Truck winch uses up to 400 amps. Planning to both crimp and solder lugs. Should I crimp or solder first?

I would crimp first, as doing so after could compromise the solder joint.

Crimp first and solder will do nothing but cause problems for you honestly. A compression crimp will properly distribute the force along the entire circumference of the cable - if you solder it first, you are going to have a lot of flux tinning each strand of wire inside the bundle of fine strand copper wires and actually reduce the surface area of copper and lower your amperage rating.

Make sure you use a good crimping tool.

A good compression tool

Equal pressure around the wire and not just smashed together. A dimple style crimping tool is acceptable if you have good lugs and the right fitting on the crimper designed for the size lug you are crimping.

I used to have to replace a lot of welding cable lugs, and battery cable lugs for people because we had the tools to do it when I was an electrician.

Good video here too overviewing how to do it right.

[www.youtube.com]

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Good Luck!
Jamie Dresser
Other World Computing

Wow! Thanks Jamie. So glad I asked.

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Dik2
Wow! Thanks Jamie. So glad I asked.

Absolutely! I need to upgrade the alternator cables on my Buicks. I upped to 100 amp alternators, and the 10 gauge cables will be too small.

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[www.youtube.com]

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OWC Jamie
Make sure you use a good crimping tool.

A good compression tool

Do you have experience with that specific product (and the various clones of it on Amazon that look identical). The adjustable setting for it seem to be metric and some of the comments say that they don't perfectly match AWG sizing and are sometimes loose.

I do not.... my stuff is now 25+ years old but it was a Greenlee hydraulic press. Not bought one in many moons.

I'd suggest to simply buy crimp connectors from the same brand as the tool. Therefore you'd have ones that worked properly with whatever you buy.

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GGD

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OWC Jamie
Make sure you use a good crimping tool.

A good compression tool

Do you have experience with that specific product (and the various clones of it on Amazon that look identical). The adjustable setting for it seem to be metric and some of the comments say that they don't perfectly match AWG sizing and are sometimes loose.

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Good Luck!
Jamie Dresser
Other World Computing