Mike B Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Soldering a new loom onto on O2 sensor. I have soldered a lot of stuff in the past, and have had the problem of solder not taking - dirty wires etc. I have 10 perfect condition wire ends, cleaned with meth, scored and sanded, but the solder will not stick!!!! at all!.... They were very hard to cut and, I expect, made from something not normal, but anyone got any idea how to make the solder take. having a bit of a sense of humour failure I'm afraid... is the answer flux...? yet I have flux cored solder... and no joy at all...!? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DamanC Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Try another solder. Some are just, well, naff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 Off to halfrauds on the way to the gym If this doesn't work I will weld it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopite Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Try another solder. Some are just, well, naff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike M Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Not enough heat can cause the solder not to take. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraStar 3000 Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Not enough heat or flux would be my guess too. I always dip my joints into a flux just to be on the safe side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merckx Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Self cleaning flux? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
absz Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 As said by others FLUX will help. also i'm sure that the o2 sensors have tin coated wires which needs more heat than normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B Posted March 25, 2008 Author Share Posted March 25, 2008 Right, back from the gym, rummaged some flux out of the garage, and I have a gas powered soldering iron, (that glows bright red on full whack). round 2..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robzki Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 ermm....try some flux? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sean1933 Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 The stock loom/sensor wires are coated in some stange waxy sort of cr*p...sorry i cant be more definative. I had exactly the same problem when trying to do the same thing. After ballsing around with 2 different heat irons and numerous rolls of flux i used crimp bullets that came with the new sensor (universal one). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzi Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Solder guns are better than soldering irons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike B Posted March 26, 2008 Author Share Posted March 26, 2008 Job is done, I made sure I had a good twisted overlap, then put the solder ready melted on the iron into the flux and it bonds, feeding in more solder. I got solid connections, but it wasn't simple, and some of them took a couple of attempts. HKS do sell a bullet pin set, maybe I will re-do and get one ordered up. Thnx for the advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiderpigcity Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Use silver solder, and sounds like you need atleast 75w iron or 100w gun would be better. flux isnt needed if surfaces are clean. prime the tip with solder first. heat the object you are soldering and melt the solder onto the object, not the solder onto the iron, or you will get blobby crap dry joints. guns are generally better at doing big jobs as they heat the immediate area up very quickly, where as irons tend to take longer to transfer the heat and can end up heat all the object up before the actual temp is required to solder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dini_the_owl Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Solder guns are better than soldering irons i disagree and i think you need flux! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazzi Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 i disagree and i think you need flux! Solder guns heat up faster and are easier to use... I didn't mention anything about flux... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Some O2 sensors use a vibration resistant wire that doesn't solder properly, to be strictly honest, on a plane or race car a soldered joint is a no no, due to them causing embrittlement, and being prone to breaking near the joint. Crimping is the way to go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tricky-Ricky Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Yes nearly all universal lambda sensors come with crimp connectors for the reasons mentioned above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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