Hot take: I went back to crimp terminals after years of soldering everything

For 5 years I soldered every single connector on my bench builds. Thought it was the only way to get a clean install. Last week in Austin I had to redo a whole harness because a solder joint cracked from vibration. Now I use proper crimp tools with heat shrink and honestly I get fewer callbacks. Any of you guys made the switch the other way or am I crazy?

2 comments

2 Comments

noah_palmer425d ago

Wait, you actually got 5 years out of soldered connectors before they failed? Thats honestly impressive for anything that sees vibration. I saw @noahhernandez mention road abuse and yeah, that makes total sense. Solder wicks up the wire and makes a stiff point that just cant flex. Crimps let the strands move naturally. And adhesive heat shrink seals out moisture way better than flux residue ever could.

noahhernandez5d ago

Your mileage might vary but I've seen the same thing with solder joints cracking in cars that see actual road abuse. Crimps with adhesive heat shrink have been way more reliable for me on builds that actually get driven hard.

-2