Solder wire terminals: An effective way to secure wire terminals

About Solder wire terminals, When you connect a wire to the terminal for its termination, crimping and soldering are the most common methods. 

Among them, soldering is more traditional and economical. Further, the process of soldering does not require any special tools like crimping. 

The only things that you need for soldering are flux and solder. So, if you know the process of “how to solder wire terminals,” you can save a lot of money.

Table of Contents

• How can you solder wire terminals?
• Insulating connections:
  • Electrical tape:
  • Heat-shrink tubing:
• How to solder large AWG wire to terminals?
  • Required tools:
  • The process of soldering large AWG wires to terminals:
• Conclusion:

How can you solder wire terminals?

Soldering a terminal to the wire end is the same as soldering two wires. Here is a process explaining the termination of a ring terminal with an 8 AWG wire using a soldering gun.

 The connector can be insulated or non-insulated. For insulation, strip off some with a pair of pliers.

Here are the steps:

1. First, take a plier and strip ⅜ inch of the wire insulation.
2. Now, twist the bare wire in a clockwise direction.
3. Take the ring terminal and push it to the bare wire end, ensuring all the wires enter the terminal ferrule. Ensure that a minimum of 1/16 inch of wire is visible at both ends of the terminal.
4. Fasten the wire to a jig. Heat the soldering gun and start heating the connector from the lower side. While heating, ensure the solder flows toward the ferrule’s open end.
5. If you notice solder flowing from the other end of the ferrule, it means you have done enough soldering to make the connection tight and intact.

insulted  terminals 

Insulating connections:

Once you connect the cable and the connector, you must insulate the connection. 

Be careful when insulating soldered connections, as you must wait while the solder cools down. There are two ways of doing this.

Electrical tape:

Here is the process of insulating a connection using electrical tape.

1. Clean your hand before using tape.
2. Tear a piece of tape. While tearing, be careful; you only need to grab and snap. Try not to stretch the tape.
3. Take the torn piece and wrap it around the connection tightly.
4. When you come to the end of wrapping, release the tension.

The best part of electrical tape is that it helps insulate any connection once you connect the wire and the terminal. 

It is not only easy but long-lasting. If you have wrapped the tape tightly, it won’t unravel. 

Heat-shrink tubing:

It is not as versatile as electrical tape. Also, it would be best if you bought heat-shrink tubing of different lengths, diameters, and colors.

Here is the process of insulation using heat-shink tubes:

1. First, take the required size of the tubing and slip it down the wire before connection. Keep the tube far away from the solder heat so its end does not shrink while connecting. As a precautionary measure, you must take more than required for insulation so that even if it shrinks, you can cut the ends and use it.
2. Once you complete the solder connection, slip the tube over the connection.
3. Take a heat gun and apply heat evenly on the tubing, ensuring it shrinks tightly throughout the connection. 

The result is a professional-looking insulated connection.

Non-insulted terminals 

How to solder large AWG wire to terminals?

When you work with a vehicle’s charging system, you have to deal with the large cables. In such cases, you need to know many things.

Required tools:

• Battery cable cutters help you cut large, soft copper cables.
• AWG crimp tool (large)- like a hex crimp type or a hammer.
• MAPP gas or propane torch (welding torches have an open flame, which may be dangerous near the battery as it may cause fatal accidents.)

The process of soldering large AWG wires to terminals:

Here, we connect the 1/0 AWG ring terminals to the 1/0 AWG wire following the steps below.

1. Take a small cup, fill it with cold water and set aside.
2. Using a razor blade, strip off the required inches of insulation from the wire.
3. Now, vertically clamp the wire on a bench. Put the ring terminal over the wire so that around ⅛ inch of wire is visible at both ends of the ferrule.
4. Now, using the flame’s blue end of the torch, heat the terminal. Make sure that you do not burn the insulation. Don’t worry: if you burn a little, it doesn’t matter. The burnt portion will be covered with heat-shrink tubing or electrical tape at last.
5. Allow the solder to flow from the top into the wire connection when the ring terminal and wires reach the required temperature.
6. Allow the solder to flow upwards into the connector to complete the connection.
7. Take off the heat from the connection and turn the torch off.
8. Remove the wire from the bench vise and put the ring terminal into the cup of water you put aside in the first step. Let it cool, and you are done.

Conclusion:

If you are new to solder wire terminals, you will burn the wire insulation using a torch. Don’t worry; as you practice, you will learn. 

 Wire termination is an important step in making any electrical circuit. 

A weak connection will not only result in dysfunction but can also damage the connected devices. 

 Luckily, you can get custom-designed plug-and-play wire harnesses at Cloom, which can seamlessly fit into your electrical system.