Want to know how to securely splice two or more wires with a soldering iron?
I'm going to show you how.
Hi YouTube, my name’s Geoff the VegOilGuy and today I'm going to be looking at splicing
– joining together two or more wires securely with a soldering iron.
This was a subscriber requested video and I always do my best to help out my subscribers.
Here I’ll be showing how I splice wires and the techniques I use.
But do check out those other videos out there guys…
my way is not necessarily the only way and it might not be the best way for you.
As I've said, I'm going to be using a soldering iron.
There are off-the-shelf plastic connectors you can use, but I've heard mixed results
and much prefer the belt and braces approach that soldering always gives me.
You don’t need much equipment, just a soldering iron, flux cored solder, wire cutters, a sharp
blade and insulation tape or heat shrink.
You might also want to use pliers, a utility knife, wire strippers or even splicing pliers
if you have them, but I'm happy with what you see here.
So let’s begin by quickly asking, what is splicing?
Well I would define splicing as a means of permanently joining two or more wires to enable
uninterrupted current flow, and the emphasis there has to be on ‘uninterrupted’ flow.
That’s the key.
That’s why I prefer to solder my joints as I personally feel it’s the most secure
method of joining wires.
Let’s get started then with a nice easy method of joining two separate wires together
- effectively making them one.
Here you can see a green wire and a brown wire.
The first step is to remove some of the wire sheath to access the copper wire inside.
I like to use a sharp blade for this.
Just gently press down on a wooden block and roll the cable.
Let the blade do the work.
You’ll feel when you hit the firmer copper.
Do the same with the second wire.
Then simply twist the together well.
I just want to raise the wires here and this roll of tape is a nice height.
Important tip here: Soldering irons oxidise quickly so carefully clean the tip with a
bit of sandpaper.
A quick rub reveals fresh solder beneath the oxidised layer.
Here’s another tip: people often bring the soldering iron in from above.
Don’t do that here.
Bring it in from underneath…
heat rises and you’ll have more control.
Dab a small amount of solder on the tip of the iron – this is called ‘tinning’
– then let the wire rest on the iron’s tip.
Now touch the solder to the top of the wire.
This way the solder melts when the copper is hot enough and it flows downwards, filling
all the copper strands and forming a perfect join.
Drag the iron away ensuring you've left no jagged edges.
Once cooled, reduce the length a little.
If you prefer heat shrink, place this over the soldered joint and use your finger tops
to feel it’s in the right place.
Touch it then against the body of the iron.
This tends to be a little cooler than the tip.
Avoid touching to wire as that will melt and twist and turn until the heat shrink has done
its job.
And that’s sorted.
It’s a good job and it will work, though it’s not very need.
This next method is my preferred choice…
So same again, use a sharp blade to reveal the copper, but this time leave a generous
amount showing.
Cut away more than you need.
Here I use wire cutters to free the sheath.
Notice they are open – not closed.
Just enough pressure to pull.
You may prefer to use pliers.
If you prefer heat shrink, this time you’ll need to remember to slip this on now.
Cross the bare copper ends over each other…
think of them as crossed swords meeting near the hilt.
Then begin to wrap, as if covering the hilt and handle.
Do it both sides.
Don’t worry about the excess wire, we can trim that in a moment.
Again, clean the soldering iron then tin it.
Place the tip under the wire and the solder on top of the wire, allowing the solder to
melt downwards.
When cool, trim away the excess.
Trim away any sharp points.
Make sure nothing sharp is left to puncture the heat shrink.
This could potentially lead to an electrical short.
The heat shrink is slid over and heated on the iron again.
And that, I think you’ll agree, is a much neater job.
Now let’s look at joining three wires.
This is what I think about when I think of splicing… a situation where there’s already
a wire, like this blue one, and we want to tap into it, maybe to power another circuit
or a relay.
So we need to splice in another wire.
And we can see that here with this blue wire and green wire.
We want to splice into it.
Well the easiest way is to simply cut the blue wire.
The ends are trimmed in the same way using a sharp blade.
All three bare ends and then twisted firmly together.
Clean the soldering iron and tin it.
Let the copper wire come in contact with the iron then touch the solder to the top of the
copper, allowing the solder to melt downwards.
Stroke the wires away to avoid jagged edges.
As you can see, a very good bond.
Trim to a preferred length.
This time I'm going to apply electrician’s insulation tape.
It’s important to pull tightly on this as you wrap it, giving it a firm bond.
Here I'm deliberately over-wrapping it.
I've gone further than the tip of the wire.
This lets me bend a little flap over and this in turn is then wrapped.
Now I'm confident all the bare wire is covered.
Squeeze it firmly and it’s done.
It’s a good reliable job.
But it’s not as neat as my next method.
Same again, blue and green, but this time we’re NOT going to cut the blue wire.
Instead we’re going to remove the sheathing whilst leaving the wire intact.
Usually approach… a sharp blade and a rolling motion.
Leave an inch or so space and do the same thing again.
Now use the tip of the blade and carefully slice between to cuts you've made.
Feel the copper with the tip of the blade.
Then peel the sheathing away.
This isn't as tricky as I'm making it look to be honest.
The problem was my hands were freezing old at the time.
You may sever a couple of strands of copper, but this won’t matter.
Just smooth everything out.
This time reveal s good length on the green wire, two or three inches.
Again I'm pulling the sheath away with the wire cutters.
You may prefer to use pliers.
Lay the two cable alongside each other then wrap the longer green end around the blue.
Nice and firmly does it.
Clean the iron and tin it.
Place it under the wire and the solder on top.
The solder melts down and into the wire strands.
Once cool, check for any jagged spots and trim these if necessary.
Again I’ll use insulation tape.
Wrap one way, making sure it’s tight, then wrap the other way.
And that’s a finished splice and a finished video.
I hope you found it helpful.
Please remember, I'm no expert, just a keen amateur, so it’s always worth checking out
some other videos on the subject.
This was a subscriber request and I was happy to oblige.
So if you have video request, do get in touch.
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So that’s it for now folks, and thanks very much for watching.