98 V70 Base Struggling to solder the pinkish abs wire that cracked

mghdi1120 · Post by **mghdi1120** » 27 Feb 2025, 14:20

Found a cracked abs wire at the connector in the wheel hub. This 98 is hardwired with no connectors except the one to the sensor in the hub. I have a connector tinned and ready to solder, 18 gauge wire. I had to buy new wire cutters to get this stripped. Now it's stripped and wont tin. The wire is more whitish, not copper. Is there a flux that I need to make this happen? Will my 18 gauge wire do the job? I'm on a lift in my shared driveway and tying not to give up. Any help is super appreciated.
Mary

Post by **abscate** » 27 Feb 2025, 17:17

Those ABS wires are really tough to solder - a few here have done it successfully, if you count having to do it four time before it works then I have too. On my rear 1999 harness I thought the wires cleaned to bright copper.

mghdi1120 · Post by **mghdi1120** » 27 Feb 2025, 19:10

Hello Abscate,
Thank you for your reply, I almost direct messaged you before I posted as you have literally saved my car in the past! How did you clean them? So far I tried salt and vinegar and a soft wire brush on slow rotations.
I cannot get a drop of solder to cling. I am on round 3 at this point. After round 2 I did try a little diluted sulfamic acid i had on hand with a soft wire brush, then cleaned it all with white vinegar and dried with paper towels. Is there a cleaner or a flux that may aid in success? I only have flux for soldering copper but will be happy to buy whatever will yield success.

Post by **abscate** » 28 Feb 2025, 03:31

I’ll bet my problem was too much heat. Are you using one of those cool soldering stations that lets you dial in the heat?

A 20 watt gun will be too much.

mghdi1120 · Post by **mghdi1120** » 28 Feb 2025, 10:36

The lowest I have is a 30W. I'll try light sanding with 220 grit and rosin. I'll try to go quickly. wish me luck.