![]() While you can start out with just a simple, single temperature soldering iron and a roll of solder, I’ve found that the investment in a variable-temperature soldering station pays off. Keep practicing your soldering technique until you are comfortable with it before you attempt it in the most confined spaces of a motorcycle. Then wrap it with electrical tape or shrink-wrap to prevent any accidental grounding against other wires or connectors. It looks ugly and will make the splice much larger once it’s covered with tape.Īfter the splice has cooled, trim any loose wires that could poke through the tape or shrink wrap. While you want the solder to cover most of the splice, try to avoid leaving big globs of solder on the joint. Touch the iron and solder to a few points on the splice to make sure it is uniformly spread throughout the wire strands. Capillary action plays an important role in distributing the solder throughout the splice. Holding the iron below the wires allows the heat to travel upwards while gravity pulls the molten solder down. ![]() Instead, allow the iron to heat the wire to the point that it melts the solder. When melting the solder to the wires, try not to touch the iron with the solder. This helps to spread out the heat when the tip touches the wires. Sometimes, however, tape is the only option in the limited space in which you’re creating the splice.īefore touching the soldering tip to the wires, tin the tip by melting a small amount of solder on it. I’ve also used the Posi-Locks as wire connectors in locations where the joint may periodically need to be disconnected.Īll three of these splices have been shrink-wrapped. This produces a strong, electrically sound joint that I’ve used for years when there’s not enough room to solder. Slide the plastic collar over the wire end and then screw the collar and wire into the Posi-Lock body to a strong finger-tight. ![]() With Posi-Lock connectors, strip about a half-inch of insulation from the wire ends but don’t twist the individual strands. Throw them away and either learn to solder or use Posi-Lock connectors, which are a little more expensive, but I’ve yet to have one fail. The most common connectors you’ll find in aftermarket kits are the crimp-on wire taps. A motorcycle’s vibration can loosen the tap and cause intermittent connection failures or just make it pop off the wire. The piece on the right cuts through a wire’s insulation, possibly damaging the wire strands within. Turn On: How To Install Switched Accessory Power To Your Motorcycle Anyone, even someone whose hands shake as much as mine do, can learn to solder with a minimum expenditure of blood and treasure. The source of the splicing fear usually is ignorance about soldering, which apparently many feel should only be done at midnight, during the full moon by a practitioner of the dark arts. Never fear, it is perfectly acceptable to splice wires if done correctly. However, soldering is also a great source of distress amongst novices. Soldering uses a hot iron to heat the wires to a temperature that will melt the solder, which when it cools takes care of the sturdy physical connection and the electrical conductivity. Mechanical connectors which physically clamp the wires together or to a common conductor are the easiest, but they take up more room and particular kinds are prone to failure. This can be done a couple of different ways. Wire splicing is the process of physically connecting two or more wires to make a mechanically strong, electrically sound path. While cutting your motorcycle’s wiring harness is not to be taken lightly and should only be attempted when you are certain as to which wires should be cut – by, say, obtaining the factory service manual – the process isn’t really that scary. Upon a little digging, the bugaboo is usually fear of splicing wires into the bike’s harness. Time and again, I’ve had people tell me that they are afraid to modify their bike’s wiring harness to install a new accessory.
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