lets discuss the braided wire in the distributor, repair? Options

[type47]

there is a braided copper wire soldered between the plates in the distributor. i suppose this provides positive contact between the plates as they may get electrically isolated from each other. however, repairing the wire could require resoldering one end to one of the metal plates. soldering is hard enough, but the plate acts as a great heat sink, being metal and all, and prevents the soldering from ... doing what solder does ... "attach"? connect? also, if one was successful in soldering, the wire may prevent the plate from moving as much as it needs to move to provide the advance that the vacuum applied to the dashpot is trying to provide (the root of my question in this thread) by teathering the plate and preventing proper movement. so, how would you treat the unattached braided wire in a distributor?

[Rand]

I soldered mine. One end was broken. I cleaned up the solder point with a little wire wheel on a dremel. There was a little copper-colored spot there that was then easy to tin. Then cleaned the end of the braided wire with acid/flux and tinned that. Then was able to get a good solder back into place. I think it's as good as new since there no large glob of solder - it's back the way it was. Plates have full movement without interfering.

You can buy new plates, but they were spendy when I looked for them so I opted to repair. So far so good on my daily driver.

[type47]

I cleaned up the solder point with a little wire wheel on a dremel. There was a little copper-colored spot there that was then easy to tin. Then cleaned the end of the braided wire with acid/flux and tinned that. Then was able to get a good solder back into place. I think it's as good as new since there no large glob of solder - it's back the way it was. Plates have full movement without interfering.

would you describe the tinning process a little more? maybe that's where i'm going wrong. also, maybe the braid is too short. do you think the braid is critical?

[Spoke]

I soldered mine. One end was broken. I cleaned up the solder point with a little wire wheel on a dremel. There was a little copper-colored spot there that was then easy to tin. Then cleaned the end of the braided wire with acid/flux and tinned that. Then was able to get a good solder back into place. I think it's as good as new since there no large glob of solder - it's back the way it was. Plates have full movement without interfering.

You can buy new plates, but they were spendy when I looked for them so I opted to repair. So far so good on my daily driver.

What type of solder gun did you use? I have a 600W Weller pencil but it doesn't have enough mass to quickly heat a plate like that. On heavy metal I've also used a propane torch to heat quickly for soldering. Only need a tiny flame since it does heat the metal quite rapidly.

The acid/flux stuff is fantastic for cleaning metal prior to soldering. The only drawback with acid flux is, well, the acid itself. It works wonders cleaning up metal but if not completely cleaned up afterwards, will continue to do what acid does and that's corrode metal. I learned the hard way...

Spoke

[Rand]

Hey Jim,
Tinning is getting a thin layer of solder down, just on one piece. The pieces have to be perfectly clean for solder to stick well. That's why I used the dremel to clean the plate. Where the wire was attached to the plate, there was a little copper colored patch and the solder stuck well to that.

Same thing with the wire... has to be clean. Mine was a bit greasy, but it cleaned up enough with the acid/flux that I could get it tinned well.

With both parts tinned, you can just put them together and heat until the solder melts together and you get a very nice connection without a gob of solder.

I think that braided wire is indeed important. The plates should have grease between them, so the wire insures a good low resistance connection.

It almost does look to me like your wire is short, which would be a problem if the wire became taught before the plates were moved farthest apart. Do you know if some of it is missing?

[Spoke]

If your braided wire is too short, you could substitute teflon wire. It is very flexible and should be readily available on the web. I did a quick search and found this site:

Nebraska Surplus

They sell by the foot but have a $10 minimum order. You may be able to find some at a local electrical supply store.

Spoke

[Rand]

Hey Spoke,
I used my Weller solder station. But a flat tip instead of pencil. I think it's only 60W, but I know the tip temperature varies a lot depending on the type. I think the pencil tips run around 600 degrees, where the flat tips run 800.

The other factor was tinning that little copper patch on the plate. With focused heat on clean copper, it went down pretty well. Also, starting to melt the solder on the tip first helps it flow and assist with the heat transfer (as opposed to trying to heat the plate enough to melt the solder first).

[Rand]

I would also bet that solder wick would work for the wire. It is readily available, and cheap, at places that have solder supplies (including Radio Shack).

Some may be more flexible than others, so the lightest would probably be best.

(IMG:http://www.seattlerobotics.org/encoder/200002/mvc-010f.jpg)

[Spoke]

Rand,

I have a 60W Weller unit too. I got carried away with the zeros on the first post. The little Weller tip just doesn't provide enough heat to heat a spot without heating the entire piece. The flat tip looks like the ticket.

I did some significant soldering on my previous hobby before the 914 arrived: HO model railroading. With the Weller, I used a different Weller tip which the thermostat didn't work correctly and allowed the tip to get red hot. It did allow for quick and efficient heating of brass.

The flat car below was made completely of brass stock soldered together. With the red hot tip, I was able to add pieces without the previously soldered pieces melting and falling off. I built the car from pictures from a 1943 edition of Model Railroader. When my Uncle died, he willed his extensive model railroad to me including 40 years of Model Railroader mag.

BTW, the "Soot Line" was a take off by my Uncle of "Soo Line". Since we lived in Pittsburgh, "Soot Line" was very appropriate.

Spoke

[type47]

hmmmm. radio shack just over the fence i can walk to. wonder what time they open? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) i'd bet you could solder the braid to another location or even under a screw somewhere.

[Rand]

The flat car below was made completely of brass stock soldered together. With the red hot tip, I was able to add pieces without the previously soldered pieces melting and falling off. I built the car from pictures from a 1943 edition of Model Railroader. When my Uncle died, he willed his extensive model railroad to me including 40 years of Model Railroader mag.

BTW, the "Soot Line" was a take off by my Uncle of "Soo Line". Since we lived in Pittsburgh, "Soot Line" was very appropriate.

Soot Line (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
Cool. Creative work on the flat car. Wow, sounds like you've got quite the setup - and a meaningful hobby item from your Uncle. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/thumb3d.gif)

[Rand]

Good luck Jim. If you bail on the repair, Pelican has the new parts:
Last item on this page

[type47]

whoa... 56 $. i have another 039.xxx.xxx distributor that i'm starting to clean up also with a good braid. needs a couple of strokes of emery cloth to clean the lobes and some grease for the pieces that ride on the lobes to open the points. the dizzy in the pic would be "perfect" if the braid was attached. radio shack first thing in the morning....

[Marlow]

I used the desolding braid trick to fix my distributor. Works fine. I used a 150 watt gun-style soldering iron. First I soldered a fresh blob on the old copper pads (after cleaning them up) then pressed the soldering braid into the solder blob with the iron. The solder then wicks into the braid and voila!

[eg914]

The plate from an old VW distributor also may be the same (I used one that fit fine), or it may be cheaper from a VW parts store. Bosch is Bosch (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Spoke,
That is a great looking flat car. Model railroading is a GREAT hobby!