efie

[gashead]

when installing an efie, what is the best way to connect wires to the efie? my old soldering gun wont get it done and the new one ( el cheapo ) doesnt appear to get hot enough ( just blobs the solder) i dont want to ruin the device is there another way to connect the wires securely.;; this is one of shane jacksons efies.

thank you
todd;

[Q-Hack!]

when installing an efie, what is the best way to connect wires to the efie? my old soldering gun wont get it done and the new one ( el cheapo ) doesnt appear to get hot enough ( just blobs the solder) i dont want to ruin the device is there another way to connect the wires securely.;; this is one of shane jacksons efies.

thank you
todd;

One thing people tend to forget when soldering... flux. It does two things: removes any impurities on the metal and allows the solder to flow easier. It makes soldering so much easier.

[Painless]

Do you guys have any recommendations for particular types of solder or soldering tips? I can never get solder to tin on my tips, they just turn black and slowly disintegrate.

[alpha-dog]

when installing an efie, what is the best way to connect wires to the efie? my old soldering gun wont get it done and the new one ( el cheapo ) doesnt appear to get hot enough ( just blobs the solder) i dont want to ruin the device is there another way to connect the wires securely.;; this is one of shane jacksons efies.

thank you
todd;

If you are trying to solder onto the O2 sensor pigtail then you will have problems. The wires are stainless steel I believe.

[Q-Hack!]

The wires on O2 sensors do need to stand up to a lot of heat, but they are probably just some form of alloy and not true stainless steel. If you work on the computer side of the O2 sensor connector it should be copper wire. Doing this will have the advantage of being able to replace the O2 sensor when they go bad without having to re-solder anything.

To add to the various tips stated so far:

As for soldering outside, I have to recommend using a soldering gun of at least 100 watts. Craftsman makes a decent dual heat 150/230 for about $35 at Sears. I own a Weller 140 myself, which is good for up to about 10 gauge wire. If you are outside in the breeze, you will need this level of heat. The little 60W pencils are best for small circuit boards on the work bench. For wire larger than 10 gauge, I recommend using an industrial crimp tool. If larger wire must be soldered then use a torch.

Make sure you have a good physical connection between the to items being soldered together. If it wiggles while you try to solder it, it will be harder to get heated correctly.

Stainless steel is nearly impossible to solder to... best to avoid trying. If you still have to solder to it then gouge the steel to give the solder something to stick to.

Don't think that the bigger the glob the better the job... use only enough solder to flow between the two metals.

If you are soldering components like diodes or resistors etc... then only keep the soldering iron on the joint for no more than 5-7 seconds. I usually apply the iron and count to 5, then touch with solder. If you go longer you risk damaging the components.

Use heat shrink tubing and not electrical tape. Under the hood can get quite warm, and electrical tape will become a gooey mess.

There are probably a thousand little tricks when it comes to soldering... These will get you started.

[Q-Hack!]

Do you guys have any recommendations for particular types of solder or soldering tips? I can never get solder to tin on my tips, they just turn black and slowly disintegrate.

I usually file my tips to bare metal. Then dip in flux and tin with solder. Then as I am soldering I use a wet sponge to clean the tip after every solder connection. Flux itself is corrosive so you want to get it off of the tip every time you use it.

[gashead]

As for soldering outside, I have to recommend using a soldering gun of at least 100 watts

this may be my problem, the one i bought is only a 25 watt gun. i cant seem to get it right for nothing ( and im a certified welder )

[Painless]

I usually file my tips to bare metal. Then dip in flux and tin with solder. Then as I am soldering I use a wet sponge to clean the tip after every solder connection. Flux itself is corrosive so you want to get it off of the tip every time you use it.

The flux is probably what I'm missing then, I'm only looking for circuit welding so my iron should be ok. For higher gauge wire I always use my torch.

[gashead]

i have finally got it. ( i think ) i was able to tin the wires today, tomorrow i will attempt to solder the wires into the efie ( wish me luck ) and install it this weekend. i have spent the day building a new exhaust system so im ready to do some more testing

[gashead]

please help me out here, i just installed an efie that i got from shane jackson. i have let the truck run for 30 minutes to get up to full operating temp. i am unclear on how to adjust this thing! any help would be appreciated. im trying to adjust the ohms, i have varied them from 20 to 50 ohms, i seen no responce from my truck ( hho is connected ) what is the proper way to adjust, ohms or otherwise and what is a good starting point for a mpg test. also no matter where i have set the efie my map enhancer kills the engine at idle on the second mark

thanks;
todd