I couldn’t help posting my last response. Many times over people come here looking for simple advice for problems they are having and they receive different answers from folks here. Some answers are good and some maybe not so good. Some of the times it seems that responses get down to scrapping about needless things, as in this case, which I doubt the original poster has any interest in. I deliberately try to stay out of any needless postings when things head off in a direction other than what may help the OP with their quest for help.
Will a properly crimped and taped connection last for many years without a problem? Yes. Will a properly soldered and heat shrinked connection last for many years without a problem? Absolutely. The advice I gave required only a butt splice, a crimp tool and some tape, which most people have on hand and is why stated what I did. Does this connection have to pass a wire inspection from NASA for a flight into space? No!
My apologies to Rusty for ranting in his thread post here. It won’t happen again.
I agree. Even if soldering is the better solution, is it really worth it for the OP to learn how to solder and buy the equipment just for this repair? If we were talking about an old fashioned butt connector, and the OP planned to keep the trailer for decades to come, maybe. If we are talking about a crimp solder seal heat shrink butt connector, I wouldn’t bother learning how to solder and buying the equipment, especially since the dog will probably just chew it up again.
I wish I could solder. I used to watch my father do it when I was a kid. Now I am not allowed to solder because of my pacemaker, which would make the crimp solder seal heat shrink butt connector the perfect solution.
I can certainly understand being prohibited from welding if you have a pace maker, but I don’t see why soldering would be any danger. In fact, most soldering irons that you find are designed not to damage very ESD sensitive components, so they don’t put out any RF noise or voltage.
I don’t remember why I can’t solder, but I think I remember hearing something about the fumes. Maybe I will ask my pacer nurse and find out next time I go in for a tune-up.
Did I attack anyone? I never meant to seem like I was waging a personal attack on anyone…Including you Oldschool…I dont see my old post either…hey what the? but Jeez a soldered connection is as old as time itself…its been around that long bec it is effective and works very very well. I do see your point about where the wires join with the solder it is much stiffer than the normal wire and may cause the copper to break on either end…but if this were the case then the entire wire harness or loom you were working on would need to be re-evaluated. Once soldered and the wires should rejoin the others in a group and the worry over breakage should be super minimal…If it wasnt then a re-think of this harness should be in order…but the actual joining of the wires w solder is a time tested and excellent method…as far as fatigue…that should be properly avoided at all costs. I havent ever had an issue or seen a wire loom where it was an issue…Im sure it exists and can imagine it, but then precautions would have been taken to ensure the repairs safetly and longevity…No? No attacks from me my man…
Blackbird,it is good we are on this footing. I am not making up the FAA prohibitation on soldering wires on aircraft wiring, how do I remember so well (when my aircraft work was for Jet Aviation out of Zurich back in 1988?) well the head of my department had a long talk with me over this and all I wanted to do was repair a wire on a breakout box that we were using. It is all enviromentaly sealed connectors on aircraft due to fatigue and wire breakage. I really do not like comparing how to work on an aircraft with how to work on a car, or using an example from the racing world to justify a repair method on a street car but the OP asked for the best method and you will find many best methods if the application is with an aircraft. I am suprised mountainbike does not speak up as he worked on B-52’s and the man that gave me the soldering lecture was a American,ex Air Force and his plane was the B-52.
The OP asked for the best method. Perhaps he meant to ask for the best way that he could practically do it. Crimps work really well for the automotive industry, but they have the correct high-end factory crimp tools and the experience and training to do it correctly. Usually, for the car owner or even for small shops, it is more likely that they will be able to solder correctly than to crimp correctly.
I didn’t think about the fumes. They do make (and some of our people use) fume extracting filter fans for solder stations. I don’t know if that would eliminate enough of the fumes for your case or not.
Now I am ready to get the horse paddle out, but at least you are not bashing me so lets go on. Butt connector crimpimg is lowest on the list of special tools and training needed (I use a pair of “Betts” crimpers (they crimp over a very large area). Now if you are talking about crimping a connector that has a locking tab and fits into a molded plug you are correct,tools and technique needed.This is a picture of a 24-pin main power extension cable for one of my custom water cooled computers. I paid 75.00 for this cable and it failed like this after about 8 months.
The fact is that where the solder ends and the strands of wire no longer have solder in them is a stress point subject to failure. Properly applied heat shrink can provide the needed strain relief.
A soldered joint with properly applied heat shrink is the superior system. The reason the FAA doesn’t like them is that it requires skills that not everyone can master, and once done, they are impossible to detect a non conformance during inspection. The FAA approved splices are a little more foolproof and easier to inspect.
When I rewired my trailer, I used 14 ga Romex, soldered at each end and the whole bundle inside a PEX pipe. A little overkill yes, but it works and its critter proof. I used PEX and Romex because I had some laying around. If I had to buy materials, I would have used 16 ga extension cable and PVC conduit. I did spring for an LED taillight set up.
I also recommend some of that reflective tape that truckers use on the sides and rear of your trailer, it can’t be too visible.
It’s a lousy trailer and if the OP doesn’t have a soldering iron then do the 2-wire twist with wire nuts. It’s not as good as solder and heat shrink but if they keep tabs on it then it should be fine.
I’d never rule out solder on aircraft wiring.
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This horse ain’t dead yet. About halfway down the page,it starts out, "many resort to soldering that…leads to fatigue…,this only took 30 seconds to find.
Do you mean easy, almost fool proof, weather proof and is likely to last a long time? Then a crimp with a heat shrink over it, will last almost forever.
If you have the tool solder is nice, but it still needs to be heat shrink, and it takes more skill.
Both are valid repairs and both can last the life of the wire, so can twisting and taping wire together.
I has a 48 chevy, that had more splices that anyone would care to see, all just twisted together and taped, some with masking tape no less, that lasted over 20 years. I know that because I bought the truck from the guy who had it at least that long, and all he said was it was like that when I bought the truck. I knew the man from way back and he had no reason to lie to me. So pick the method you think you can do correctly and do it. Odds are it will last for years.
Ask an A&P to solder a joint, and you’ll be looked at funny.
I had avionics in the nose section of my Piper Seneca (VOR/LOC converter and two ILS Glideslope receivers)wired with numerous crimp connectors(butt joint, spade lugs, knife connectors) and there was no problem. The 707s and 727s I flew had these also. Planes LEAVE THE FACTORY wit these.If they’re good enough for aviation, they’re good enough for a Toyotad, or whatever.