i had to use my old fat tipped soldering iron to reconnect my o2 sensor wires. It came out kinda chunky, not too too bad, but theres definetly a good amount of 'extra solder'. Will this effect anything in any way? the solder is cunductive right? my thinking is that A) it wont matter at all, its mainly to keep a tight conection. or B) im screwed caus the solder will create more resistance for the o2 sensor or something crazy like that.

Any help?

 

As long as you did a good soldering job you'll be fine. Did you solder that fine silver wire or copper? Clean it up by reheating the excess soler until it falls off.

 

A messy solder is not going to affect electrical conductivity. The REAL problem with a messy solder is the fact that with time, it will tend to cut through whatever you use to insulate it.

 

Here is what I do to make my joints buttery smooth. If you want to try again.

Get all of your gear ready.

Twist the 2 connections together so you wont have to hold them together with your hands.

Melt some solder onto the iron so there is a little blob on the tip.

Touch the blob to the wires. Once the wires heat up enough to accept the solder the solder will flow onto the wire.

Hold the iron there and take a small piece of solder and touch it to the joint where it needs more solder. The joint should be hot enough as long as you hold the iron on it.

Remove iron. Done.

The blob technique helps allot because it helps transfer heat much more quickly to the wire.

 

thanks everyone for replying, but for soem reason the iron wont hold solder on the tip. maybe its too hot? i taped up the joints real nice, so theyre airtight and all. Im just glad that it shouldnt mess w the electrical connection.

i guess too much solder is better than too little. I just globed it on so its kinda little ***** around each spliced wire. haha god i hope this works.

 

The tip's probably dirty and has oxidation on it then.

Clean it w/ a damp sponge while hot. Or you can try some fine sandpaper when it's cold.

 

hmmm okay, sounds good..... can i trust my previously done solders now though?

 

Yes you can. But if you havent already insulated the connections, its really just a few minutes worth of work to reheat the joints and remove the excess solder.

 

it sounds like he is trying to just melt the solder onto the wire by touching it on the iron..

like they said, when the iron is cold, sand it with fine sand paper, then warm it up and coat it with solder, "flick" off the excess and go to work. hold the joint horizontal, iron on the bottom, touch the solder to the joint when its hot enough and there should be no excess

 

yea thats kinda what i ended up having to do. Ive always used a nice solder gun, that would heat up the wire, but i had to use this one, and its crap.

 

I forgot to mention the sponge like LudeyKrus said. Have a damp sponge next to you the entior time while soldering. frequently wipe the tip on it to help clean it it works wonders.

Also I notice that the plating on my soldering iron is coming off in one spot and the solder wont stick to it as well. That could have something to do with your troubles as well if your tip is worn.

 

yea this thing is old as HELL, so im sure it could use a good cleaning, or trashing