multi pin electrical connector

[Ric]

Anyone know of a source for a 14 or more pin electrical connectors (male/female) for use on bay faceplates?

 

[Randy]

Try Mouser Electronics www.mouser.com

 

[mjwalsh]

www.digikey.com is another source. I just got a connector from them along with several other items. I just looked in their catalog & they have a real large variety of connectors including 14 wire.

 

[Eric H]

FWIW, I really like Phoenix connectors for bay meters.

 

[MEP001]

I wired all our bays with two Molex plugs, one at the rotary switch for a quick-change feature, one close to the terminal switch to disconnect the entire harness to remove the door (They have a lift-out hinge). It's a little time-consuming to do all that crimping, but it's not difficult, it looks neat and the components were very cheap. Some of them have been in for five years and they show no signs of corrosion at all, but they never get wet. All the components came from Mouser.com and are the .062 silver-plated brass.

 

[jwilson]

Mouser normally has the best prices but there are lots out there. Here are the companies I normally use for fast ordering.

www.mouser.com
www.digikey.com
www.alliedelec.com
www.newark.com

 

[thoffmanjr]

Molex is the way to go. We have used them since 2004 and I don't think we have had any failures. Quick disconnect and very water resistant. www.molex.com MX150 series are available in 4,6,8,12, 16, & 20 conductors. 14 - 22 gauge wire. You do have to buy their male and female tool $$$$. They are a little expensive but you get what you pay for. Here is the data sheet: http://www.molex.com/catalog/pdf/MX33472.pdf

I purchased from: http://www.heilind.com

Here are some part numbers that we used too:

SAE Wire, Dual Row Receptacle 33472-1601
SAE Wire, Dual Row Plug 33482-1601
Extractor Tool 63813-1500
Manual Crimp Hand Tool 64016-0025
They need the male and female pins too. I don't have the part number handy.

 

[mjwalsh]

Tom,

I just went to Molex.com & all of your numbers come in OK but the last one with the Manual Crimp Hand Tool 64016-0025 shows as being obsolete. I wonder if there is a work around.

 

[MEP001]

I got a universal Molex crimp tool for $20 at Fry's Electronics. Looks like all the cheaper ones are discontinued - the only one at Mouser.com is $227.

http://www.mouser.com/catalog/634/1396.pdf

Edit: There's a "Designer/Service kit" that comes with a crimping tool for only $22.

 

[mjwalsh]

When this was posted I did a google search on universal crimpers & came up this among a huge range of prices & models.

http://www.aeroelectric.com/articles/matenlok/matenlok.html

We received it today for $42 with shipping plus tax. It looks & feels good & it seems to have the broadest range. The fact that they are using it on airplane electronic cabling seems to verify that it probably makes a pretty good crimp. Time will tell---I did about 100 crimps when we set up our alarm system over 20 years ago all by hand & they lasted so far. We have some crimping needs for our goofy dog wash project so we will be using the tool fairly soon.

 

[galen]

I need to do this also. My bay boxes look like birds nests.

 

[thoffmanjr]

Picture of Molex MX150 connector

This is a picture of the MX150 16 conductor connector.

 

[thoffmanjr]

Rotary Switch

We use a 12 position connector for the 12 position rotary switches. Pictured is the Grayhill rotary switch part # 44A30-01-1-12N and it costs around $40 a year ago. www.grayhill.com.