solder not sticking??

[coffyrock]

I need some help... I've been building and soldering for the past month and I'm having a problem getting my solder to stick to my 1/4" jacks when I wire them up. I know it's not my technique or solder, since I can solder everything else with no problem. The solder just kind of pours right off of these jacks with no surface tension at all.

The jacks and DPDT switches in question have very shiny chrome looking solder pins (is that what they're called??) so I wonder if they are too smooth or something. I've had some other jacks and switches with more "dull" appearance and they were real easy to get soldered up.

Is this a common problem? is there a way to solder without hassle to these types of components?
Should I rough them up with steel wool or something? I don't think I'm soldering too hot...

It's really annoying, so any ideas would help!

[markm]

Not enough heat maybe -or- perhaps roughing up the surface a tad may help.

[coffyrock]

well, the solder melts super-fast, so I think I have enough heat - the same heat setting I use for perfboard soldering...

[Gilles C]

It seems I always have to roughten the surface with these jacks.

it's the same if you want to solder a ground wire to the body of a pot.

Gilles

[Meanderthal]

 2 things- preheat and tin the lugs of the jacks(NOT the DPDT, you can melt it), maybe the lug isn't getting hot enough- acting like a heatsink. Also, you do use flux, right?( not just what's inside the solder)

[aron]

It sounds like not enough heat. Flux can help as well. I have found that it's usually not enough heat on the lug.

[petemoore]

  Yes, I've had jacks with very hard to solder to metal lugs.
  Hard to tell if they were designed for wire tab plugs as seen in speaker cabinet wire to lug connections.
  Whether too chromey, smooth oily or other.
  More heat usually does the trick, a bit of rosin core solder helps. I've gotten improved results after sanding the lugs.
  Some lugs stubbornly resist taking solder properly.
 

[aron]

Yeah, I guess when all fails, sand it!

[any]

I have occasional batches of "open" Neutrik jack chassis that have the same problem.
Usually it comes from long storage, so oxidation has a chance to form on the metal.
In a lot of cases sanding helps, as well as using some liquid flux, however I had the
occasional jack that I just threw away because I was getting overly frustrated...

PS: The worst however are Smallbears replacement russian big muff footswitches,
I've sworn never to do this ever in my life again. I've talked to Steve about this and
all was cool, but ±30 years of storage has it so heavely oxidized I spend about 3
hours to deoxidize and solder 6 pins.... 

[343 Salty Beans]

The ground lugs of switchcraft jacks especially. Like it's mentioned above, most of the jack becomes a heatsink, making it difficult to get the solder to stick.

Everything mentioned above is helpful and I don't want to just repeat them. Best of luck with your non-sticky jacks.

[Toney]

I find a lot of the jacks have a coating of oil for storage from the manufacturing process. I generally  clean them first with a little degreasing cleaner and a paper towel.

Next thing, due to the longer amount of heating time in getting the solder to first adhere, I find it's best to pre solder them before hand.  It usually results in the hole covering over with solder, no biggy, a bamboo satay stick is ideal to poke through  them (solder won't stick) and they're ready.

Might seem a bit of an effort, but it's easiest in the long run and means when your ready with your lead, you dont end up melting half the insulation off.

[DuncanM]

How powerful is your soldering iron?

Things like jacks can be impossible with little 15w irons. Something higher wattage and preferably temperature controlled is needed for best results.

[coffyrock]

I have a weller soldering iron station with a temp comtrol which goes from 0 to 5, whatever that means. It works great! I usually keep it at 3 all the time when soldering, then turn it down to 1 if I'm not soldering for more than a few minutes.

Question: If I crank the heat and solder the problem lugs, will the adjacent plastic/insulator material on the jacks melt due to the heat? I don't want to damage anything. I've never used flux, because I'm not sure what it's for. I'm pretty new at this, but I'll do some research.

I'll try cleaning and light sanding next time I come across one of these jacks for my projects.

[Meanderthal]

 Flux helps the solder stick and spread. (soldering paste) You just dab a little bit on where you're going to solder. There's usually a little bit inside the solder, but sometimes it helps to add more for stuff like jacks and switches(and the back of pots).

[R.G.]

To solder:
1. get the surfaces to be soldered clean and shiny
2. get the surfaces to be soldered hot enough to melt the flux-cored solder on them, NOT ON THE IRON
3. get in fast with high heat, make the joint and GET OUT; this makes the joint but does not let the heat have time to travel far.

You melt surrounding stuff with an iron that's just barely hot enough. That requires a long time to get the joint hot enough, and the heat has time to travel. A really hot iron gets the joint hot enough before the heat can travel far. That lets you put less total heat energy into the joint and keeps it from conducting to other parts nearby.

[Peter Snowberg]

I've had the same experience as you and lots of folks above. As mentioned, a little bit of sanding can go a long way. I use anything over 220 grit, with a preference for 400 or 600. Once you sand, adding some additional flux and using a hot iron are the other two magic ingredients. Pay special attention to R.G.'s comments about getting in there fast, and getting out fast.

Almost all solder for electronics use is made of a tin/lead tube filled with a little bit of flux. It may look like solid wire, but it's really a long flux-filled cylinder. Most of the time that's enough flux to get the job done, but not always. If you need more flux, it's available in liquid and paste/cream varieties. Both work equally well. This is the stuff I use:



You can find it at better equipped electronics stores and they even used to sell the paste variety at RadioShack (don't know if they still do). One bottle or tube will last you a LONG time. When it comes to making large connections, or connections to slightly corroded terminals, or using old wire (especially coax), I go straight for the liquid flux. I won't even attempt to build antenna cables without it.

Question: If I crank the heat and solder the problem lugs, will the adjacent plastic/insulator material on the jacks melt due to the heat? I don't want to damage anything.

Good quality jacks use phenolic material as an insulator and they won't be bothered by the heat of soldering at all. There are cheap jacks out there which use plastic instead of phenolic material and I would avoid using them, not just because of the soldering problem but because those jacks seem to fail quickly.

[billings]

Bear in mind the main variables you've got with the physical soldering iron that affect how quickly it transfers heat:  temperature and surface area.    If you lay an entire side of the iron along the surface you're trying to wet, you can transfer substantial amounts of heat even at a lower temperature.  It's almost exactly the same as the relationship between voltage differential, electric resistance, and current, except instead of electricity you're dealing with heat.

[lumpymusic]

...If you need more flux, it's available in liquid
and paste/cream varieties. Both work equally well...

I put a very light coat of paste flux on pot and switch terminals before
I mount them in the box. I just keep a Q-tip stuck in the flux jar. I
don't glob it on, you can't even see it once I apply it. But when I
eventually do touch it with the iron, it melts off, cleans the metal
and helps the solder to flow.

Do the same thing on PC traces and perfboard holes. Coat the entire
trace/solder side with a very, very light brushing of flux before soldering.

Lumpy

[Psych0F0x]

If you'd like to go the easy non-cleaning way:

I always just put the wire through the hole, then bend it back so the wire is like a hook, but more like a closed circle, so the tip of the wire touches the part of wire where it goes into the hole. Then solder. No problems, works like a charm.

[R.G.]

That does work - until the solder that attached to the wire only begins to corrode and oxidize in the unwetted area between it and the lug it's mechanically attached to.

Unless you get the LUG AND THE WIRE clean enough to wet with solder and hot enough to melt the solder all by themselves, wrapping the wire in the lug will eventually cause an intermittent joint. That may take a long time, but it will happen.

There are no non-cleaning ways to solder properly. Either it is clean enough for the flux to finish the cleaning, or it won't make a good solder joint.