Two quick questions...

[John Gutmann]

our team saved half a pound by just getting shorter pwm cables and other high gauge wires

[mechanicalbrain]

Funny how this is called two quick questions yet its anything but that. OK during the clash our power wires got pulled out from the power connectors (the big copper ones that have a screw to hold the wire). My team leader wants me to solder the cable into the connector but I'm 95% (rough estimate) sure that it would be illegal. Yes the screws were tight and yes we used shrink wrap but as i understand it the cable got yanked right out. Can i get some confirmations on the soldering thing and if anyone knows any rules in specific I would appreciate it. Also if i need to make some PWMs run a good distance (4ft) should i just connect one, with a S bend in the wire so the connector can't be pulled, on to the next? Thanks all.

[BrianBSL]

Originally Posted by mechanicalbrain

Funny how this is called two quick questions yet its anything but that. OK during the clash our power wires got pulled out from the power connectors (the big copper ones that have a screw to hold the wire). My team leader wants me to solder the cable into the connector but I'm 95% (rough estimate) sure that it would be illegal. Yes the screws were tight and yes we used shrink wrap but as i understand it the cable got yanked right out. Can i get some confirmations on the soldering thing and if anyone knows any rules in specific I would appreciate it. Also if i need to make some PWMs run a good distance (4ft) should i just connect one, with a S bend in the wire so the connector can't be pulled, on to the next? Thanks all.

AFAIK, there's no rule against soldering the copper lugs, but you will need a pretty good iron to get it hot enough. We did it on all of ours, as I don't really trust or like those connectors but the rules say we must use them, so we'll make the best out of what we have. Of course, I don't think anyone is going to stop you at an offseason from using the non-kit connectors, and who knows what the rules will be next year.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by mechanicalbrain

My team leader wants me to solder the cable into the connector but I'm 95% (rough estimate) sure that it would be illegal. Yes the screws were tight and yes we used shrink wrap but as i understand it the cable got yanked right out. Can i get some confirmations on the soldering thing and if anyone knows any rules in specific I would appreciate it. Also if i need to make some PWMs run a good distance (4ft) should i just connect one, with a S bend in the wire so the connector can't be pulled, on to the next?

OK, I did a rule check in Section 5 and the only thing I found was that you had to insulate the connection. Nothing about soldering. Just make sure that you can get the connectors off the battery terminals for shipping. Maybe Q&A can tell you if it's legal.

As for the PWMs, that's about how you'd do it, unless you made your own to lenght, which it is possible to do. (I don't know the procedure. Someone else probably will.) If you do several, use electrical tape around the joint.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by mechanicalbrain

Funny how this is called two quick questions yet its anything but that. OK during the clash our power wires got pulled out from the power connectors (the big copper ones that have a screw to hold the wire). My team leader wants me to solder the cable into the connector but I'm 95% (rough estimate) sure that it would be illegal. Yes the screws were tight and yes we used shrink wrap but as i understand it the cable got yanked right out. Can i get some confirmations on the soldering thing and if anyone knows any rules in specific I would appreciate it. Also if i need to make some PWMs run a good distance (4ft) should i just connect one, with a S bend in the wire so the connector can't be pulled, on to the next? Thanks all.

Of course you can solder these connections. As a lead inspector, I strongly recommend soldering connections especially primary power. A large iron helps, but a trick many people do not use is "wet" the tip of the iron with a lot of solder before placing it against the connetor. Add more solder until you get a large surface area between the tip and the workpiece. This will insure max heat transfer. When you think the connector is hot enough, apply solder away from the tip (and the solder pool) and if it flows then continue soldering. Add solder to the end of the wire and the connector but don't add so much as to allow the solder to wick up into the wire under the insulation. This will cause a stiff spot in the wire that makes it bad for forming the cable when you need to. Allow the connection to cool before handling or trying to add heatshrink.