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Unread 05-02-2013, 08:32
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AKA: Phil Malone
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Re: [FTC]: Using Anderson Connectors for wiring.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sasha View Post
- The document about using PowerPole connectors specifically warns that you should NOT tin the wires. This is news to me: I have always tinned the wire end going into the screw terminals on motor controllers - it makes it so much easier to get in the hole.
It's a tough question.

I know that there are potential problems with tinned wire in screw terminals. My concern was always that since solder is soft, there is the potential for the solder to get compressed, which will cause the wire to loosen in the connector.

BUT I also know that without tinning it's VERY hard to get all the strands of copper into the screw terminal. And there is NOTHING worse than stray strands sticking out of the terminal. It reduces the effective gauge of the wire, and it';s a shorting hazard.

I suspect this is why the wire from the power switch/battery is already tinned.

My solution is to split the difference.

When I strip wire for the screw terminals, I strip some extra length. Then I tin just the last part of the exposed wire with minimal solder. This acts as a binder to hold the strands together. Then I snip off most of the tinned end, leaving almost bare copper wires with some internal solder for binding.

This lets us insert ALL the strands into the connector, but once in, the screw terminal is pressing down on mainly bare wire. It's a compromise. But for me, not having any stray/exposed strands is paramount.
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Phil Malone
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