Cold solder joints!!!!

[dudeonthebass]

Trying to rewire my p bass. I undsoldered everything and started again, rewiring it like the 62' p basses.

Every joint i make goes dull, or has trouble sticking, or just looks a mess. I've done everything i can to make it good and shiny, such as making sure it doesn't move, and even then, it just goes dull

do cold solder joints actualy affect the sound aswell ?

HELP!!!!!

[bongomania]

Tips:
Keep the tip of your iron clean, smooth (not pitted), and coated with a thin layer of shiny solder. Wipe the tip off on a damp sponge or rag, regularly during use. Make sure both pieces being joined are clean and free of oils or coatings--use fine sandpaper or steel wool on the legs of any components, and on the pot bodies where you want to solder the ground wire. Make sure both pieces being joined are getting sufficiently hot--try to have the iron tip touching both parts equally.

[JackANSI]

A "Dull" finish doesn't necessarily mean the joint is cold. Make sure you have enough flux on the joint, or add a bit more, and heat the part AND the wire, not just the wire or the solder. You should be melting the solder directly to the wire or part (with just HELP from the iron), not the iron.

When you look at the joint, the best way to tell if it is good is by the 'flow'. If the solder spreads out towards the base of the joint, the part got enough heat and solder spread out making a strong bond. If it looks like a drop of water on a freshly waxed car (didn't spread out and surface tension is keeping in a ball or lump), its probably not good enough, You didn't get enough heat into the part or wire for the solder to flow to it.

[dudeonthebass]

Solder was about 99p, and the iron was brand new!

[UncleFluffy]

cold joint = not enough heat getting to the parts being joined

usually (a) applying the iron to the solder not the metal, (b) not hot enough iron, or (c) something needs cleaning

[erikmilan1987]

Ok like the guy up here told ya... a cold solder not have anything to do with a dull looking solder... here are a few tests that you should do to know you have a good solder:

1.After you sucesfully placed the solder in place and dries start pulling from one end of the wire to see if theres any movement on your joint... if it moves you should do it again.

2. After you are sure that the solder is solid take a multimeter and check continuity between that wire and the solder you should read very little resistance (or no resistance) on it... if the resistance its too high or theres no continuity then your solder its cold.

Hope it helps

[JackANSI]

Oh yeah, forgot the most important part... tin everything first...

[Bevo1995]

Originally Posted by dudeonthebass

Attachment 158699
Attachment 158700

Solder was about 99p, and the iron was brand new!

What kind of solder were you using?

[dudeonthebass]

This stuff :

http://www.kozy-homes.co.uk/products...e?sos=googleps

[UncleFluffy]

How many watts is your iron?

[dudeonthebass]

30 watts

[UncleFluffy]

That might be a bit low for soldering to large pieces of metal (pot backs, etc). Know anyone you can borrow a 60W or bigger iron from to try out? That might fix it.

[JackANSI]

Originally Posted by dudeonthebass

This stuff :

http://www.kozy-homes.co.uk/products...e?sos=googleps

That doesn't say anything about it being flux-core. If you're new to soldering, you want flux-core, it makes things easier.

[dudeonthebass]

Right, basically, ive tried tinning wires, just like a little practice/test, and they've all tinned like ****, should i get some better solder ?

[JackANSI]

If the solder you have isn't flux-core and you're not using any other source for flux (like a tin of it or something), its going to be night and day as far as how easy it is to do this.

[Bevo1995]

Originally Posted by JackANSI

If the solder you have isn't flux-core and you're not using any other source for flux (like a tin of it or something), its going to be night and day as far as how easy it is to do this.

+1

I'd go so far as to say it is impossible to solder without some kind of flux. Other than the fact that the solder you have doesn't have a rosin core, it's fine. You have a 60/40 (tin/lead) solder which is perfect. Don't waste your money on silver solder, but either get something with a rosin core (easiest, quickest, least messy) or buy some flux to use with what you have.

[testing1two]

Or you can get some paste flux and apply it to the pot case prior to soldering. Flux/rosin core solder is easier though...but whatever you do, don't use acid core solder!

[xaxxat]

I even use flux with flux-core solder. I can always clean it up later.

[lethargytartare]

JackANSI covered all the tech stuff, so +1 there.

Honestly, it doesn't look like anything is unacceptable in there. The pot in the second picture has a nice patch on the back -- looks fine. The wires in the first pic could be neater, but the soldering looks solid...maybe a bit heavy in spots, but the raggedness looks like more a mattere of the way the wires are positioned and jutting around...which in and of itself isn't an issue. Does it sound ok?

When I solder, I don't thread the wires through the lugs -- I just stick them to the outer edge because I like to mess with them all the time, so I leave them easy to change. Never had a problem with their performance. And my control cavities rarely look overly tidy...but as long as nothing is getting shorted, and the joints are all solid, so be it. And I usually only get nice shiny solders on circuit boards and when everything is very clean, tinned, and the room is warm...

If you want crisp and clean, google for pics of some wiring jobs and imitate the layout, and routing of the wires, etc.

Make sure it's functional, and worry about pretty later :-)

[darkstorm]

Yup, sounds like they factory soldering was cold solderd. Horrible horrid way to solder. Makes resoldering anything allmost undoable or just not gonna happen at all, in my experience. Assuming your regular flux core solder of course.