Soldering motor to your wiring - DON'T DO IT!

[Azathoth]

This is a bit of a rant but I got TWO guns into my shop today and the wires to the motors where soldered onto the motor terminals. I know both of these guns where purchased used here on ASC and I know from who as well (i'm just gonna keep quiet as it could be yet another previous owner that did this) pictures below:



The first gun is a P90 not a horrible soldering job (not the best either). The motor is in a cage and the switch is external so it's not the end of the world. There was a simple MOSFET on this P90 obviously the user knew what they where doing as it was installed properly and those white wires are not stock TM.



This is my beef. STAR SCAR-H. That is a shot of the pistol grip. The gearbox is still inside the lower. I was going to remove the box when I ran into this while taking apart the pistol grip. At first I was WTF? then I looked closer than it became OMGWTFBBQ.

I've seen this done on JLS FN2000 and it's probably that way from the factory but if you broke your spade connector it's not the end of the world. You can get them at HiFi shops, parts source sometimes has them, and they are sold by DonP @ unconventional airsoft. They cost like 50 cents at most. Don't solder the bare wires onto the motor that's just stupid.

/rant

[DonP]

A non-insulated connection to the motor risks a short as well. How it looks and what it touches when it's outside the gun vs. after it's squished back into the grip can be two different things. Not to mention that metal end-plates/retainers - if they are metal - are risky for causing shorts because they snug right up against these connections once installed.

If you're going to solder direct (and don't mind your gun doc charging extra time for the added hassle it causes when he goes to disassemble it) then at least make sure you do a good job, and use a little heat shrink to insulate the connection afterwards.

[Kingsix]

Some Guns come with the wires soldered to the motor terminal like my Ak. I see nothing wrong with wires soldered to the motor terminal those motor connectors sound expensive for 50 cents a piece compared to solder you can use for a long while. De soldering and soldering does not take a long time with the proper equipment. As for TM wires I don't think TM makes wires the distance from the battery and the motor is very short and will have enough resistance to cause noticeable voltage drop.

In short learn to solder it isn't that difficult and it's a handy skill to have.

[Azathoth]

Thanks Don, I forgot to mention the use of heatshrink. It's a pain in the ass to de-solder these things and those terminals where not designed to for that purpose, although i'm sure that in many cases they are more than up to the job.

Originally Posted by Kingsix

As for TM wires I don't think TM makes wires the distance from the battery and the motor is very short and will have enough resistance to cause noticeable voltage drop.

In short learn to solder it isn't that difficult and it's a handy skill to have.

I know that TM doesnt make it's own wiring but the wiring that comes with the guns are black/red and in all cases TM guns include a fuse (was removed previous owner) and a Small tamiya connector (deans shown). On the V6/V7 boxes a soldered motor is not a big deal since the design is still easy to take apart, test and reassemble.

I don't understand a M4/SCAR with a soldered motor connector. The take down is already annoying and going about trouble shooting and testing your gun just became more annoying.

With AK's you have the motor cage again, not so much a big deal.

[Amos]

Yea.. Never solder on anything without a removable motor cage...

I tend to solder wires onto AK's and M14's because it's irritating to have guns come back as "NOT WORKING" when all that's wrong is the little clips have popped off.

But.. M4's and anything else with the motor in the grip that needs to be removed always gets clipped.

[ThunderCactus]

I just charge an extra $10 anytime someone does it, it's more annoying to put it back on than it is to take off...

[Kos-Mos]

I solder the wires on every gun I own that has a removable motor cage (since it is easy to remove... duh)

The only time I did it on an M4 was on resquest from the guy, because it broke 3 sets of connectors in 2 weeks (don't ask...), and I left enought lenght to comfortably pull the motor out of the grip not to be stuck of anything... (it was an ICS M4 with a MOE grip).

Technically, the tabs on the motor are not "made" for anything. There is the exact same type of tabs on RC cars 540-size motors, yet every single one is soldered...(ok, except factory silver cans). It is just that for airsoft purpose it is easier to just use connectors since it won't change anything (that won't be the weak spot of the system).

*Edit

That SCAR job looks horrible... If the wires are really short, you should as well change the whole wires from the battery to the motor and trigger unit.. will be easier to do that try to fix that...

[Daiviet]

STAR/ARES come out of the box with the motor wires soldered from the factory. It's their fault.

[Spike]

On a slightly related note, does anyone have tips on keeping the little clips attached to the motor? The positive wire on my m4 pops loose every once in a while, just often enough to be irritating.

[Azathoth]

Take a pair of vice grips or pliers and tighten the connecter just a hair. Go VERY lightly. You may want to consider putting some kind of buffering material into the connector first.


As for soldering joints I think there it's silly especially since many new motors are coming out with screw down terminals.

[KND]

That's my old SCAR-H. All upgrade has been done by me. It comes as stock like that, I was suppose to put a pair of gold motor connector but unfortunately, I run out of stock. That's why I just simply solder it back as it's from factory. Probably not a good job as factory job or experience person who did long ago but it's actually hold tight as it is and it's working properly.

[Kos-Mos]

Originally Posted by KND

That's my old SCAR-H. All upgrade has been done by me. It comes as stock like that, I was suppose to put a pair of gold motor connector but unfortunately, I run out of stock. That's why I just simply solder it back as it's from factory. Probably not a good job as factory job or experience person who did long ago but it's actually hold tight as it is and it's working properly.

Hahahaha

Then it must be my old P90...though I don't recall using white wires... I usually stick to black or red...

[AznDrgn]

Originally Posted by Kos-Mos

Hahahaha

Then it must be my old P90...though I don't recall using white wires... I usually stick to black or red...

Nope, got it elsewhere.

[Kos-Mos]

I sold the P90 to KND, who I know sold it to someone else then I lost trace.

If the FET unit is SUM220NX-XX, then it probably is my old one... I got theses fets directly from Vishay Siliconix because they where not avail. at Digikey.

[KND]

Originally Posted by Kos-Mos

I sold the P90 to KND, who I know sold it to someone else then I lost trace.

If the FET unit is SUM220NX-XX, then it probably is my old one... I got theses fets directly from Vishay Siliconix because they where not avail. at Digikey.

hehe, I already remove the mosfet unit before I sold to next owner. Damn, I miss P90 so much, nice little gun.