Best Electronic Connectors

I have been working on old Fords for over 20 years now. One of those is the Bronco that I still have! In that time, my attitudes have changed on electrical connectors.

For many years, I would only replace a connector with what was there before. That involved parts cars, NOS parts, junkyards, and lots of soldering and heat shrink. There's a place for this approach, but I've strayed from it because it's expensive and time-consuming. Also, the NOS and junkyard parts are getting fewer and more brittle all the time.

Then, I became a WeatherPack guy! I started putting 5.0L EFI engines and AOD transmissions in Mustangs and Cougars, and there was no shared standard between those classics and the early 90's transplants. Some of the companies that were making parts and kits for the restomod industry were using WeatherPack, and I loved the freedom of deciding to make my own connectors and choosing the number of pins, etc. This was also a great solution for making my own wiring harnesses and making the connections between aftermarket/EFI stuff and the old cars. I've been a WeatherPack guy since the 2000's... until this year.

Last year, I installed the Edelbrock Pro-Flo 4 in my 86 Bronco. The CAN bus connector on that system happened to be a Deutsch DT 4-pin connector. I decided to look up Deutsch connectors as I was curious about the ampacity and uses. I gotta tell you, I am a Deutschmann now! I have been replacing all my WeatherPack in the bronco with Deutsch DT or DTP in the Bronco. They are so much smaller than WP and OEM, tons easier to assemble, and they are more weatherproof than WP and OEM as well. Deutsch are also self-aligning, where I have had problems with the pins being out of alignment on WP. If you're looking to do a lot of connectoring, or looking to replace a lot of crumbling OEM plugs, I would heartily recommend these. I've been super impressed with them.

What are some connector types you use? What do you prefer?

I've been using these Chinese connectors  They work, but you have to be aware that the current limit is something like 12 amps, so in cases where I need more I use a couple of terminals.

But these are not in the same league as WeatherPack or Deutsch.  So I've considered changing to one of them.  However what I have works, so...

I have been using WP for a number of years. I hear you about the pin alignment. My only other real complaint about them is there is no real splicing function, like to join 3 or 4 wires all together. Their successor, the metropack stuff, has provisions for that.

How's the price on the Deutsch compared to WP?

And another question, kind of off-topic. I also installed a PF4 on my truck, and have an aftermarket transmission controller. How did you handle them both needing a TPS signal?

Gary, I have seen those connectors on some stuff that I have purchased in the past like HID headlight kits and stuff. I never knew if they had a name or anything, but I always kept them in case I needed them for a pigtail or something. I thought maybe they were a kind of WP. Are they easy to assemble?

Pete, I have put multiple wires into the crimps on a WP before and it has worked well. If you think the wires feel janky, you can always heat the pin up with a soldering iron before putting it into the connector and soak some solder into it. That makes a better connection and sticks it all together permanently. Is that the kind of joining you mean?

As far as the price on the Deutsch connectors, They are more expensive than WP, and less expensive than Metri-Pack. I had started using a few Metri-Pack for cooling fan connections and higher-amp applications because there is one kind that goes up to 46a. But they are so expensive, they are selling like 1 for $10+ on amazon.

My controller came from US Shift, and they sell a little pigtail/dongle thing that plugs between the TPS and the wiring harness and splits it out. You can find it here https://www.usshift.com/store.shtml under US Shift TPS Adapter 1 for Aftermarket EFI Systems

Nickelplate wrote

Pete, I have put multiple wires into the crimps on a WP before and it has worked well. If you think the wires feel janky, you can always heat the pin up with a soldering iron before putting it into the connector and soak some solder into it. That makes a better connection and sticks it all together permanently. Is that the kind of joining you mean?

I have put 2 wires into one side of a MP connector, which you kind of have to do when you are daisy-chaining a circuit, such as supplying power to individual gauges in a gauge cluster. You can probably get away with 2 wires, but more won't realistically fit.

What I'm talking about is a way to join 3 or more wires together. An example might be if you have a larger power wire and need to split it into more, smaller power wires. With the metri-pack stuff, you have this type of "connector", that has a bus built into the connector.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/382462410767

No such animal with WP, that I am aware of.

Nickelplate wrote

My controller came from US Shift, and they sell a little pigtail/dongle thing that plugs between the TPS and the wiring harness and splits it out. You can find it here https://www.usshift.com/store.shtml under US Shift TPS Adapter 1 for Aftermarket EFI Systems

Thanks for that! I never noticed that on their site before. That pigtail looks pretty much like what I have done (break off a separate "signal" wire), except they have added a filter. Mine has no filter and while it seems to work ok, I'm not really certain that the piggyback I created isn't causing problems with one or both controllers. I ordered one and I'll see how that does. I was a bit shocked that they charged $31 shipping and handling for what will be a 2 oz item to ship...

Nickelplate wrote

I have been working on old Fords for over 20 years now. One of those is the Bronco that I still have! In that time, my attitudes have changed on electrical connectors.

For many years, I would only replace a connector with what was there before. That involved parts cars, NOS parts, junkyards, and lots of soldering and heat shrink. There's a place for this approach, but I've strayed from it because it's expensive and time-consuming. Also, the NOS and junkyard parts are getting fewer and more brittle all the time.

Then, I became a WeatherPack guy! I started putting 5.0L EFI engines and AOD transmissions in Mustangs and Cougars, and there was no shared standard between those classics and the early 90's transplants. Some of the companies that were making parts and kits for the restomod industry were using WeatherPack, and I loved the freedom of deciding to make my own connectors and choosing the number of pins, etc. This was also a great solution for making my own wiring harnesses and making the connections between aftermarket/EFI stuff and the old cars. I've been a WeatherPack guy since the 2000's... until this year.

Last year, I installed the Edelbrock Pro-Flo 4 in my 86 Bronco. The CAN bus connector on that system happened to be a Deutsch DT 4-pin connector. I decided to look up Deutsch connectors as I was curious about the ampacity and uses. I gotta tell you, I am a Deutschmann now! I have been replacing all my WeatherPack in the bronco with Deutsch DT or DTP in the Bronco. They are so much smaller than WP and OEM, tons easier to assemble, and they are more weatherproof than WP and OEM as well. Deutsch are also self-aligning, where I have had problems with the pins being out of alignment on WP. If you're looking to do a lot of connectoring, or looking to replace a lot of crumbling OEM plugs, I would heartily recommend these. I've been super impressed with them.

What are some connector types you use? What do you prefer?

Ive used the Deutsch connectors on my two KC Driving lights on my truck but with my new harness I am making I will be using the Metri-Pack connectors.  It is what Holley uses on their sniper EFI systems and they come in three flavors based off your power requirements.

You can get them in the following sizes

150-series : 14A continuous max current rating -40*c to 125*c temp range
280-series : 30A continuous max current rating -40*c to 125*c temp range (series I am running)
480-series : 42A continuous max current rating -40*c to 125*c temp range
630-series : 46A continuous max current rating -40*c to 125*c temp range
800-series : 60A continuous max current rating -40*c to 125*c temp range

The auxiliary fuse/relay box I am building for my EFI swap and my auxiliary circuits are using Aptiv formery Delphi brand connectors.  They meet my requirements and they arent that big compared to Deutsch terminals if they were offered in 30A rating continuous for my application with 10+ terminals.

This is my 14-pin connector for my front lights, I have a 16 pin connector as well which will be used for my rear connector and a 5-pin connector for my engine connector.


Deutsch connectors are great but they are not the connector for all applications since I found the Metri-Packs I think I will swap everything I currently have on my truck aftermarket to the Metri-Pack connectors since the 280-series has 280-series terminals from 18ga to 10ga giving a huge range of wire sizes to be used something I never found to be true for the Deutsch connectors.

Wow, I have never seen those joining buses like that. I know lots of companies use a 2-hole MP connector as a blade fuse socket, but never seen the solid connector. What's the advantage from just soldering the smaller power wires to the big one? Being able to add more of them later, I guess?

Rusty, I think you're like me in this. I don't want to have a ton of different standards of connector if I don't have to. MP does have higher ampacity in general than Deutsch. And the higher-amp Deutsch are pretty pricey. The 150-series MP connectors are most of what is on the Edelbrock PF4 system. I like the pin density of those.

I'm getting ready to start a 1970 Datsun truck project, and I'll be using the same kind of connectors throughout the whole thing.

Nickelplate wrote

Gary, I have seen those connectors on some stuff that I have purchased in the past like HID headlight kits and stuff. I never knew if they had a name or anything, but I always kept them in case I needed them for a pigtail or something. I thought maybe they were a kind of WP. Are they easy to assemble?

They are easy to assemble.  I bought this crimping tool and it does an amazing job.  But you might enjoy these two threads:

Wire Crimping/swaging tools.

Weatherproof Connectors

Nickelplate wrote

Wow, I have never seen those joining buses like that. I know lots of companies use a 2-hole MP connector as a blade fuse socket, but never seen the solid connector. What's the advantage from just soldering the smaller power wires to the big one? Being able to add more of them later, I guess?

Rusty, I think you're like me in this. I don't want to have a ton of different standards of connector if I don't have to. MP does have higher ampacity in general than Deutsch. And the higher-amp Deutsch are pretty pricey. The 150-series MP connectors are most of what is on the Edelbrock PF4 system. I like the pin density of those.

I'm getting ready to start a 1970 Datsun truck project, and I'll be using the same kind of connectors throughout the whole thing.

Its also cheaper in the long run.  In my case I can repurpose pins I am not using on my 280-series connectors to put towards making my own new terminals reusing the sniper connector without spending more money to buy a bag of 280-series terminals in 18ga - 10ga

Deutsch are pretty pricy and thing I dont like about them is the wires are bound together with one weather seal where on the Weather-Pak they have individual seals and you can plug unused terminals which you really cant do with a Dutsch connector.

The Weather-Pak isnt that cheap itself either but they are quality connectors, its what many OE manufacturers use.  I think the four connectors I picked up with extra pins set me back some $40.