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shaas0927
03-15-2007, 01:30 PM
Im having trouble soldering the wires to the led so im looking for advice on this what im doing is placing the wire on the silver pads on the led putting the solder wire to the wire and then applying the iron the solder heats up melts into a ball then does nothing

I know this is in here some where however when I do a seach Im not finding it I have already read several threads so I feel Ive done my assigned reading and as Outside influences seem to keep intruding (work marriage you know life) I dont have the time to read each and every single post in here
and since Ive already spent the money on this stuff Im gonna call this a customer service issue.
Yes Im very aggrevaited right now
so I would appreciate some help

xwingband
03-15-2007, 01:35 PM
Keep iron there at the pad. After it melts it should "flow" onto the pad. It's hard to explain... a good joint to the LED looks like the solder comes from the pad and on the wire.

If it's not flowing then perhaps your iron isn't hot enough.

shaas0927
03-15-2007, 01:51 PM
so are you saying that the pads are solder or do i need to use the solder wire also what could cause the iron to not be hot enough

Ryma Mara
03-15-2007, 02:35 PM
What ya want to do is kinda sanwhich it, take the wire and sanwhich it inbetween the pad and the solderwire and fuze them togeather. but remember, don tkeep the iron on the wire to long or it will heat up and could cause problems down the road.

good luck

xwingband
03-15-2007, 03:00 PM
If you meant that the solder is balling up and not going onto the pad then like I said either the iron isn't hot enough or you need to hold it there longer to let if flow onto the pad.

If your iron isn't hot enough the symptom would be it probably looks crusty and/or it takes longer than a second to heat up the solder.

If it's not that... just hold the iron there longer. The pad does have a bit of solder on it. You want the solder you are adding to flow onto the pad. It shouldn't really take longer than a few seconds though.

TimeRender
03-15-2007, 03:08 PM
I just got my LEDs in the mail the other day and had a similar problem. I was using a coldheat soldering iron and just couldn't get things hot enough to really bond the solder with the contacts. If you're using a coldheat iron and having the same problem, I suggest switching to a different iron. I borrowed a craftsman gun and managed to finish all of my LEDs in just a few minutes.

Lord Maul
03-15-2007, 03:09 PM
cold heat solder pretty much stinks

it doesn't really flow at all and is not as strong as regular solder :wink:

TimeRender
03-15-2007, 03:14 PM
Well I wasn't using coldheat brand solder, in fact I didn't even know they made any. But the iron definitely stinks. That may have been Shaas's problem.

Lord Maul
03-15-2007, 03:15 PM
i use the soldering iron tim sells, it works great for my needs

shaas0927
03-15-2007, 03:38 PM
the iron im using is a hot iron and the tip is pretty bad all black and crusted ive tried filling it off and sometimes it seems to help but its getting progressively worse do you have any tips

Lord Maul
03-15-2007, 03:39 PM
when the tip is hot rub it on a wet sponge. that cleans it. do that every time you use it
don't file it, that will just screw it up more :wink:

xwingband
03-15-2007, 03:51 PM
the iron im using is a hot iron and the tip is pretty bad all black and crusted ive tried filling it off and sometimes it seems to help but its getting progressively worse do you have any tips

Well, my tip would be to try a new tip, lol.

Filing is okay, but that's not going to help the source of the problem. If you properly "tin" your tip it will last 10x longer and the solder will flow a lot easier.

By tinning I mean this: when you first get it you should when you're done lay some solder on the tip and coat it evenly with a thin layer. If you are sure to do this each and every time the rest of the tip will look like crap but the end of the tip will be nice and silver due to the layer of solder on it.

Jonitus
03-16-2007, 07:53 AM
Here's how I have always soldered the wires to the LED:

With a hot iron, get a bit of solder on the tip of the iron

Touch the tip to the solder pad on the LED to get it to flow to what's already there

Flatten out the wire you wish to solder to the pad

Tin the wire with what's left on the tip of the iron

Place the tinned, flattened wire to the solder bad

Put the tip of the iron on the top of the wire and the heat should cause the solder underneath to melt and encase the tinned wire

Remove tip and the joint should solidify...nice and shiny...the sign of a good joint



You may have to hold the tinned wire in place to do this. I use a set of insulated needle-nose pliers if need be.

neophyl
03-16-2007, 10:08 AM
Another little 'tip', if you twist normal stranded wire it acts as a wick and draws solder into it. This is especially useful when tinning the wire in preperation to soldering it to the pad.

So to recap,
1. tin soldering iron tip
2. tin the wire you want to join
3, tin the pad
4. hold the wire and pad together and apply the soldering iron letting the pre-tinned parts heat and the solder flow together.

Properly tinned parts dont really need any extra solder applied at the time of joining.

Firebird21
03-16-2007, 10:12 AM
I know this is in here some where however when I do a seach Im not finding it ...




Is this (http://thecustomsa.web133.discountasp.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=903)what you're talking about?

I'm far from the best at soldering but it gets the point across.

xwingband
03-16-2007, 10:55 AM
Short and sweet recap!

That's about it. If you don't have the skill tinning every part is your friend!

I only tin on really difficult joints, but sometimes even me (a relative youngin') doesn't have the steady hands to apply the solder all at once.

shaas0927
03-16-2007, 06:23 PM
thanks for all the help guys

jjshumpert
03-16-2007, 08:58 PM
it may just be the years ive been working with electronics and soldering, but i have no trouble making my connections to the led without adding solder in most cases. what i do is measure out 22 gauge wire to the length i need, set the tip of my iron to the pads on the led pcb, and when the solder flows i pull the iron and set the wire to it quickly, and then set the iron on top of the wire i just set to press it firmly into my solder pool. a few seconds after removing the iron the solder sets and the wire is locked in place. the trick to getting this to work is going to michaels or hobby lobby and looking in the woodburning section for a pack of various shape replacement tips. i use a tip that has a needle point and is bent slightly, which works great for getting into small spaces... hope thats of some help :D