Soldering to a nickel plated battery terminal

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Hello all. We have been having some problems soldering to wh... - Apr 21, 2014 by Jackg

I assume that you're talking about wanting to solder to meta... - Apr 22, 2014 by davef

No we have a battery spring that is soldered directly to a P... - Apr 22, 2014 by Jackg

If the tab is Sn plated, you can solder to it as long as you... - Apr 25, 2014 by isd.jww

Jackg

#71987

Soldering to a nickel plated battery terminal | 21 April, 2014

Hello all. We have been having some problems soldering to what we believe is a nickel plated spring steel battery terminal to a PCB. We have tried scrapping , then tinning, dipping and still have problems. Are there any special fluxes or pre-treats that would help? Thankss

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davef

#71989

Soldering to a nickel plated battery terminal | 22 April, 2014

I assume that you're talking about wanting to solder to metal tabs that are spot welded to the battery terminal.

These tabs are not meant to be soldered. The metal was special selected for welding.

In the old days, you could buy plumbing flux at the hardware store. I don't know now. If you use that stuff, just be sure that you clean all residues.

Have you thought about conductive epoxy? * Master Bond masterbond.com * Chomerics chomerics.com * EpoTek epotek.com

Some BATTERIES+ stores spot weld tabs to batteries. Maybe they'll spot weld whatever it is that you're trying to solder to the battery terminal. [I expect no gain for mentioning the company.]

BR ... davef

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Jackg

#71990

Soldering to a nickel plated battery terminal | 22 April, 2014

No we have a battery spring that is soldered directly to a PCB (standard tin plated copper PCB). The Battery spring supplier (and I have no confirmation he makes them or buys them) claims they are tin plated. When trying to solder to them it is very difficult to get the solder to wet, and or adhere to the spring. According to other battery spring manufactures Nickel plated carbon steel (piano wire) is a material of choice. Tin plated battery terminal can cause galvanic corrosion. I may look into the epoxy, but wanted to see if others out there have had similar experiences and had some feedback. Thanks for your response Dave.

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isd.jww

#72005

Soldering to a nickel plated battery terminal | 25 April, 2014

If the tab is Sn plated, you can solder to it as long as your iron has enough power (watts). If you continue to have trouble then it probably isn't Sn plated.

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