Weatherproof Connectors

[Gary Lewis]

Just wanted y'all to know I'm trying out a new terminal kit. It is this one from Amazon. I just got it in today so haven't used it yet, but plan to do so on Big Blue's EFI upgrade and will let you know how it goes.

The spec's say that the terminals are good for 15 amps, but I'm not sure of that as there are what seem to be identical kits that say they are good for 12 amps. And some of the pictures show round pins and others show smaller rectangular pins. The kit I got has the smaller pins, but that isn't going to be a problem as the only application I have that will pull much current at all is the fog lights. Currently (pun intended) they are only rated at 110 watts, total, so 12 amps would be just adequate. However I think I'll double up on the pins for the fog lights, just to make sure.

Anyway, at $27 I couldn't resist. (There I go again. )

[85lebaront2]

Look like Generous Motors stuff. I usually just save the connectors from old harnesses and buy replacement male and female terminals.

The most common are the round wedgelock connectors in size from 1 to 8 commonly, 16 and 42, plus the odd later ones.

The small wedgelock terminals are 0.060" diameter and the large ones are 0.110" diameter.

PNs are:

0.060 male - E7EB-14461-BA - AUVECO 20475

0.060 female - E7EB-14487-AA - Clips & Fasteners A18408

0.110 male - D1AB-14461-AA - Dorman 85345, AUVECO 14887

0.110 female - D1AB-14488-CA - Dorman 85346, AUVECO 14888

[Gary Lewis]

Look like Generous Motors stuff. I usually just save the connectors from old harnesses and buy replacement male and female terminals.

The most common are the round wedgelock connectors in size from 1 to 8 commonly, 16 and 42, plus the odd later ones.

The small wedgelock terminals are 0.060" diameter and the large ones are 0.110" diameter.

PNs are:

0.060 male - E7EB-14461-BA - AUVECO 20475

0.060 female - E7EB-14487-AA - Clips & Fasteners A18408

0.110 male - D1AB-14461-AA - Dorman 85345, AUVECO 14887

0.110 female - D1AB-14488-CA - Dorman 85346, AUVECO 14888

Good info, Bill. But I've not found a good source for the connectors themselves, so wanted to start with new ones.

I'll probably use a 2-pin connector for the backup lights as they are LED and the 12 amp limit is plenty. But I'll probably use a 3-pin for the fog lights, one pin for the relay's coil and two for the output, so there's no worries about maybe using a hotter bulb.

[Rusty_S85]

Nice, will have to keep an eye out for this, I am not a fan of the deutsch style weatherproof connectors. Still looking for what type connectors I will be using for the wiring coming out of my auxiliary fuse/relay box.

[FuzzFace2]

Nice, will have to keep an eye out for this, I am not a fan of the deutsch style weatherproof connectors. Still looking for what type connectors I will be using for the wiring coming out of my auxiliary fuse/relay box.

I have a kit like that for years now and used it when I wired in the custom gauges in the Javelin.

I also used a 2 pin on the back up wire harness to plug into the switch on both the T18 when I ran that transmission and now the NP435 in my 81 F100.

Dave ----

edit think I got mine from Summit

[taskswap]

I have a kit like that for years now and used it when I wired in the custom gauges in the Javelin.

I also used a 2 pin on the back up wire harness to plug into the switch on both the T18 when I ran that transmission and now the NP435 in my 81 F100.

Dave ----

edit think I got mine from Summit

I have that kit. It works fine. If the pins are rated to a given capacity, they may very well do what they say - a lot of them are derated by some safety margin and the connector bodies are so thick you'd never know they were overheating "a bit". I wouldn't know because I only use them for low current stuff like radios.

What I like about this kit is also what I hate about it. Those little red tabs are a fiddly extra step in assembling the connector compared to a round-pin style Weather-pack (or clone). Then again they do align the pins much better so you never have to wiggle the connectors to get the pins to line up like with some others.

If anybody is hesitant you can also get the Weatherpack clone here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0991M76G5

Regardless of which kit you use I strongly recommend not using a cheap stamped-style crimper. It's just a recipe for frustration. A ratchet-style with appropriate jaws will change your life. I have this one and it's "cheap but works fine":

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08DRCRRCQ

I see it's discontinued now. Probably a classic "pump and dump" - lots of these vendors will throw something up on Amazon for a few months until negative reviews start bringing down sales, then nuke the listing and make a "new improved product release." But really anything should be fine as long as it has a 04B die.

It's very important that the crimped pin grips BOTH the wire and the insulation. There are two sets of tabs/fingers in the pin. The larger ones are meant to wrap around and grab the insulation to provide strain relief (it should look like a staple) while the smaller fingers grab the wire itself.

That pic doesn't look identical but it works basically the same. If you see negative reviews on connectors keep an open mind. I bet half the people that have issues with them are using the wrong crimper assuming they're "all basically the same". They're absolutely not. Some connectors have small wings that are designed to index the pin in the connector body, and also hold it in place. If you crimp them wrong they don't work right and the differences can be tiny but still cause trouble. IMO, if you get into crimping connections, I think you're best off investing into a type you think will do everything you need and spending more on a good crimper.

[Gary Lewis]

I have that kit. It works fine. If the pins are rated to a given capacity, they may very well do what they say - a lot of them are derated by some safety margin and the connector bodies are so thick you'd never know they were overheating "a bit". I wouldn't know because I only use them for low current stuff like radios.

What I like about this kit is also what I hate about it. Those little red tabs are a fiddly extra step in assembling the connector compared to a round-pin style Weather-pack (or clone). Then again they do align the pins much better so you never have to wiggle the connectors to get the pins to line up like with some others.

If anybody is hesitant you can also get the Weatherpack clone here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0991M76G5

Regardless of which kit you use I strongly recommend not using a cheap stamped-style crimper. It's just a recipe for frustration. A ratchet-style with appropriate jaws will change your life. I have this one and it's "cheap but works fine":

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08DRCRRCQ

I see it's discontinued now. Probably a classic "pump and dump" - lots of these vendors will throw something up on Amazon for a few months until negative reviews start bringing down sales, then nuke the listing and make a "new improved product release." But really anything should be fine as long as it has a 04B die.

It's very important that the crimped pin grips BOTH the wire and the insulation. There are two sets of tabs/fingers in the pin. The larger ones are meant to wrap around and grab the insulation to provide strain relief (it should look like a staple) while the smaller fingers grab the wire itself.

That pic doesn't look identical but it works basically the same. If you see negative reviews on connectors keep an open mind. I bet half the people that have issues with them are using the wrong crimper assuming they're "all basically the same". They're absolutely not. Some connectors have small wings that are designed to index the pin in the connector body, and also hold it in place. If you crimp them wrong they don't work right and the differences can be tiny but still cause trouble. IMO, if you get into crimping connections, I think you're best off investing into a type you think will do everything you need and spending more on a good crimper.

I'm glad you mentioned crimpers. I'm actually planning to solder all of my connections into those terminals - even though I have a ratcheting crimper. We'll see how that goes, but I'll roll the tabs over the wire itself and solder, and then roll the tabs into the insulation.

And these are the connectors with the wings. Here's a snip from one of their pages.

[taskswap]

I'm glad you mentioned crimpers. I'm actually planning to solder all of my connections into those terminals - even though I have a ratcheting crimper. We'll see how that goes, but I'll roll the tabs over the wire itself and solder, and then roll the tabs into the insulation.

And these are the connectors with the wings. Here's a snip from one of their pages.

I know soldering is tempting and in automotive it probably won't hurt anything, but it's not necessary and can do some harm in connectors not designed for it. These crimped terminals weren't just invented to improve termination speed. They also solve a problem in stranded wire connections where vibration can cause individual strands to fail/break. Solder introduces a stress point where the solder ends, and the individual strands of the wire vibrate independently. It takes a long time but over 5-10 years this can add up to weakened or failed connections. Also the solder can corrode over time even in a waterproof connector because when you plug it in, you seal in any moisture/humidity already in the air and it has nowhere to go. With the right crimper you get a gas-tight seal around the wires and strain relief just behind that so the solder isn't necessary.

That said it's probably fine, there's a ton of strain relief built into these things anyway. One thing I love about these connectors is how precisely everything gets aligned. No more bent pins...

[85lebaront2]

I know soldering is tempting and in automotive it probably won't hurt anything, but it's not necessary and can do some harm in connectors not designed for it. These crimped terminals weren't just invented to improve termination speed. They also solve a problem in stranded wire connections where vibration can cause individual strands to fail/break. Solder introduces a stress point where the solder ends, and the individual strands of the wire vibrate independently. It takes a long time but over 5-10 years this can add up to weakened or failed connections. Also the solder can corrode over time even in a waterproof connector because when you plug it in, you seal in any moisture/humidity already in the air and it has nowhere to go. With the right crimper you get a gas-tight seal around the wires and strain relief just behind that so the solder isn't necessary.

That said it's probably fine, there's a ton of strain relief built into these things anyway. One thing I love about these connectors is how precisely everything gets aligned. No more bent pins...

Funny you should mention security of the crimp. One of the tests I had to perform was a "pull out test" on crimped on cable ends for some pretty good size cables. It had a NAVSEA spec based on the size cable. The crimp was a hexagonal shape once made and the cables were copper "strands" with an overall OD from about 3/8" up to probably 3/4".

It could interesting, first getting a grip on the cable, and second getting a good straight pull on the lug. I had a few were the actual lug would pull apart without coming off.

[Gary Lewis]

I know soldering is tempting and in automotive it probably won't hurt anything, but it's not necessary and can do some harm in connectors not designed for it. These crimped terminals weren't just invented to improve termination speed. They also solve a problem in stranded wire connections where vibration can cause individual strands to fail/break. Solder introduces a stress point where the solder ends, and the individual strands of the wire vibrate independently. It takes a long time but over 5-10 years this can add up to weakened or failed connections. Also the solder can corrode over time even in a waterproof connector because when you plug it in, you seal in any moisture/humidity already in the air and it has nowhere to go. With the right crimper you get a gas-tight seal around the wires and strain relief just behind that so the solder isn't necessary.

That said it's probably fine, there's a ton of strain relief built into these things anyway. One thing I love about these connectors is how precisely everything gets aligned. No more bent pins...

Thanks. Yes, I'm aware of the concern about vibration with soldering, but for all of my almost 75 years all of my connections have been soldered and so far I've not had a problem. And as you said, given the "ton of strain relief built into these things" it isn't likely I'll have a problem.

But, I'll try to crimp a few of the terminals and see how that goes. That's one of the reasons that I purchased the larger kit with 5 and 6-terminal connectors. I don't think I'll need anything that big, and that gives me a lot of extra terminals to play with.