Soldering Large Battery Cables

In this video I show the process of soldering large battery cables (2 gauge in this case).
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[@ridermak4111]

Thank you for stuffing the cable end into the flux. The keys to long term reliability are enough flux, enough heat, and the timing of combining everything. Old timer showed me a couple tricks that I still love. If it is a closed cup cable pocket on the terminal, put the other end in a vise pointing straight up. Only grab 1/4” or so with the vise so it doesn’t act as a heat sink and fight your process. Every step from here on is crazy overkill (I’ve been told) but in 45 years of personal and friends usage every one has inspired confidence. Horizontally scratch up the interior of the cup. A cool quick tool is a 3/16 headless bolt dipped in super glue and then sand and chucked up to spin. Next stuff a little glob of flux in (about 1/4 of the volume) and then not quite fill it with short cut bits of solder. Prep the cable end and jab it into the flux. Now comes the timing of the torch. Hold the cable sideways and angled down a little. Put the side of the flame against the end of the copper. When the liquid flux stops dripping, (and that is quick, don’t stick around and melt your insulation) move the torch to the bottom half of the cup. When the flux heavily smokes out and all the solder is very liquified, put that cable end in there carefully. The contents will overflow because overkill and overflow umm….had the same dad. This is all quite insane….I know. But over the decades this ceremony has become fun so I can’t quit now. And none have failed. 👊😎

[@timferguson1526]

drill a hole in the lug beforehand to add the solder

[@peterpalmer630]

I just wanted to see how you heat it up. This is like watching paint dry...

[@bobbyjunelive1993]

Live The fact that the crimp before you soldered which was The only intuitive thing you wouldn’t do but yours was right thank you so much

[@Ken-ps6zf]

I don't think I'd have this guy soldering for me 😞

[@rm6857]

it will work just fine

[@hhiser6206]

Get yourself a Wagner heatgun with temp control, you can control the heat much better. I drill a small hole in the terminal connector 1/16" to feed the solder in. That helps prevent wicking solder up the cable. Finish with shrink sleeves you can get at any battery shop. Use dialectic grease when making your connections and a small amount of red locktite. Your connections wont loosen up and will resist corrosion. P.S.A. don't burn your fingers!🤔😲😷😎🇺🇸

[@johncayer1698]

Please slam everything a million times on that damn table 😎👍🏽

[@Eman2000]

John Cayer Sure thing

[@taylorhumes7567]

John Cayer I agree. That was annoying.

[@malfunction6993]

lol

[@bradysolaem2467]

I like the war scars your vice got from grinding disks

[@Querencias7]

6:45 The reference to use 'gravity' to help bring the solder down into the terminal cup - I believe tinning the inside of the cup first would make for a better, easier and quicker solder flow (granted you did get an acceptable solder joint in there). Thanks for the video!

[@dangerjack4695]

So im new to soldering and not very good at it. I use a torch and practice a little bit nd im getting better. Could u or anyone plz define "tinning the cup" for me. Im great at doing automotive electrical work and making custom wire harnesses for auxiliary accessories and such nd im looking to improve my work. Plz help. Thx

[@snap-off5383]

@@dangerjack4695 Melting solder into the terminal end held upwards like a "cup" before joining them together. The danger of filling the thing with endless solder is that the strands of wire act like a candle wick and the solder actually goes UP into the wire as well, where this solder ends, the wire is likely to snap in two if it experiences much mechanical movement. For soldering you just want to solder the ends of your conducting wires into the terminal, and never have solder run up into the wire out of the termination "cup".

[@robertrlkatz6890]

@@dangerjack4695 In other words heat the terminal before putting the wire in it and solder a thin layer inside, your coating the inside of the terminal before putting the wire in it. You will never find a factory crimped on terminal with solder. the crimp is a better connection and can take vibration a soldered connection can break with vibration because it is rigid and does not flex. This is really a terrible way to make a crimp if using a proper crimp tool the wire is completely crushed making it like a solid wire needing no solder to fill in the voids.

[@jeradstorlie5685]

Is that special electrical flux? I used flux on my cables 3 years ago. This year, they all corroded and the ends broke off the positive side. Only thing that makes sense to me, is that the flux wasn’t fully removed from the wire and continued to etch the copper till it ate all the way through. Thoughts?

[@Valleythyroidinstitute818]

You've got to be joking? That is your crimping tool?

[@victorreyes2135]

That's was mines too😂😂😂😂

[@bindabbin6067]

Just wanted to say thanks

[@slow_rednline4874]

This is a how not to make cable video😂

[@dreamingcode]

Hey it's good enough for government work. I think with some shrink wrap it would look really nice. Thanks for sharing

[@cbradiomizfit7562]

You mean heat shrink

[@dreamingcode]

@@cbradiomizfit7562 you must be great at parties

[@NackDSP]

Get the proper size lug for the wire and then buy the crimp tool from Harbor Freight and do it right. No solder needed.

[@BassBrotherBuild]

Looks like a hard plastic for the insulation and cca wire inside and not ofc which is superior

[@Derwin63]

Looks much better with some 5/8" (or so) shrink tube..I assume that solder is the 60/40 stuff? Otherwise, thanks for the effort!

[@cliffgriffen623]

Should be resin core solder I think

[@chippywarren9706]

Very good. Learned a lot thank you!

[@pgScorpio]

If you realize he showed how NOT to do it!.... 😂

[@chippywarren9706]

I'm not a solder guy, so perhaps you could explain why, rather than a mocking comment? World is going down a mile a minute. Thank you.

[@pgScorpio]

@@chippywarren9706 Why? because he does about everything wrong. First of all you should never solder connections on cars/boats/motors or any other vehicle. (soldered connections are not suitable for moving/vibrating environments) Then he uses the wrong tools (i.e. a box cutter is not ment to strip wires), uses the wrong size lug, and is using a lug not suited for soldering at all. A solder lug should have a hole at the lug side to apply the solder. Solder should never be applied (and should even never intrude the wire) at the isolated cable end. And one should never (vice) crimp AND solder.

[@dgc7321]

looks terrible...would never be acceptable with the clients I have!

[@hip_check]

Can't tell with proper heatshrink

[@danbowman3928]

Did you watch it all the way through it looked better after he used the wire brush in his words to clean the corrosion off due to the heat on the new ends lol sorry but some people shouldn't do how to videos as im not good at doing this is why I was looking it up so I wouldn't make a video on how too I know basic wiring a little more than the average but know better than this

[@brockstravels7586]

I turned off at "use a vice to crimp the lug" Totaly bad advice, use a proper crimping tool.

[@jaydeavor5516]

yeah a hammer

[@davek2690]

A tip: cut around the outer insulation the cut from your first cut to the end of the wire n peal off the insulation so you don't accidentally cut any wire

[@davek2690]

I just get a chisel, line it up in the middle of whatever tip I'm crimping on n hit it with a hammer.

[@elliscountytexasspotter891]

Why do you use flux? Do you not use Resin core solder for electrical?

[@Eman2000]

The amount that is in the solder itself tends to not be enough when working with something this large. It's more or less just insurance.

[@jusb1066]

yeo you need extra to bond to the copper terminal, the flux in solder is only barely enough even for clean electronics and they often add more, but use rosin for easier clean up

[@gordongrimes6773]

This guy is a twit. Never use acid core flux for electrical because it corrodes the joint. Second you NEVER jut roll a sharp edge against the copper wire it nicks the strands and damages said connection which creates stress points and promotes breakage at the connection he is a waste of time and you don't use a torch it's for plumbers on pipe .

[@mohammedahmed-xi8br]

This is more for a one off thing how many people do this on a daily basis? Apart from people who do it for a living. It seems fine for a one off without tools.

[@arthurserino2254]

Nice technique!

[@cbradiomizfit7562]

You shouldn't need to wire brush around the lug hole

[@PBunyanOx]

Thanks!

[@krisea3807]

No videos comes.

[@bradysolaem2467]

Mine look like brass😣 mean yellow brass

[@halse8280]

Why make a vid on how-to when its done this poorly 😆

[@huwowen9722]

What a mess 😮

[@dark-starchemistryfabricat2405]

All the critics in the comments of course 😆 There are some people that learn if they “Teach” a subject, he is obviously an amateur that is dipping his toes in and making a video for his own reference,…. At least he is actually trying something and not someone in the comment section that has never done a thing or mastered a skill in their life and yet are super critical of fellow DIY’ers …everyone in the comments always knows everything “in theory” but they have zero experience “in practice”….for example when I would post my videos of my Go Kart builds or my dirt bike content, everyone was always giving me their EXPERT advice lol let me tell you something, just because you watch alot of guys that build/create, doesn’t mean shit until you have done it for yourself….Things are alot harder IN PRACTICE,…and thats why PREPARATION is a skill of its own that is often rare to find in DIY yes I perfer to have clean soldering, zero slag, using all the right tools that are readily available and heat shrink pre-sleeved on the wire all nice and tightened up with a proper heat gun …but in reality, even with seasoned Mechanics, there is alot of ERROR and cussing and stuff that isn’t pretty lol But that being said…there are 1000 ways to skin a cat…and a fellow DIY’er knows this…thats the spirit of DIY. We respect all those that are self reliant and learning skills for themselves and we usually accept that others are at different levels…. you all wouldn’t understand this code because YOU ARE JUST GUYS THAT COMMENT ABOUT THIS STUFF ON THE INTERNET, YOU DONT HAVE A WORKSPACE OR A GARAGE OR SMALL CLOSET to hone your craft BECAUSE YOU HAVE NO CRAFT! lol 😆 YOU ARE JUST A CYNICAL PASSIVE OBSERVER OF GREATER MORE CREATIVE MEN… how small you must feel indeed.

[@bitTorrenter]

But 2 AWG isn't the same as 2/0 is it?

[@jeremys8360]

No. 2/0 is much bigger and better

[@rlkinser]

sweet jesus...

[@phillwildman]

it would be a good video if not for you constantly banging the cable onto the desk, extremely annoying.

[@davek2690]

Most important tip: use flux abd you don't need to worry about gravity cause the flux sucks the solder in. Clearly you didn't know what you were doing in this video

[@johnbladykas4454]

Buy yourself hydraulic crimper

[@rjvan9220]

John Bladykas Yes, hydraulic crimper!!! The vise crimping is very amateur. Shows low quality workmanship. Why do all these hacks make instructional videos?

[@stayridenchevyz]

Lol he is making some shitty battery cables not wiring a Tesla. Who cares how pretty it looks as long as it’s strong.

[@slow_rednline4874]

@@stayridenchevyz because this Amatuer as shit..def not a how to video..this a how not to make good cable video if anything

[@WZDIESEL]

@@slow_rednline4874 shut the fuck up douche bag. This is a piece of shit video anyway

[@cliffgriffen623]

Flux how many types are there? Solder how many types are there. Information 0. Noise level 17 out of 20. Accomplishments 1 out of 20

[@toddthibodeaux8923]

If you are soldering a high amp batterie cables your asking for major problems including a fire. Crimping large ring terminals is in the only way to go.

[@Eman2000]

If you are crimping large battery cables, without the right tools, you're asking for major problems, including a fire. There is not an inherent problem with soldering large battery cables. Not sure where you get this idea. It's far easier to get a bad crimp than a bad solder joint. Which is why I mentioned using proper tools. I feel that a lot of people will have the tools to do the soldering properly already and if not the tools are relatively inexpensive compared to a good crimper. The only real fire danger with soldering the connector is the propane torch...

[@robertstatile343]

todd thibodeaux rookie needed to consult with a plumber first!!

[@JasonW.]

Robert Statile talks about using the right tools, the takes 5 minutes to cut with insulation (and several wire strands) with a box cutter. What kind of wire insulation is that? Looks like some kind of plastic that wouldn't be 105c rated

[@Veritas-invenitur]

@Bruno Gianelli Your 100% right, back before I had any idea of what I was doing I did the same thing but once my connections started to fail I did some research and found out how dangerous what I had done was. So I bought a hydraulic crimping tool and went around and redid all the ends that I had previously done.

[@ukaszsmoa8416]

@Bruno Gianelli Lead solder melts at around 185 degrees Celcius. If your joints are getting so hot, you have other problems.

[@mcplutt]

OMG

[@weirdbunney5500]

Oh god 40k views for this

[@e954rr2]

All these comments from the you tube experts

[@bradysolaem2467]

1 like for bench vice crimps💪