Well I have seen a bunch of you that have added lights and other electronic equipment to your tractors. JD makes it easy by adding bullet connectors at the bottom of the the ROPS. How ever quick and simple bullet and crimp connectors are, they are not the best. When I do electrical work I try to solder the connections for anything permanent. Since I need to replace the 3.5mm connector on the head phones I use while mowing I thought it would be a good way to show how to solder.
To complete the job you will need a new connector, soldering iron, solder, wire stripers, and a volt/ohm meter will also be handy.
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My only option locally was Radio Shack an what they had was junk, no real strain relief and it was big and clunky and $5.00 bucks.
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So I ordered a Neutrik 3.5mm connector from Amazon. This is my brand of choice when it comes to audio connectors, they are not cheap, about $8.00, be they are well built.
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Step 1.
Step 2.
Step 3
Step 4
That is the basics of soldering any connection to a connector.
A few other tips:
If using solder to splice wires together than it is best not to tin the wires but twist the 2 bare wires together first then solder. I like to use heat shrink on splices, it is far better than electrical tape.
To complete the job you will need a new connector, soldering iron, solder, wire stripers, and a volt/ohm meter will also be handy.
IMG_0794.JPG
My only option locally was Radio Shack an what they had was junk, no real strain relief and it was big and clunky and $5.00 bucks.
5zr1fs.jpg
So I ordered a Neutrik 3.5mm connector from Amazon. This is my brand of choice when it comes to audio connectors, they are not cheap, about $8.00, be they are well built.
IMG_0795.JPG
Step 1.
To start you will need to cut the old connector off. I recommend leaving some wire with it, this will allow to figure out what wire goes to what part of the connector.
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In my case it was the left side that was not working. I used a volt/ohm meter to figure which wire went. Standard wiring should be:
In my case:
**Note that in audio land and automotive land black is ground opposite to what you will find in building electrical. I can't tell you how many professional audio installs I've seen done backwards because the electrician did it backwards.**
Now I was lucky that only one of the three wires was broken inside the connector. If I had more I might possibly need to do further digging to find out the proper wiring scheme. In this case a tone generator is very helpful. You can clamp it on to the bare wire and then listen for which speaker is working. This can also be helpful in determining if the speaker are blown.
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In my case it was the left side that was not working. I used a volt/ohm meter to figure which wire went. Standard wiring should be:
- Tip = Left
- Ring = Right
- Sleave = Ground
In my case:
- White = Left
- Red = Right
- Black = Ground
**Note that in audio land and automotive land black is ground opposite to what you will find in building electrical. I can't tell you how many professional audio installs I've seen done backwards because the electrician did it backwards.**
Now I was lucky that only one of the three wires was broken inside the connector. If I had more I might possibly need to do further digging to find out the proper wiring scheme. In this case a tone generator is very helpful. You can clamp it on to the bare wire and then listen for which speaker is working. This can also be helpful in determining if the speaker are blown.
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Step 2.
Prepping the wire and connector. In this case you will want to tin the connector and wire. Tinning involves coating the connector and wire with solder.
To tin the wire touch the hot iron to the tip of the wire, touch the solder to there the wire an the iron meet, this allows for better heat transfer to the wire. Now take the solder and and hold it down there the wire exits the insulation. The goal is to melt the solder into the strands of wire, this will happen once the wire is hot enough. As soon as the wire is coated remove the iron with flicking motion, this will shake any excess solder off of the wire.
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To tin the connector the process is much the same as with the wire. the goal is to fill the cup or the blade with solder.
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Step 3
Finally it is time to solder the wire to the connector. All that is required it to touch the tinned wire to the connector and then touch the iron to the blade or cup of the connector. This will melt the solder already there and once that happens the iron can be removed and once cool the connection is secure.
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Step 4
Finish assembly of the connector. Hopefully you remembered to put the end of the connector on the cable before soldering it to the connector.
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That is the basics of soldering any connection to a connector.
A few other tips:
If using solder to splice wires together than it is best not to tin the wires but twist the 2 bare wires together first then solder. I like to use heat shrink on splices, it is far better than electrical tape.