Castle Mamba monster X ESC; soldering battery connectors

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JayP.

JayP.

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Arrma RC's
  1. Kraton 8S
  2. Kraton EXB
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  5. Senton 3s
I have a mamba monster x esc, and I was planning on just cutting and stripping the battery wires off my BLX185 esc and soldering those on. They're the same guage wire, so would I be fine to do that? It would make the process a lot simpler, plus it already has the connectors I want to use. It's probably a dumb question, but I've never had to solder on battery connectors, I usually just keep the RTR electronics.
 
You can do that however it may create some resistance issues in the wires.
If you do this I (In very few cases) when I do this I will strip off a little
over 1/4 inch of bare wire on both sides. I then will slowly push to 2 wires
together entwining them until I cannot push together any further.
I will dab some paste on the connections then twist or finagle them so
there are no stray wires floating around. See pic attached for a general reference.
I tossed the example together quickly :)
I never solder pre-tinned wires side by side...never
1618072015857.png
 
Yeah I will do this and recycle perfectly fine ESC wires from bricked ESC's. Makes perfect sense and saves much time. Just that
If you aren't experienced/comfortable with soldering connectors, you may have a hard time soldering wires to wires. There is a special technique by Splaying the strands of the wires together and using some flux. Watch videos regarding soldering Wires together. Thick guage wires can be a bear if done wrong. Of course you will need Heat Shrink Tubing on hand. There is NO Tinning the wires done this way. Done properly. Using bullets to connect wires can work, but I don't feel it is the correct way to solder Power wires together. (Increase in circuit resistance.) Just me. :cool:
 
SrC said:
Yeah I will do this and recycle perfectly fine ESC wires from bricked ESC's. Makes perfect sense and saves much time. Just that
If you aren't experienced/comfortable with soldering connectors, you may have a hard time soldering wires to wires. There is a special technique by Splaying the strands of the wires together and using some flux. Watch videos regarding soldering Wires together. Thick guage wires can be a bear if done wrong. Of course you will need Heat Shrink Tubing on hand. There is NO Tinning the wires done this way. Done properly. Using bullets to connect wires can work, but I don't feel it is the correct way to solder Power wires together. (Increase in circuit resistance.) Just me. :cool:
Click to expand...
So neither side should be pre tinned? They should just be twisted together, then throw paste on them and THEN solder? Obviously the heat shrink will be on prior to all of this so I can slide it up over the joint. I would like to get some experience so even if it's a hassle for me, I'd like to learn. That's why I'm asking as many questions as I can 😅. I know there's a lot of experienced and well informed people on this forum.
 
Great question that comes about many times here at AF. 👍

You don't "Twist" the wires together.(n)

The wires strands get "Splayed" into each other. This is the Correct and proper way. Need to watch video's like I stated above!!!
 
SrC said:
Great question that comes about many times here at AF. 👍

You don't "Twist" the wires together.(n)

The wires strands get "Splayed" into each other. This is the Correct and proper way. Need to watch video's like I stated above!!!
Click to expand...
Ah okay, I'll make sure to check out some videos on it. Wrong terminology 😅. Thanks for the help though 👍. I'll definitely report back once the job is done.
 
When it comes to Soldering. There is usually One Correct Way.
All the other variations/ways may work and appear "Good Enough" , but are not sound in fundamental Electronics design and principal. These are high volt and amp wires. The ESC can draw as much as 1000 amps from a lipo(s). Do it right the first time.;)
 
Yeah heavy gauged and heavily stranded battery cables are a little unwieldly to solder. As a beginner or if you've got a soldering station (not enough power) or tip (too small) that isn't up to the task it will be a chore. Plus all the fine strands will let you feed solder into it acting as a wick which just makes the wires all stiff and crunchy.

Give it a go on a test piece first if you can to get the hang of it.
 
I always add 8mm bullets instead of a direct splice. Can’t go wrong that way and it is removable too.
 
SrC said:
When it comes to Soldering. There is usually One Correct Way.
All the other variations/ways may work and appear "Good Enough" , but are not sound in fundamental Electronics design and principal. These are high volt and amp wires. The ESC can draw as much as 1000 amps from a lipo(s). Do it right the first time.;)
Click to expand...
I definitely want to do it the right way, I've been watching a lot of videos on it, preparing for soldering the wires together. I'm not trying to be lazy and skimp out, especially something as important as this.
kavax said:
Yeah heavy gauged and heavily stranded battery cables are a little unwieldly to solder. As a beginner or if you've got a soldering station (not enough power) or tip (too small) that isn't up to the task it will be a chore. Plus all the fine strands will let you feed solder into it acting as a wick which just makes the wires all stiff and crunchy.

Give it a go on a test piece first if you can to get the hang of it.
Click to expand...
Yeah, practicing is something I'll definitely do. Hopefully I'll get the hang of it.
 
Soldering Bullets will work easier for you if that is best for your soldering skill level.
Just, if your solder joint is a "Cold" one (not a shiny joint), the only major Caveat is that it may pull out.
:cool:
 
SrC said:
Soldering Bullets will work easier for you if that is best for your soldering skill level.
Just, if your solder joint is a "Cold" one (not a shiny joint), the only major Caveat is that it may pull out.
:cool:
Click to expand...
Usually you get a cold solder joint if you touch the solder to the tip and then apply it to the wires though, no? I know it's better to transfer the heat to the wires and then place the solder on the wires, so you don't get a cold solder joint. You just need to make sure your soldering iron or gun is powerful enough. I don't know what would be a good wattage for a job like this. Other than that I think I got it down, I don't think I'd need to take an easier way to get around it, unless the easier way leads to a better connection. I want the best connection possible, even if it might be a little more challenging. I just test fitted my electronics in, going to be soldering soon when I have the time.
 
Splay wiring like the Video showed is best. For obvious reasons with heavy guage multi-strand wires.
I use a digital solder station set to 780F. So heat is not an issue. A cold dull looking solder joint can happen from too low a temp. You seem to understand it well enough as stated above. Procedure wise. Bullets have mass that must be tinned first, and heating them up takes more time and reduces the tip temps. Acts as a heat sink to the joint. As long as you understand this you are good to go either way you choose to go. If it takes more than 30 seconds to solder a joint (way too long), your temps are too low in general. As long as you know what a cold joint joint looks like and how to avoid it, you understand it well enough. 👍 👍 :)

BTW...You will need a large blunt tip for this work and tin it and clean well before and after each use. Best heat transfer.
 
SrC said:
Splay wiring like the Video showed is best. For obvious reasons with heavy guage multi-strand wires.
I use a digital solder station set to 780F. So heat is not an issue. A cold dull looking solder joint can happen from too low a temp. You seem to understand it well enough as stated above. Procedure wise. Bullets have mass that must be tinned first, and heating them up takes more time and reduces the tip temps. Acts as a heat sink to the joint. As long as you understand this you are good to go either way you choose to go. If it takes more than 30 seconds to solder a joint (way too long), your temps are too low in general. As long as you know what a cold joint joint looks like and how to avoid it, you understand it well enough. 👍 👍 :)
Click to expand...
That's about how hot my soldering iron can get, so I think I'll be good to go. Thanks for all the help 👍
 
Well, good news, I got the wires to go together pretty well, it was kind of a pain with how many and how fine they were, but they went together. The solder joint turned out really well too, really solid. I tugged on it pretty hard and it didn't even budge. I forgot to take pics before I put the heat shrink around it, but for my first time, I think it came out pretty damn well! (No cold solder joint 😁) Tested only on a single 4s, everything powered up no problem. Going to test it on two 3s batteries soon after I fix up one of my lipo battery connectors. Obviously the real test will be to see how it holds up, but I have high hopes.
 
^^^ 👍
You are not that new to soldering. You get this stuff. This was a good thread for others.
Just that the more you do it, it becomes second nature.
 
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