This wire has a serious attitude problem against solder

Thread Starter

Lestraveled

Joined May 19, 2014
1,946
Winner winner, chicken dinner.

OK here are the results.

- Is it magnetic: No

- What happened in a solution of sodium persulfate: It lost the copper color.

- What happened in ferric chloride: It bubbled a little for about a minute and then it bubble violently and smoked.

The wire did appear to have a resin on it which came off with brake cleaner. (Good call @joeyd999 )

- What happened with wire that had been cleaned with brake cleaner in ferric chloride: It instantly bubbled violently and smoked.

So, it looks like it is aluminum alloy wire with a very thin copper plating with some non-water soluble resin on it.
 

Thread Starter

Lestraveled

Joined May 19, 2014
1,946
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.
 

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,220
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.
The reactions you've just described sound very similar to the way aluminum behaves, in my limited experience, of course.

EDIT: or could it be some sort of aluminum-bronze alloy... perhaps?
 

Thread Starter

Lestraveled

Joined May 19, 2014
1,946
Has anyone used a Aladden brazing products for electronics? I used their 3 in 1 rod to braze brass to aluminum a long long time ago. Look on page 4 of the attached pdf.
 

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AnalogKid

Joined Aug 1, 2013
10,987
The Dr. triggered a thought. Autosplice and AMP make crimp terminals for wires to prep them for direct soldering. It is a thin brass (?) barrel with no ring or fork at the end. It does have the end extend a bit and it has one small barb sticking out. The idea is that you crimp this on the end of stranded wire and it contains the strands, then stuff it in a pcb hole. The barb holds the wire in place while it is wave soldered. Sounds perfect for your application.

http://www.te.com/commerce/Document..._82159_PCB_TERMINALS_AND_DISCONNECTS_1207.pdf

See attached. Solder terminals start on p. 28, power bugs start on p. 32. another low-pcb-area option is a 25 A Faston, also in this catalog.

ak
 

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mcgyvr

Joined Oct 15, 2009
5,394
Getting solder to adhere and making a reliable connection are 2 different animals.

Just buy proper wire.. Its available in plenty of strand counts (flexibility).. and solders easily and is reliable..
Its 300ft of 12AWG wire.. You have a few bucks into it.. Let it go..

Whats the potential for damage when your improperly soldered connection causes a fire a week/month down the road? What would that cost compared to the cheap cost of the wire?
 

Thread Starter

Lestraveled

Joined May 19, 2014
1,946
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.:(:mad:

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.
 
Last edited:

cmartinez

Joined Jan 17, 2007
8,220
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.

Les, I think mcgyvr is right... just

0.jpe
 

Thread Starter

Lestraveled

Joined May 19, 2014
1,946
Well, the good thing is, my soldering issue is solved.:cool::rolleyes:

Any body want to buy a really big funny looking inductor whose leads doesn't take solder.:D
 

joeyd999

Joined Jun 6, 2011
5,237
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.:(:mad:

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.
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?
 
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