Hi,

Does any one have any tips about soldering stranded wire to a lead on a board? I have to cut and strip an audio cable and then solder the wires to the board.

When I've tried to solder components with stranded wire leads, it's always a mess and the joint never holds.

Any ideas?

Thank you!

 

Make sure you use good quality solder and flux, It sounds like you may not have enough heat and are making 'cold' solder joints. It is also helpful to twist the strands of wire together and pre-tin them.

 

If it's a round pad, tin the wire and use pliers to form the end into a rough circle. Tin the pad (apply a light coating of solder) and use the iron to press the wire down on the pad. Add more solder if you think it's called for.

The joint should be shiny and rounded. If the metal is dull and spiky, it probably needs more heat (larger iron) or more flux.

Solder has poor mechanical strength, so don't expect it to withstand more than a light tug. You may need to arrange a strain relief to insure the attached wire does not come loose.

 

Also be careful of too much heat, as you can delaminate a PC board trace. You mention a "lead", so you may not mean a trace. Still, even soldering to a wire that's attached to the board can lead to things delaminating if there's too much mechanical movement or heat.

 

Hello,

Here is a page from the EDUCYPEDIA on soldering:
http://www.educypedia.be/electronics/soldering.htm

Greetings,
Bertus