Soldering under a trailer?

[burlesot]

Hey all,

I'm going to end up re-doing my trailer wiring connections. I carefully stripped the wires, connected them using waterproof butt joints, electrical taped them, etc. Well, I'm going to need to, at minimum, test all the connections again. This made me wonder. How do people solder trailer wires over their 'head' while under the teardrop?

Any advice would be appreciated.

TB

[les45]

Very carefully. Wear gloves and goggles and try to keep the work off to the side of your body so any drips hit the floor and not you.

[GuitarPhotog]

We're talking soldering wires, not copper pipe. It's done with an electric iron, not a torch, and you should never be applying so much solder that it drips, ever!

I've soldered stuff over my head, under houses, roofs, autos, trailers, recording consoles, and industrial equipment and have never worn safety goggles or gloves. It just takes practice.

<Chas>

[pohukai]

Two things to keep in mind:

1. Good mechanical joint (wires twisted)Heat the wire joint with the iron.
2. Let solder melt from wire, not the soldering iron. Let the solder flow to the wire.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLfXXRfRIzY

[burlesot]

Thanks for the advice and video!

I'll do my best.

T

[GuitarPhotog]

Practice on the workbench before you try making a solder joint under the trailer. Get an understanding of how hot for how long so you won't melt the insulation on wire that would, I'm sure be a PITA to replace.

Don't learn on a mission-critical piece of equipment, practice on scrap until you're confident you can do it right.

<Chas>

[milliejohn]

don't forget the shrink tubing after you have good connections

[Shadow Catcher]

Under the trailer I have used mechanical butt joint connectors that are heat shrink and fuse.

[burlesot]

Shadow Catcher; I did too; however, it seems something isn't quite right. I am going to test out the connections again and if I have to, I'll solder them this time!

TB

[Dale M.]

General rule with butt connectors is if you tug on them after they are fully crimped and they pull apart, it a bad connection, if you tug on them and they DO NOT pull apart they are good..... IF you have insulation in connector its not a connector problem its a installer problem....

Dale

[burlesot]

Despite the fact that I was meticulous in cutting, trimming, crimping, heat shrinking, taping, I'm SURE it is an installer problem!

I just don't do this enough!

That's okay. I look at mistakes as evidence of trying, right?

I'll report back on how it turns out.

TB

[Shadow Catcher]

The butt connectors I am using are from Harbor Freight and have a heat release glue, seems to work very well. I use a lot of Anderson Power Poles for a couple of reasons, A they are idiot proof, B they handle high amperage's, C most folks are unfamiliar with them so appliance with them attached are hopefully a bit less tempting, D the conventional power plug i.e. cigaret plugs seem prone to failure.
With most of the DC wiring add on's I use 12 or 10 ga wire i.e. the control wires from the AC and the wires to the bilge blower are all 12 ga and the solar wiring is 10ga or larger.