VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Electrical - 6 volt Rewiring my 38 Town Sedan

The wire insulation to my headlights are brittle and gone in spots. I purchased 16 gauge wire from Rhode Island and started to replace section at a time. While replacing the wires to the headlights, i noticed the light socket contacts appear to be soldered onto the wire. Are the socket contacts replaceable or is the contact a blob of solder?
Thanks
Michael
38 Town Sedan

I commented on your other thread as well before seeing this one. You can unsolder and possibly reuse your sockets/contacts if they are healthy. You could buy new sockets and try to use just the metal contacts from them and solder them into your old sockets so they look correct.

As Tim suggested if the joint is soldered now it will unsolder quite easily though the excess solder may not be so easy to remove. The unsoldering leaves a surface that is easy to resolder to and if using new copper wire is very easy to solder. If you need to make a new end on the wire a blob of solder in a suitable sized hole in heat and solder resistant material then heat the wire and solder blob but allow to cool while still in the former.
Tony

It is much easier to use new bulb contacts. Unfortunately, I don't know what they are called but they resemble the sliding part of a pop rivet. If you use the old ones, it is quite difficult to get all the old solder out of the holes to make room for the new wires. You can get the old ones real hot and push the new wires into them but you need three hands to do it; one to hold the contact, one to hold the soldering iron, and one to push the new wire in. I purchased a rewiring kit and new contacts came with the kit. I did not have low beams and as it turned out, one of the bulb contacts was actually missing. That is the way it was when I purchased the car so I imagine someone changed the bulb thinking that was the problem and didn't notice there was no contact for the low beam. One of the mysteries that show up when restoring an old car! Beamer

If you use braided "solder wick" you can remove all old solder completely. You heat the braided wick against the old solder and the old solder flows off the part and into the wick braiding. You also need a CLEAN, fairly high wattage soldering iron and some liquid flux designed for electronic soldering also helps VERY significantly in both the removal of the old solder but also in making the new fresh connection when soldering to old materials. Adding lots of new solder to the old solder also aids greatly in removing the old solder as large, clean blobs are easier to remove than small, dirty blobs. A large, clean blob can even be removed by flicking the part when the blob is very hot.

Sorry, I soldered for years professionally so forget most people don't get much exposure to it and I may be missing details. I'm not even sure what to recommend for a hobbyist soldering iron as I've had very high end adjustable soldering stations for years and clean quality tools/materials make a huge difference when soldering. A dirty/corroded soldering iron tip can make soldering seem impossible. For automotive soldering I'm suspecting a quality soldering gun with a variety of clean and spare tips of different shapes, some wick, roll of electronic solder and some liquid flux will do most jobs.

Canadiantim, Is braided soldering wick something new? I have been soldering for over 65 years and never heard of it; not from my high school teacher or college professors in 4 years of Industrial Education studies. Where can a person buy it? It sounds like something useful to have. Beamer

I have used both a soldering wick and a solder sucker. I much prefer a solder sucker for the jobs that I do, but the soldering wick does work great as well.

So has anyone used the new solder that does not have lead. I have not used it in my radio work as I am a holdout for the old type. I also wonder whether it mixes well with the old type in joints.

I have used it. It is not as forgiving as lead/tin solder. Electronics I have fixed with it are still working.

I have used it but wasnt real pleased with the results but the wire may not have been as clean as it should be. A friend works in the military electronic industry and has to use the non lead solder which he says is harder to use and is prone to dry joints especially with surface mount components.
Tony

I see on my solder spool there is a warning not to inhale the fumes because it contains lead. I have a bad habit from when I started soldering many years ago of sniffing the smoke now and then to get a reading of how clean the tip is! Maybe that is why my memory isn't what it used to be!

Thank you gents, I thought i deleted this post. Your answers are very helpful. I will definitely attempt to reuse the the contacts and solder wick is great for this application. I also have a solder sucker(heated body with a suction bulb) that would allow me to place the contact in my small vice with wood so as to not add mass to the heated material making it nearly impossible to melt solder. I also purchased a wire stripper/crimper combo from lowes to get a cleaner strip and crimp vs using a sharp knife and pliars.
Probably keep you posted on progress because do intend on adding accessories that will draw amperage like the GM defrost fan for front and the rubber bladed Casco for rear as well as more lights for driving( my headlights are dim(maybe mediocre reflectors).
Thanks again
Michael
38 Town Sedan

Try 2530 bulbs for your headlights. Even with my reflectors needing resilvered they are plenty adequate for what night driving I do.

Great extended discussion of soldering practices. About 3 years ago I started applying a small amount of soldering paste (flux) to all the joints I solder. I tried it because I was sometimes having difficulty heating joints enough so the non-lead solder would flow like I wanted.

The flux really helps the joint heat more quickly and uniformly. This helps the non-lead solder flow into the joint. And I put less heat into the rest of the wire and insulation.

Second post to address another part of the discussion.

Make sure you track the load (amps) of the accessories you plan to add. If I remember correctly the '38 generator will produce about 20 amps. Higher wattage bulbs, extra lights, and fans could have a total requirement above that.

I agree. 38 generator produces 28 amps http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1938/38csm234.html

If you add accessories and try using more amps than the generator can produce will cause a flat battery, it depends on the excess current draw how long it takes.
Tony

How many amps does the GM defrost fan draw? I was going to use ohms law(E/IxR) by reading the resistance of the fan winding, divide 6 volts by the resistance to get my amps. I haven't done it yet, no big deal. I will go to 12 volts eventually but not a priority

Ohm's law will only give you accurate info for a resistive load like a light bulb or element from a toaster. Inductive (coils of wire) and motor loads will change resistance and thus current throughout operation and in the case of the fan motor, the load of the fan moving the air will be the biggest variable. The current also surges at start-up and then drops and levels out during continuous running.

Maybe The Filling Station or Chevs of 40's will have some specs listed for their replacement motors? You could then add a bit for wear in your motor.

Since you have a meter, you could use the AMP function and simply connect the motor to your battery and measure the current. Best with a fan blade attached and in the housing if it uses one. See this link I was a hand model for a training video like this once but those hands are way too clean and youthful to be mine.

Makes sense, thanks. I can't help but think i'm the first person to install accessories on a stock 6 volt system. I wonder how the manufacturer added all of the accessories when the customer wanted everything they offered? I'm surprised their aren't existing charts representing amperage draw for each accessory?
Thanks
Michael