Does it solder now?The wire did appear to have a resin on it which came off with brake cleaner. (Good call @joeyd999 )
My money is on that it's aluminum....It bubbled a little for about a minute and then it bubble violently and smoked.
The reactions you've just described sound very similar to the way aluminum behaves, in my limited experience, of course.OK
Cleaning the wire with brake cleaner improved its solderability some. Some parts of the wire took solder well and other areas still refused to take solder. I will try it on a PCB and other things later. (I am doubtful.) Some kind of crimp PCB interface may be in order for future designs.
The wire bubbled slightly in a lye (sodium Hydroxide) solution. Perhaps if I had removed the copper coating with sodium persulfate first it would have been more active.
I think I'll measure its resistance next.Aluminum bronze has about 11% of the conductivity of copper. Doubt it is used here.
WOW, the resistance of the mystery (12 ga.) wire is .0047 ohms per foot.
Normal stranded copper (12 ga.) is .00162 ohm per foot.
aluminum wire (12 ga.) is .0027 ohms per foot.
This stuff is JUNK!!
Measurement method:
I used a power supply and a calibrated HP3478A to pass 1 amp of current through the wire and measured the voltage (Kelvin) using another HP 3478A.
I measured a piece of 12 ga. mil spec copper wire and got .00163 ohms per foot.
Yeah... and with the simplest solution of them all... just dump the darn thingWell, the good thing is, my soldering issue is solved.
It's possible you are not engaging all the strands during test. If they are insulated from each other with resin or lacquer, how do you guarantee all the strands are electrically connected?WOW, the resistance of the mystery (12 ga.) wire is .0047 ohms per foot.
Normal stranded copper (12 ga.) is .00162 ohm per foot.
aluminum wire (12 ga.) is .0027 ohms per foot.
This stuff is JUNK!!
I got it cheap, I got what I paid for.
Measurement method:
I used a power supply and a calibrated HP3478A to pass 1 amp of current through the wire and measured the voltage (Kelvin) using another HP 3478A.
I measured a piece of 12 ga. mil spec copper wire and got .00163 ohms per foot.
by Aaron Carman