How long do Anderson connectors last

dougnutz

100 W
Joined
Oct 27, 2010
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138
I picked up a kit from Ebikes.ca and it’s been great btw. Anyway, It came with Anderson connectors for the Battery and motor. While I never disconnect the motor I do take the battery off twice a day 5 days a week. Initially I noticed a very bright spark when hooking up the battery, now after about 3 months it’s hardly noticeable. I haven’t noticed any loss in performance and the connectors are not showing any signs of getting hot. No discoloration, etc.

I’m sure these connectors don’t last forever but I’m curious what type of life should I expect from these things?

The kit is 48V 20Amp max.
 
According to this, it's supposed to be 10,000 cycles:

http://www.andersonpower.com/products/multipole-connectors.html

But looking at the data sheet, it could be as low as 250 cycles under load:

http://www.andersonpower.com/litlib/files.html/download/136

I connect and disconnect these several times per week, and have been doing so for about a year with no noticeable change. That's with 24 volts on a wheelchair that can draw 150 amps peak.
 
Until they start to get abnormally hot while under your current load, they are fine.
 
I'm sure I can tell when they have failed or failure is imminent. If they start changing color, getting hot, or smoking! Then sure they are done in. I’d even be willing to do a voltage drop test across the connector every now and then if needed. But I was trying to get an idea of general life expencancy for daily use. 1 year, 2 years, 6 months?

I suppose what I am really trying to figure out is if there is a reason to have several on hand + a crimper.
 
If you want to dramatically extend their life, you are going to need to use a battery cutoff switch, or something else that can take the spark.

I don't know about aluminum/copper connectors, but when my gold ones spark, they get burnt / charred each time.
 
Andersons rock !!!

the spark happens at the tips but then the connection happens further down the connector, the tips will eventually get nasty and the spark not as pronounced but it's no big deal..

they suffer a bit more on 40 amp controllers ( with larger and more capacitors ) .. a soft start with a resistor helps alot !! and is kind to your controller too ..
 
Ypedal said:
the spark happens at the tips but then the connection happens further down the connector...

Ahh. that makes sense, thanks.

I guess that is one of the reasons andersons are so popular.
 
Spark must not happen on any connectors it will damage the surface and decrease the surface of contact it usually have to ensure the proper current rating.

Battery to controller = you must use pre charge resistor

Battery to charger = dV = too low and the current will be low.. ex 40V deplated battery to 48V charger = just 8 volt = low spark...

I personally use a power supply to charge that is reaching 1700Watts DC at 37A at 46V with the Anderson powerpole PP30 connectors.

You see.. it's between 37 to 33A in CC mode and these connector handle it perfectly for 3 years now.

each charge take around 1.5hour for the CC mode.. than CV happen.

I'm using 10AWG wires with these PP30 connector.

If you read carefully the specsheet about any of these Anderson connectors.. you'll see the rated current depending on the wire SIZE that are used with.

Bigger wire ( more copper cross section)... ex 10AWG instead of 14 or 12 AWG will evacuate more heat from the contact to the wire making it able to sustain higher current.

Doc

I buy anually more than 150 anderson connectors.... PP30, PP45, PP75 and SB50 and i'm still 100% satisfied! all those installed still work perfect.


My car is starting with A123 cells each morning at the cold temp of winter thru two great SB50 connector rated 50A continuous only.. but they take 250A burst + no prob! with 4 AWG

Just those who had shorted plasma event.. that vaporized.. but.. it was mo fault!

Doc
 
Well I'll PM my address to you and you can send them my way...I'll pay the postage :)
 
dougnutz said:
I picked up a kit from Ebikes.ca and it’s been great btw. Anyway, It came with Anderson connectors for the Battery and motor. While I never disconnect the motor I do take the battery off twice a day 5 days a week. Initially I noticed a very bright spark when hooking up the battery, now after about 3 months it’s hardly noticeable. I haven’t noticed any loss in performance and the connectors are not showing any signs of getting hot. No discoloration, etc.

I’m sure these connectors don’t last forever but I’m curious what type of life should I expect from these things?

The kit is 48V 20Amp max.

I got about a year out of mine at 48 volts. I plug and unplug about 6 times a day 5 days a week. The positive contacts were paper thin when I swapped them out.

Gary
 
If you want to avoid constantly clipping them off and replacing them, build two short sacrificial jumpers with andersons on each end. You only make/break the connections between the jumpers. When the connectors that you mate/unmate get worn, just replace the jumpers with new ones.

Disadvantage is more connections in each line to go wrong. An advantage is that if you fry the connectors at a bad time (is there ever a good time?), you can remove the jumpers and directly connect the battery/controller.

The proper way to cure the problem is with a pre-charge resistor...
 
NeilP said:
Well I'll PM my address to you and you can send them my way...I'll pay the postage :)

I'll have to dig up the ones from the wheelchair rigs too. Those are some big ass high current Andersons. PM me your address and put Andersons in the subject. Some day I'll round them all up including some new in the bag and mail them to you free of charge. Hard wired or bolt together connections is what I prefer. If you disco with frequency, something is wrong with the setup. :mrgreen:
 
Ypedal said:
How on earth do you put PP30's on 10 gauge wire ???

I enlarge a bit the hole of the PP30 contact crimp.. put the 10 AWh inside.. than crimp and finally solder

Easy 90% of my PP30 are with 10 AWG.. I mean.. true 10 AWG.. not cheap car audio 10 AWG that look like 12 or 14 gauge! :shock:

The trick to enlarge the PP30 contact crimp is inserting long nose end ( =conical shape)

Doc
 
Is it "ok" to skip the crimping and just solder Andersons? I understand that using the proper crimping tool is better but is it necessary?
 
It is better to crimp, so try and avoid skipping it.
This was mentioned in this or another thread. Better contact and lower resistance obtained by crimping as compared to soldering.

But a soldered joint won't suffer from corrosion between wire and connector...so crimp and then solder
 
John in CR said:
If you disco with frequency, something is wrong with the setup. :mrgreen:

Or you have to choose between lugging the complete bike up 6 flights of stairs or disconnect the battery to bring it in the house to charge :p
 
Key switch and pre-charge circuit are nice and professional touches. If I were building to sell complete rigs that's what I would do. However, for my own use I prefer KISS.

We're not dealing with huge and/or complicated connections here - sure, you get a little spark but that appears to diminish significantly once the plating/tinning wears or burns off. My main setup has around 800 connection cycles on 30A Andersons running 15S (57-62V) and they're far from needing replacement.

I always crimp and solder, double check they're secured properly with the locking tabs and have never suffered any performance issues while using Anderson connectors. YMMV...
 
Depends a lot on the power levels you are using. For boring everyday ebikes, typically running 20-25 amp controllers, andersons lifespan is close to infinite.

My first pigbatteries andesons are pretty crusty now at the tips, after 3 years use. But the spot further in is still OK and no particular loss of power has been noticed. No way do the andersons on boring commuter rigs get hot, so they last forever.

Even so, I do ride prepared. On my long haul bike I carry some wire nuts and a small knife. I can cut any wire on the bike and make a temporary repair with wire nuts.
 
dogman said:
...I carry some wire nuts and a small knife...

Thats a great idea. Thanks DM
 
I think I have seen a keyswitch and precharge discussion before,so can you repeat what this is here fo rm.

Or at leas correct me if I am wrong.
Is this going to be something like a key type isolator switch, high current thing that you might use to isolate a car /truck battery from the starter, between the Controller and battery, with a bleed circuit......like a low value high ish wattage resistor across the terminals?...So you plug in the andersons ( or whatever) high current connectors...to the switch..that pre charges the caps in the controller and then you can switch the main contactor on without arcing...or forget the switch and just use a low current jumper wire with resistor in series with it, and a couple of low current connectors spliced into the main power feed wire?
 
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