I bought a 99' hatch with a B18c swap from a member on here. The swap was done pre-conversion harness. The cabin and engine harness were spliced, soldered, butt connected and re-pinned together to make the OBD2b harnesses work with the OBD2a motor. It was a bird nest of wires to me, so I cut them away from each other to remove them. (I know) I'm using the engine harness from my Si (swapping in the B16 for now) and I have the Si cabin harness, but, would rather use the Dx cabin harness as there were alot less options and less unneeded wires. I'm using the car for HPDE's, Auto-X, Weekend fun etc...I have read some solder vs. crimp threads and everyone seems to be 50/50 and swear by one or the other.

I cut all of the wires to the ecu plug A on the cabin harness .:FFS TechNet : OBD2b ECU Connector Schematics :. and these are the ones I need to re-connect. The wire is small, probably around 20 gauge. I have about 14 to do and cut off about 7" of wire. I thought about re-pinning the wires on the harness as is, but, it will be 7" shorter (about the length of the green plug) and I'm not sure if that's enough length to plug into the ecu without binding wires.

So, is it better to solder or crimp at this location with the connections being grouped together and 7" from the ecu? I read this thread https://honda-tech.com/forums/tech-m...perly-3017203/ and don't mind going the extra step to help prevent a broken connection. I could probably ziptie either side of the repair to help immobilize this section. I don't have much experience soldering or using a higher quality crimper, but, I feel I could do either decently after watching a few how-to's. I would like to spend less than $100 for the repair tools/supplies if possible.

 

I would solder. Find some scrap wire of similar size and practice soldering on it. Use some small heat shrink tubing to insulate each connection. Remember to put the tubing over one end of the wire before splicing.

 

solder

 

solder and heat shrink. good as new.

 

solder and heat shrink gets my vote. Also, after you solder make sure you dont have any rough edges before you heat shrink, otherwise that pointy bit of solder could poke through.

 

Inline soldering and heat-shrinking is great, but it should be noted that Honda (and most other OEMs) recommend using a Solder Splice connector. If done right, they're both effectively the same, but the solder spices make the soldering/sealing process foolproof.

Something like: https://www.cableorganizer.com/elelk...-butt-splices/

This is Honda Motorcycles, but it's pretty much the same guide for cars: http://www.maultechatv.com/techguide...20Supplies.pdf

 

heat shrink and solder, better than new.

 

Reading into these!

 

Valid point!

Looks like solder is the preferred method, going to start practicing.

 

it's not the preferred method. IT'S THE CORRECT METHOD. But then again, make sure you know how to properly solder. Yes, a shitty solder connection is no better than twisting wires together and covering it with electrical tape.

 

This is what I used. While they are expensive, they work great and are super simple to use.

 

^^ This, I see a lot of vids of people just blobbing solder onto the wires, I'm like, you're doing it wrong!

 

That's how my co-worker does it. Dude is the type that has no sense of workmanship and pride in his work. Yeah..he's lucky he still has a damn job.

 

I soldered the wires together today. I spent a few hours practicing different ways to twist the wire and soldering. I ended up using the method that I posted in the link above. I know it's probably overkill, but, I felt I was getting my best connections this way.

First, a pic of the previous owner's soldered connections that I will have to re-do.


I fanned the wires out and interlocked them together. I pinched them flat and twisted the spare wire over the connection.


I placed the soldering pencil with a small dab of solder under the wire and touched the solder to the top of the wire.


I put liquid electrical tape on the connection and heat shrunk it. I then, came back and put a longer piece of adhesive lined heat shrink over the connection.






Some of the soldered connections toward the end.



All sealed up!

 

**** yeah. Whoever the **** said crimping was more effective don't know wtf they are talking about.

 

Nice work.

 

so purdy

 

Thanks! I feel like I did a decent job from practice to execution in one day! That helping hands wire holder is an invaluable tool.