimp connectors of various types. If you do it right and carefully, crimps work perfectly and are less of a pain that soldering. I try to use heatshrink over crimps, too. It helps to spend the $30 on a really good crimper.

[Fi8spider]

When I converted my Spider to RHD (way before digital cameras so no pics sorry folks) I did it using solder joints and heat shrink. Not one problem in over 20 years.

I've had two breakdowns on seperate race days in my 131 due to electrical connections and although they are brilliant when disconnection is needed they aren't 100% reliable after a few years of being pulled apart and reconnected. We are continually on the look out for weak connections when working on the race car and use joint solder wherever we can to sure things up. On some big multi terminal OEM connetions you just cant, so we secure the two sides of the connection together with cable ties. A good quality crimp connector adorns my tool chest along with some not too cheap connectors simply because not everything can be soldered.

Recently I took part in a 1200km round trip 'fun run' in my 128 with some fellow Fiat nutters. Along the way we ventured down some dusty and bumpy roads which shook things around a fair bit. At one point the + wire came off the coil terminal and cut the engine. I now use a small blob of silicone on this connection to keep it in place.

[htchevyii]

I think we already have a two page thread on this:
http://www.fiatspider.com/f08/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=20862

[Fi8spider]

I see.

Thank you for the link ht, definately some characters on the forum here.

pfft. You all know I'm gonna just strip the wire with my teeth, twist the connection and hope the bare wires don't touch other bare wires.

Classic

[fisherr1]

For everyone that looks to make quick splices in wires just to get things working; I say this. Always take the time to make perfect solder joints with heat shrink tubing which can be slipped over the connection after. Save your self a lot of trouble from trying to find shorts later on just to figure out that the butt connector was not seated or crimped properly. Just solder it and use shrink tubing to cover the joint. Our cars demand a lot of preventive maint. Save your selves some headaches.
Now saying all that... I am an aircraft mechanic and we never use any mechanical but connectors or quick splices. Lives depend on it. So why trust you beloved fiat and your life to the same BS connectors. Do it right the first time. Drive her again another day.

Being a pilot, I appreciate eman2112's outlook on soldering. I agree, the soldering gun is a near failsafe method of ensuring a good electrical connection that will last for a long time and can be put under stress. With that in mind, I'm off to install some headlight relays! Happy wiring everyone,

Rob

[eman2112]

Thank you for your support. Sorry to everyone for the overpost. New phone and bad internet connection. But to the point,. If you use solder connections where extreme heat and powerplant vibration is an issue than then solder joints are ideal over but connectors. As long as the joints are shrink wrapped and supported from vibration they will never fail.