pat6290

I have always crimped everything on my stereo in my car. When I replaced the radio on my i35 I lost a lot of sound quality using the metra 7551. I replaced that with the PAC ROEMNIS2 and it made a world of a difference. It still isn't as good as it used to be (or other infiniti replacements i've seen with bose) and i'm thinking it is because I crimped.

I grounded the wires to the chassis and the crimps are tight. Lately it has been whining when it is cold outside and the whining goes away when it warms up after a few minutes. Sony has offered to fix the radio but a) I am not sure it is the radio and b) I dont want to drive with a hole in my car for 2 weeks. I have the stock radio but i took apart the harness to get everything working and it will be difficult to replace, only to redo it all again when the aftermarket gets fixed

What is everyones thoughts on solder vs crimp?

Montego Murph

iTrader: (1)

I was taught that "it depends."

In a vehicle, a properly made crimp is supposed to be better. Reason being is that solder may eventually vibrate itself apart, or otherwise separate during the winter-summer cycles over the years.

I've never experienced this firsthand (nor have I soldered automotive wires) but it makes sense to me.

kevmor99

There's a lot of solder in our cars already, and rarely have I ever heard of a problem with it. I think it would be much more common for a bad crimp to have a wire loose or fall out. But, a good connection is a good connection if both are working.

Hectic

iTrader: (20)

I do both depending on the project. When you crimp high gauges wires together the connection is suspect and you risk damaging the exposed wires. Soldering lower gauge wires is a major pain in the @$$ so crimping is necessary.

That said, for standard aftermarket devices such as stereos and alarms, crimping and quick splicing is probably the way to go. It's fast and easy to reverse if need be. I solder when installing permanent amendments to my electrical system. Bullet connectors, butt connectors, quick splices, ect are UGLY and look unprofessional.

Amerikaner83

iTrader: (17)

If you can, SOLDER. Then heat-shrink over top of that. If you mate the wires properly, you'll have a better connection than the wires themselves individually.