I've been meaning to write this article for years now and my recent VBOX install finally gave me the opportunity to do some crimping and take some photos so here it is:

http://www.digitalmee.net/2013/01/24/making-reliable-electrical-connections-for-your-car/

I see, hear, and read about folks soldering their in-car electrical connections all the time and it's generally a bad idea. Crimping it the proper way. Solder just turns your ductile stranded core wire into what is effectively solid core wire (for the affected region), which is fine for homes but has no place in an automobile.

 

Good read.

 

Great read. I had always heard that soldering connections was the "right way" to do things in the car electronics world.

 

I disagree, been soldering car electricals for over 30 years with 0% failures. Have seen countless crimp connections fall apart.
HRHS (high reliabilty hand soldering) in which i was trained was developed by NASA for the Apollo missions.

 

I agree, I personally think soldering is the way to go, I have done many repairs to crimp connections (while many were done improperly) many were factory crimps that over time came loose and built up heat or built up corrosion. With a solid joint and heat shrink you for the most part rid those issues.

 

The topic of soldering versus crimping is often debated. That crimping is a preferred method is my opinion (a generalization for which exceptions apply) and I am in the good company of aerospace, military, Forumla 1, and medical. If performed correctly, both soldering and crimping will produce reliable connections. Likewise, if performed incorrectly, both will result in unreliable connections. Hence, there is an abundance on anecdotal evidence for and against each method available on the Internet.

A key and significant advantage of crimping over soldering is the ease and speed with which a properly formed connection can be consistently performed. I have seen far too many people get soldering wrong (also my opinion, MSME & having worked in aerospace too). With proper tooling crimping is nearly foolproof. I too can produce reliable soldered connections, but they are much more of a PITA to get right (getting heat into wire / terminal, ensure solder doesn't wick past terminal stem, venting fumes, not burning myself or car when working in compromising positions, etc.).