The cursed Anderson connector thread

S

SoSauty

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Read where someone got really frustrated with Anderson connectors. I thought, now I've been there, but all in all, they're pretty good. I unplug my motor rather than use a battery key, probably plugged and unpluged the A connectors 1,000+ times. It's the installation that gets me.

My 1st install took alot of effort and time. OK, 2nd time I've got some really fine point pliers and takes only minutes. 3rd occassion I get stuck, cant get that little snick that says the connector is ready. After an hour I squeeze the side of the crimp just a little, and whaa laa, the metal slides right into its' plastic housing. Today, ah humm, yes today, 1 connector snicks 1st effort, but nothing works for the 2nd one, not even squeezing the sides of the crimp a bit. After an hour I try grinding the sides of the crimp a wee bit, snick! That did it!

What are your experiences with installing Anderson connectors?
 
Anderson darn, where's the edit button
 
SoSauty said:
Read where someone got really frustrated with Anderson connectors. I thought, now I've been there, but all in all, they're pretty good. I unplug my motor rather than use a battery key, probably plugged and unpluged the A connectors 1,000+ times. It's the installation that gets me.

My 1st install took alot of effort and time. OK, 2nd time I've got some really fine point pliers and takes only minutes. 3rd occassion I get stuck, cant get that little snick that says the connector is ready. After an hour I squeeze the side of the crimp just a little, and whaa laa, the metal slides right into its' plastic housing. Today, ah humm, yes today, 1 connector snicks 1st effort, but nothing works for the 2nd one, not even squeezing the sides of the crimp a bit. After an hour I try grinding the sides of the crimp a wee bit, snick! That did it!

What are your experiences with installing Anderson connectors?
Click to expand...


Never found it to be that big a deal putting them together. Of course I bought the pliers for it so I guess that makes a difference. You are using a connector plier aren't you?
 
I hate andersons. Deans work better for me. The knock-offs are fine. Tested to be good to at least 60A...

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.10788

These might be better, rated 60A continuous and as they have no exposed pins and with a bit of jelly should be waterproof...

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=9572

but, each to his own. :mrgreen:
 
Crimping with ordinary pliers must end with some cursing. For about 20 bucks you can get crimping pliers at home depot or whatever that make it much easier. From what I've heard, if you do lots of it, the more expensive crimpers are worth it.

With the cheapies, first put the bump on the crimper on the seam, push the seam down, then using another part of the crimpers, fold the whole thing by rotating it 90 degrees from the seam. You can practice this on cheaper or eaisier to find connectors like blade connectors.

With a crimper, they are much more reliable and easy to install.
 
MY experince just a bit better than the original post, but my experinces with Anderson failures is minimal. No special equip., just good bench soldering tools. And some good magnifying eye glassse for close inspection.

My experience with other connectors is that they have eventually been failure prone at high current and ebike style vibrations.

When I am installing andersons, my expectation is that it will take me some time to get it right; that if it goes quick and easy, I got lucky for once. budget ~40 minutes for a set of 2 . Put in the time now or pay later. no cheap lunches on high current high vibration connectors. I feel for the folks with salt water air adding to the connector demons.


my two watss worth
d
 
I went with 30A andersons on the suggestion of many on this board. I even bought the expensive anderson crimper. I find that they're easy to install, but that they do not stay together. I can pull them apart easily, and they often come disconnected mid-ride. I do not have any point of comparison, but probably will try something different soon.
 
I have had pretty good luck with Anderson/Sermos connectors since the 60s. Strip, crimp, push and done. Sometimes with floppy wire I have to use a jewelers screwdriver to get them to click, but most times they work. They may be held together with zip ties if you need really strong connections.
otherDoc
 
Yeah, many ways to keep em from unplugging inadvertently starting with duct tape. If they are coming out of the housing, they are not fully clicked in, and yes that can be a problem with the bendier wire. With my cheap tool, I'm not as fast a crimper as Ypedal, but 5 min for a pair tops. Properly crimped, they do not come loose. undersise wire may need a few strands more addded to crimp good. Or get some 15 a contacts.

They aint perfect, but I find em handy little suckers.
 
Poweridestor.com is having a fire sale and amoungst other things seems to have a pretty good deal on Anderson connectors.
 
Love the Andersons. I use mostly the 45A and they are easy to crimp with proper crimpers. Takes me three to five minutes to cut strip and crimp a pair. They seldom come apart and if they do, I have done my wiring wrong. Using stiff wire and allowing it to move will cause unending frustration as they pull loose repeatedly. The good flexible wire with just a bit of strain relief werqs well as does the stiff wire sell secured. I use the solder on bullets when I need something smaller. Tried the Deans but did not like them. Each to their own though some love them.
 
I've been using andersons for a year now and really like them. I first started out soldering the 30A but soon found out it was a pain to get them into the housings. Since then I have been crimping them with a standard crimper with no problems. I put them on everything, but I've only done about 50 or so.

I've put off buying the special tool because my crimps have been holding up. Now I want to use the 45A ends, but still not really thrilled about buying the tool for $40. Anyone figured out a way to crimp the 45A "neatly" without the tool?
 
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