XLR connector getting really hot

My charger uses an XLR connector to hook to the battery, and sometimes it gets really hot. Sometimes it doesn't get warm at all. Sometimes just warm.

Is it a bad connection causing this? If I giggle it, it can lose connection as I can hear it shut off and go back on.

I'm thinking of switching to some 30amp Anderson PPs..... Would be less bulky too.

If it's just the connector getting hot and not the cable itself, then it is a high resistance at teh connector causing it. Could be between the pins one side to the other, or in one or more pins' crimps or solder joints. Probably between pin and barrel of each connector, as these types of pins dont' have any spring contacts or anything else, and depend entirely on haivng proper alignment and full pin insertion to get low-resistance connection.

Andersons can be better, as long as they are properly crimped to a wire that is not too large for the housing, so the contact can drift around inside the housing to self-align. If it cant', it cna make an even worse connection than the XLR, sometimes with just a single point of contact along the whole area. This is why people report melted phase or power connectors with Andersons, because the contacts cannot seat properly because of the way the wires are preventing the contact from floating in the housing and self-aligning.

I prefer Andersons to most fo the other power connectors I have tried, but I have only recently been given some Deans and some HK bullets, so once those are tested they might work out better. I also prefer the SB50 dual-contact Multipole (same contacts as PP75) to the smaller PP45s for battery connections, both becuase they can easily handle MUCH larger wires and currents, and because they latch onto each other with more force and are difficult to accidentally disconnect. In my experience so far, Andersons, properly installed and used with the right gauge wire for the housing/contact, and using the right contact/housing size for the power needed, are very useful as they can be keyed in sections for convenieince and safety of various types of connections.

Interesting thoughts on thick wires causing reduced contact on the Andersons. I had trouble getting the 10ga Turnigy wire into the 30amp PPs (even had to cut a lot of strands off), had to trim the insulation down with a knife. But once I got it clicked in, they looked good and seem fine so far. I haven't run more than 30amps on them yet.

I know the Tamiya connector (larger battery 2 prong ones) get warm when I use my 6amp peak laptop charger on the lipo. I thought that was odd given how only about 60-70watts was going through it. Maybe those had a bad crimping.

All my Andersons are crimped with the specific crimper which works great, so no worries there.

Most (not all) of the people reporting issues with andersons are using large gauge wire and/or stiff wire, or short runs or other things that reduce or eliminate the ability of the contact to float, and some have shown pics of cut-open (or melted-open!) housings showing how the contacts look when this happens, relative to each other--rarely do they line up flat like they must to operate as designed.

I wish they made clear housings, so people could see what is going on in there. Hmm....there's something Nechaus can make with his new toy!

I would guess that if you are getting intermittent contact, it's bad enough to warm it up. It could be the wire broken where it contacts the connector as well. So your heat could be sparking inside there, or the current going though one strand of wire that touches.

Some of my chargers came with good xlr plugs, like my current pingbattery. Long as they work fine leave it be. But everything eles connects to chargers with andersons, using the proper size wire and contacts. 4mm Bullets woud be fine as well.

To put an anderson on a battery with 10 g wire, I use an adapter with a bullet on one end, and anderson on the other, made from 12 g wire. Works because the bike is all 12 guage anyway. All I need for up to 40a. You can stuff 10 g into a 45 amp contact, but I don't recomend it. 10 g is time to switch to bullets for everything or bigger andersons. Bullets cheapest of course.

The xlr can be put togethere funky at the factory and being twristed and turned can short. Cut it off and change anderson or bullets. A hot plug wouldn't let me sleep at night.

I've never understood why anyone would use a balanced audio connector for power.

The good ones (cannon, neutrik) cost $10 per side, and are properly plated with silver, and guaranteed for a certain number of connect-disconnect cycles.

The cheap chit that comes with most of these chargers are knockoff that are probably good for 50-80 cycles. I used to work in broadcast and cheap XLR's would last 3 months - garbage. And that was with no current (well, very little) going through them.

My 4mm turnigy bullets have never let me down. Extremely cheap, reliable, and easy to solder.

Those XLR connectors can't carry many amps. I'm not sure why they're used either.

Hey, beats an RCA connector like came with the old WE kits. My xlr's that came with pingbatteries have lasted pretty long. Any connector can have the wire break where it's soldered onto the plug. But some types, notably andersons and the 4mm bullets have a housing that pretty much prevents all bending back and forth of the wire at the solder joint. That helps a lot.

Most chargers are only 5 amps or less, so they don't need much connector for the current. My problem has very often been the wire itself. They don't need much wire for 5 amps, but they forget that just a few strands of cheap wire breaks easy at the connector. On some of my chargers, I replaced the output wire with lampcord and andersons, and never had another problem from the plug. Good silicone wire would of course work great.