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Who is doing what maintenance today?

fbnss said:
So i spent yesterday afternoon after work sticking in the usb sockets i bought last week, I'm not saying it's the tidiest install ever but i didn't feel comfortable chopping up the plastics. This way its removable.
Chopped and drilled some wood, don't have the correct tools so just drilled lots of holes for the sockets.
View attachment 114262
"face plate"View attachment 114263
Got the carpet out from making the drawers and wrapped it, bit fiddly with the small bits and i didn't have the stapler this time.View attachment 114264
you can see where i missed while squirting the glue, can't see it from the drivers side but a little messy from the passenger side.View attachment 114265
test fitting.
View attachment 114266 View attachment 114267 View attachment 114268 View attachment 114269 View attachment 114270
The new reverse lights came in handy.View attachment 114271
@StarCruiser figured out what those wires were for on the passenger side battery. There were extra ciggy sockets. One was in the nsr cubby hole and the other tucked behind the centre console. I reused the earth from that one.
View attachment 114272
Stuck in place with double sided sticky stuffView attachment 114273 View attachment 114274 View attachment 114275
close up of the messy bit of glue.View attachment 114276 View attachment 114277
I discovered i'm really crap at soldering, really really crap but it's all together and working. Wired it into that power supply thing next to the drivers side battery so that its only got power when the ignition is on.
Q. How are you supposed to actually connect stuff to that? i took the top off and connected it, but with the wire there its not exactly flush when closing, and are those contacts already fused? If not i need to stick one in line.
Click to expand...
Your cables should come in from underneath the left hand side of the power outlet box, there are three terminals, acc, constant live and ignition. There is a common earth terminal. They are fused 20, 10, and 10 amp.

Soldering is easy, on thicker gauge wire you will need a higher amp iron, most cheap ones are about 25 watt, this isnt enough on the bigger stuff or even on a cold windy day, the solder wont get hot enough.
 
I will have a look tomorrow, thanks :) I was using a dremel gas torch thing with the soldering attachment. was certainly hot enough, just i don't have the nack. Didnt help that i was trying to do it on the floor under the drivers door as i'd already poked the cable through the bulk head
 
Soldering used to wind me up until i ran out of wire and discovered cored solder at halfords , before that i had always used flux because that's what i did while plumbing :doh:
 
Erm. I used silver metal looking stuff that melted into messy blobs on the wire and floor.
 
fbnss said:
Erm. I used silver metal looking stuff that melted into messy blobs on the wire and floor.
Click to expand...
Soldering is a doddle..... . . but I was a slave in a circuit board factory for years when I was younger...... :-)
 
fbnss said:
Erm. I used silver metal looking stuff that melted into messy blobs on the wire and floor.
Click to expand...
If it isnt cored solder you need to get some flux, this makes the solder "stick" to the wire, once the wire and solder reach temperature the solder will simple flow through the strands of wire.
 
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Rightly or wrongly, I use multicore and the brown waxy flux you get in a small tub.

I've also used a brush-on silvery looking flux, but I don't remember what it was called and I can't find it here. That was more useful for sweating end-feed plumbing fittings IIRC.

There's at least 3 main do's with soldering, do use enough flux before you get stuff hot, and do get it hot enough and do use flux when it's hot.

The don'ts are similar, don't get it hot without flux because it causes oxidisation, don't get stuff too hot because you burn the flux and dirty the joint.

Not much help, but I manage to get by most times.
 
In addition to all that’s been said, get everything shiny clean, use flux (in multicore solder or brush on) to stop oxidation and also keep the soldering iron tip clean. a quick wipe on a bit of moist sponge does it and then a spot of solder to tin it. The essence really is that you’re not trying to melt the solder with the iron or flame, but to get the bits being joined to the right heat (without damaging them) so that the solder will flow. Pre tinning wires with solder helps too.
 
Other than the fact that I'm crap at it I never realised it was so complicated! I thought all you had to do was put the two wires together and melt the stuff over it. ( which I find promptly falls off) I shall get on YouTube for some lessons.
 
I loosely mesh the two wires so solder can run through them , hold them still with a hot iron and touch the cored solder (which contains its own flux) to them . About then i usually remember i didn't put the shrink wrap tube over the wire before making the joint :doh:
 
I remembered that bit. Just it wouldn't slip over my bodge. Don't tell anyone but I used electrical tape :eusa-naughty:
 
Blah, blah, blah......

Step 1: Turn on soldering iron and let heat up.

Step 2: If joining two wires together, make sure they are clean and free from oil, grease etc. They should be free from any corrosion. If not, cut and strip the wire back to fresh clean wire.

Step 3: Slip shrink tube on one end out and push back of the way and then twist the two strands being joined together trying to maintain a straight line.

Step 4: Touch a little solder on the tip of the soldering iron. If it is hot enough, the solder will begin to melt. With a damp sponge, take the tip of the soldering iron and quickly wipe the tip on the sponge to remove crap.

Step 5: Apply the tip of the soldering iron to the underside of the wire being joined for a few seconds. Then slowly offer the solder (wire) into the strands of wire. It should melt freely and flow into the strands. Remove the heat to prevent melting the insulation on the wires.

Step 5: Slip the shrink tube over the join and make it fit.

It’s a similar process to joining copper tube with solder, apply the heat into the joint first, and then apply the solder to let it flow into the joint. Well, something like that anyway. It also helps if you can secure the wire being joined to allow you to work freely with both hands, one holding the iron, the other the solder. A point to note is that a soldering iron is no good whatsoever for use on shirts.
 
All good info. One thing touched on earlier is the ability of wind to cool solderingbirons and joints very rapidly when outdoors so shielding may be necessary.
 
Bonus on the find, especially the eyeliner :) I've just gutted mine and washed the carpets etc didn't find a thing :D
 
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