Automotive wiring.. have you ever used JB Weld (instead of soldering?)

[lizpat]

First, JB Weld does not conduct electricity so we are not using JB Weld to establish the electrical connection between two wires but instead we are using JB Weld to secure the connection against tugs, pulls, pushes, etc.

I haven't tried this yet and I never thought of it this way until I struggled mightily to use a crimping tool in a tight space under the hood of my car to fix a wire that a rodent ate through.
I used butt connectors and eventually got the job done but it could have been catastrophic because I had very little wire to work with. Had I destroyed the little bit of wiring I had to work with I would have had to replaced the entire wiring harness at major expense and a lot of extra work.

Anyways, as I pondered this and watched Youtube videos about soldering (I could NOT have soldered in my case,) it occurred to me that I could have just established the connection by twisting the wires together and then applying JB Weld to hold it together permanently.

Soldering does two things: strengthens a connection, and securing that connection. In many cases, these automotive wires carry very low voltages, so the reinforcement function of soldering isn't necessary, we just need it to physically secure the connection. JB Weld should do that just fine.

Has anyone ever done this?

For next time, I probably will do something like this.

 

[JHZR2]

I can’t see how this is a good idea…

Solder wetting a connection is still conductive. JB Weld wetting the conductors will make them inserted. Non-conductive.

Id rather have a dry but tightly twisted connection over an epoxy sucked into the pores.

 

[BigJohn]

Oh my goodness... JB Weld has saved me over and over and over and over...... JB Quik that is....

I think you are referring to using JB in a shop setting.... and I have certainly done that, but I prefer to use good solutions when I am in the shop.

But I can't even recount... how many times JB bailed me out of situations.....

.... a blown fuel line on my BMW R1200GS out in the middle of no-where Oklahoma..... JB fixed her right up.
.... a cracked case on a XR650L in Moab...... JB fixed her right up.
.... a cracked frame on a WR426.... I did two coatings and finished the race.

JB is awesome.

 

[joegreen]

Huh thats an interesting idea I have never thought of but could work great in a pinch.

 

[CDX825]

As someone with an electronics background I would highly advise against it. If you can't solder it but can twist the wires together at least put a piece of heat shrink tube over it.

 

[eljefino]

Soldering and JB welding add weight, and subtract flex from a wire. Forces are concentrated on the little bits outside of the splice.

Maybe you could have done a wago connector. What gauge was the wire?

If you were at a module, there's a chance you could have unplugged it then used a pin removal tool to get the terminal out of the block, identified it, and ordered a replacement that you could have connected to an adequate length of wire.

 

[Lubener]

I would never mechanically attach wires with JB Weld. Soldering it is the best for the long haul.

 

[kschachn]

JB is awesome.

For electrical splices?

 

[Cruzer4326]

Have you considered using the insulated butt splice connectors that have solder inside them?
I have used them with success and would much more prefer them to JB Weld.

Edit; You will need a heat gun to melt the solder inside the butt splice

 

[atikovi]

it occurred to me that I could have just established the connection by twisting the wires together and then applying JB Weld to hold it together permanently.

If you twisted the wires together and can apply JB, why couldn't you just as well have applied solder instead and have a proper connection? Am I missing something here?

 

[supton]

Would never have thought of it, and I have heard of using silver epoxy for connections.

Would give this a big fat nope from me. I'd sooner use wire nuts, after twisting the wires together, and I hate wire nuts. Wago lever nuts I do like, and did use on some auto wiring not that long ago, worked for what I needed. But usually I just get crimp terminals and go to town, the terminals from HF aren't that bad, might not be the AMP's you get from HD but quite suitable--problem is, need to find a good crimp tool, and I don't think I've seen a suitable one at HF yet.

But if you can use JB Weld, then you certainly can solder, assuming the wire is clean of corrosion. If they are corroded, then maybe a household wirenut is best, as the threads could cut into the wire, but I think eventually it'd just fail, corrosion being what it is.

*

Twisting then putting JB Weld over it might seal up the works, but it's not like using a wirenut, a wirenut applies force to "clamp" the wires together, using high pressure to push copper wire against each other. Low clamping force will make for a higher resistance connection, might work just fine for a light bulb or other low current application, but all around, is a big fat nope from me.

*

In this case, if the wire is too short, I'd cut back to find good wire on each side, then use a pair of (butt crimps, wagos, even wirenuts) and splice in a longer wire. Hack but not nearly as hack as JB Weld.

 

[Marcozi]

Solder and shrink tubing-always.

 

[JimPghPA]

JB Weld is an electrical insulator. If it got between the wires it would prevent them from conducting to each other. One of the things I do when I have a tight connection is I put the two bare ends of the wires overlapping, then I take a single small strand of wire and wrap that many times around the two bare ends of the wires that are side by side. Then solder that.

I have a entire toolbox of soldering and wire connection equipment. A soldering gun, a lightweight soldering iron for very fine work, two propane powered soldering irons and a complete toolbox filled with all kind of crimp connectors and wires of different sizes, and wire strippers and Cutters and pliers and all kind of other stuff.

I have JB Weld both quick and slow and I would never use that alone on any electrical connection.

 

[eljefino]

-problem is, need to find a good crimp tool, and I don't think I've seen a suitable one at HF yet.

I'm going to get flamed, but vise grips are an amazing crimp tool.

 

[nomas]

I'm going to get flamed, but vise grips are an amazing crimp tool.

You SHOULD be flamed .

 

[supton]

I'm going to get flamed, but vise grips are an amazing crimp tool.

You should be flamed for that—

better used for pinching off brakes IMO, when in a pinch.

 

[paulo57509]

I would use something like this to join the wires:

https://www.amazon.com/Electrically-Conductive-Adhesive-Temperature-AA-DUCT/dp/B00VMOCTX4/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=conductive+epoxy+electrically&qid=1674940733&sr=8-5

...and something mechanical to provide strain relief.

 

[Chris142]

I used butt connectors and eventually got the job done but it could have been catastrophic because I had very little wire to work with. Had I destroyed the little bit of wiring I had to work with I would have had to replaced the entire wiring harness at major expense and a lot of extra work.

If I was faced with a wire that's too short to get a crimp on Instead of replacing a harness I would go on the other side of the junction block and start there .

 

[Dave9]

Soldering does two things: strengthens a connection, and securing that connection. In many cases, these automotive wires carry very low voltages, so the reinforcement function of soldering isn't necessary, we just need it to physically secure the connection. JB Weld should do that just fine.

Has anyone ever done this?

For next time, I probably will do something like this.

That is not what solder does. Solder plates the metal components to provide and improve electrical conduction that can't be fouled by water or oxygen. JBWeld itself would partially foul the joint.

Solder is not meant to be a mechanical connection against stesses by itself, particularly not in an automotive environment where there's lots of vibration, unless it is a through hole or surface mount component designed for this mounting, and some of those are glued down to compensate.

Strengthening a connection is just as important for low voltages, rather it is the current that determines how much resistance in series is acceptable for the connection.

If you were in an emergency situation, you'd be better off using a regular epoxy that does not dry so hard and brittle, a transparent one where you can see if it's evenly coating the wire. It would still be a bad choice, you'd be better off wrapping the twisted wires in electrical tape then putting a coating of epoxy over that, with it not getting into the strands of the wires.

Simpler would be to note that nobody advocates using it for this purpose, and you should assume the same for any odd material combinations unless you contact the manufacturer and they vouch for that use.