Soldering irons

[carrots 1]

Ive been thinging of buying a soldering iron to do some work on the corrado loom.can anyone recommend one nothing to expensive.cheers

[GrahamU 6]

Depends on what you intend to do with it.

 

If you are only soldering some wires together then you can get them from most hardware stores for around 10 - 15 quid.

 

If you want to solder PCBs then look out for a temp adjustable weller iron, that is what I have at home and it does the job fine, they have replaceable tips so you can change to suit whatever the job is.

 

I used to have an expensive metcal iron that was self adjusting for temp, auto switch off, quick change tips etc but I didnt really use it to its full potential so sold it and carried on using the weller.

[leon263 0]

I'd recommend something along the lines of the portable gas job as shown at the link below. I bought one for Maplins around 20 years ago and it is still going strong. I used to do a lot of car hi-fi installation and this iron tackled everything up to and including four gauge power cable. You'll get, probably, four tips included which will cover everything you're likely to encounter. All you'll need is a can of butane lighter gas and a roll of fluxed solder.

 

 

https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/pro-iroda-solderpro-70w-gas-soldering-iron-kit-n13ar

[Jim Bowen 1]

I wouldn't solder a loom, much better to use Duraseal connectors

[GrahamU 6]

I wouldn't solder a loom, much better to use Duraseal connectors

 

 

I've just seen that phrase on a Facebook Corrado page :)

 

Agreed, but I've given up arguing the point

 

Although I use these:

 

http://www.te.com/usa-en/product-680327-000.html?q=&d=129372%20557502&type=products&samples=N

Edited April 23, 2018 by rado20vT

[swiftkid 1]

I've got a portasol gas soldering iron and I use it for everything, I've got about 4 or 5 240v soldering irons of varying sizes but the portasol is just a great all rounder so that gets used most. Loads of different tips available for different jobs and you can refill with lighter fluid.

 

I've recently started using duraseals and they do work fantastic and give a really good joint. Soldering is great but I found on my old rado that the loom physically couldn't be soldered and the wires just became brittle at both ends of the soldered joint so it depends what condition your loom is in.

[carrots 1]

my looms brittle what colour duraseal connects are best for loom the red ones

[Jim Bowen 1]

Yeah, if they are the small ones, i ended up buying all the different sizes as was doing the fan wiring too.

 

I bought duraseal branded ones, what i didn't use my mate had off me and then replaced them with some knock-off unbranded version from ebay and tbh they are just as good.

[1200 bandit 10]

If you are joining wiring Renault do a soldering join which is water proof and use a cigarette lighter to soldier together,They a very good,very easy to use,If interest let me know and l will get the part number on Tuesday

If you find that the wiring is corroded go to a scrap yard and cut of some wiring loom ends ,removed the pins from the looms and refit to your loom.

Hope this makes sense

Edited May 3, 2018 by 1200 bandit

[Kevin Bacon 5]

I wouldn't solder a loom, much better to use Duraseal connectors

 

Absolutely. Car makers do not use solder in wiring harnesses for a reason - vibration related metal fatigue. Mechanical connections only please, and as the good sir suggested, Duraseal is the best there is.