Connector ID please - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: ThunderZed
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 21, 2022, 07:19:49 pm
content: What kind of connector is the one in my attachments?

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 21, 2022, 07:28:48 pm
content: Looks like a plug designed to mimic a mini blade fuse

author: ThunderZed
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 21, 2022, 07:54:51 pm
content: Yeah, their shapes are very similar. Anyway I've to replace a lipo battery that comes with this blade fuse-like plug and I wonder if it's possible for me to purchase a new battery with no plug, I mean with its red and black wires "flying", then get one of these connectors and join/merge wires-connector somehow. Is it possible?Let me ask another question.I could purchase a new battery that comes with a female plug (see attachment) so I wonder if a male-male connector exists to link the new female connector to the female black pcb housing.

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 21, 2022, 11:39:14 pm
content: Most suppliers only sell batteries with connectors for safety reasons, as well as that is what most end users want. You can of course cut the connector off and splice in an existing cable.If you can't identify the original connector, then I doubt you will find an adapter.What are the approximate dimensions of that original connector? What device is it used in?

author: Whales
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2022, 02:32:32 am
content: Quote from: Kean on March 21, 2022, 11:39:14 pmTip: cut and splice one wire at a time, ie don't cut both from the old connector at the same time. This has saved clumsy old me from shorting batteries a few times

author: ThunderZed
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2022, 02:00:55 pm
content: Quote from: Kean on March 21, 2022, 11:39:14 pmI think I'll do that because I can't find such a battery that comes with the same plug. I just asked here with the hope to get the name of the plug, buy a new one and match the new battery's wires to but I guess it's a particular/unic manufacturer's patented plug.Quote from: Whales on March 22, 2022, 02:32:32 amOr just cut the 2 wires at different heights to avoid short circuits the same. By the way, I guess it could be good to protect the new joints with heat shrink tubing to certainly avoid short circuits; useful or useless?Quote from: Kean on March 21, 2022, 11:39:14 pmJust to satisfy your curiosityBase = approx. 5mmx2mm (= 0,196850394in x 0,078740157in); outside distance between blades = approx. 1.7mm (= 0,066929134in). It's an old mp3 player.

author: SL4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2022, 07:17:41 pm
content: Splicing might not be too hard, just be careful and do it precisely.The photo looks like the connection is a friction fit IDC press-in.If you can wrestle the old red & black out, pressing in new wires shouldn’t be impossible.

author: ThunderZed
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2022, 07:54:25 pm
content: If I can... "wrestle"Honestly I haven't yet understood how the manufacturer assembled that connector and its very small dimensions don't help me to understand. My only bet is that the metallic blades where put in the plastic plug like 2 "forks", due to that you can see the sheath's wires on both sides, in other words the blades ran like a french guillotine for the wires. If that's true I could use a plier to extract the blades and disassemble the connector but... if I'm wrong I'll be in trouble because I'll destroy the only connector that fits my device.Call me coward but I don't want to risk unless you professionals ensure me what kind of connector it is, that it can be disassembled and how, else I'll just cut its wires and save it

author: edpalmer42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 22, 2022, 09:00:52 pm
content: Quote from: ThunderZed on March 22, 2022, 07:54:25 pmYou have correctly described an IDC (Insulation Displacement Connector).Look very closely at the connector. It looks like the top (wider) part of the connector covers the top and clips onto the sides. You remove it by gently bending first one side and then the other away from the connector body until the clip releases. Be careful. If you bend it too much, it'll break. Do one side and then the other. If you do happen to break one side, use your favorite rubbery cauking to glue the top back on. You need to have that top in place to prevent the pins from pushing out of the connector.Be sure to use stranded wire in the connector and make sure that the wire is a similar size to the original. If the wire is too small or too large, it won't give a reliable connection or it will damage the contact.If that all seems a bit too sketchy, the idea to splice the leads is quite reasonable. Depending on the available lead length you might want to do that regardless.Ed

author: ThunderZed
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 23, 2022, 02:06:07 pm
content: SL4P and you are right! I searched IDC and I got a couple of schemes like thisand it's the same of mineNow what have I to use to gently "bend" the outside pins to pull the inside fork/clip out of the body plug?Quote from: edpalmer42 on March 22, 2022, 09:00:52 pmI'm going to buy abatterythat comes with "Wire AWG 30". I guess it'll be stranded because of google images, am I wrong?AWG 30 diameter is 0.01in = 0.255mmand the present wires' diameter is about 0.5mm (= 0,01969in) by my eyesDo you think the awg30 wire will be compatible with my IDC connector?Quote from: edpalmer42 on March 22, 2022, 09:00:52 pmI don't understand, can you please explain it in other words?PS - although I selected "inline" for my attachments they're are not inline. why?

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: March 23, 2022, 03:33:58 pm
content: I see now that the connector is way smaller than I first thought, and it didn't register at the time it was IDC style. Context helps!AWG 30 wire may be approx 0.255mm diameter for the wire strands, but total diameter with insulation it could be anything from 0.5 to 1.1mm (or even more) depending on insulation material and voltage rating.

author: ThunderZed
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 23, 2022, 06:10:13 pm
content: I'm very noob but I guess only the wire strands diameter is important to consider for this job, I mean even though the new awg30 wire comes with a very wide insulation but its inside strands are 0.255mm wide then I guess it will get into the holes and clips. Consider that the manufacturer put the present whole wires inside the holes' connector for first and only after that installed the clips so my bet is that in the worst case, I mean if the whole awg30 will be bigger, its 0.255mm strands will get in. What do you think of that?

author: edpalmer42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 23, 2022, 08:39:12 pm
content: Quote from: ThunderZed on March 23, 2022, 02:06:07 pmLike Kean, I didn't really understand how small your connector is so I'm going to change what I said. Many, but not all IDC connectors require you to bend the side clips away from the body to release the cap. You have to look very carefully at your connector to see how the your connector is constructed. Since it's so small, it will be very fragile and it might not be possible to remove the cap without breaking the clips.Quote30 AWG is very small. Even ribbon cable is larger than that (typically 28 AWG). The battery spec doesn't give you the size and number of strands - if any - so there isn't enough info to say if it will be compatible or not.QuoteTypically, the contacts are pushed into the body, but there's nothing that actually holds them in place. A simple push from the bottom and the contact will slide out of the body. The only thing holding them in place is the cover that's clipped over the top.Thinking more about how small both your connector and the battery wires are, I think it would be best to just splice the battery wires to the existing wires and leave the existing connector and wires alone. It's a lot safer way to do it as long as you have the space for a little extra wire and a heat-shrink connection.Ed

author: ThunderZed
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2022, 12:00:44 am
content: I see your warning. Just for my knowledge I'd like to ask you another questionQuote from: edpalmer42 on March 23, 2022, 08:39:12 pmDo you mean this plastic connector is not a single piece but it's made of more parts?

author: edpalmer42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2022, 02:24:05 am
content: Quote from: ThunderZed on March 24, 2022, 12:00:44 amYes, it's typically two pieces. Since your connector is so small, you might have to use a magnifying glass to see it.This is a typical IDC connector that's used with ribbon cable. They're common in older computers that used floppies, IDE hard drives, and serial and parallel ports. You don't often see them in modern computers. You can see the contacts that look similar to yours and the cap that snaps over top. The 'V' shape of the contacts captures the wire and guides it down to the crimp point. Notice how the cap fits into the slot on the end of the connector. This is an example of a connector that's more difficult to remove because you can't just bend the tab out because it's captured in the slot.Ed

author: ThunderZed
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2022, 11:32:22 am
content: I couldn't stop my curiosity and... I tried to dismantle the connector betting it was made by a single piece so there was no cap to remove firstly. Therefore I used the smallest pliers I had to pull a clip off and I did it with success. You can see the single fork-shaped clip and the connector without it in the attachments.I thought I could see a glimpse of the "bare copper" through the connector after I removed the clip but I couldn't, I only can see the black torn wire. Anyway I pulled the clip inside again and then checked the continuity clip-strands by my tester (ohms=0).Said that I ask a couple of questions/suggestions and add some notes:- before taking a decision about how to operate to the new battery I'd wait to get it in my hands so we can make a comparison between the old and new wires (insulation, strands, diameters, etc.). do you agree or think that the cut-and-solder method remains the best in this scenario anyhow?- even if the new wires diameter is exactly the same of the old one, do you think it will be easy to put the new wires throughout the holes? have you ever experienced something like that?- how do you think the manufacturer worked to assemble all that?If I could see the bare copper through the plastic after I pulled the clip off then I'd think the manufacturer made a little cut/incision on the wire for first, then pulled the wire inside and finally pressed the clip in so its fork reached the strands.But probably it's not like that. Another possible manner was to put the wire inside and then use the clip's fork itself like a knife to cut the insulation and reach the strands.What do you think?In the meanwhile I buy the new awg30 wired battery if you agree

author: edpalmer42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 24, 2022, 04:40:59 pm
content: I see what you mean. Instead of pushing the contacts in from the top and using a cover, the contacts are pushed in from the bottom. The small size of the connector might have forced the redesign. Very unusual!Since you've already sucessfully disassembled one of the leads the option is open as to whether you use the cut-and-solder or reterminate method to connect the new battery. Wait until you get the new battery and can compare the battery wires to the existing ones. You don't want to have the situation where the battery wires are too small and start giving you an intermittent connection.Typically an IDC connector doesn't require any stripping or cutting of the wire or insulation. You just put the wire in place and assemble the connector. That's why they're popular. They're inexpensive, easy to assemble, and relatively sturdy. For your connector, the assembly at the factory was likely very similar to what you did when you reassembled your connector. Insert the wire into the hole and push the contact through a small slot in the connector so that the sides of the fork slice through the insulation and make the contact. It looks like it's just relying on the crimping force to hold the contact in place.Ed

author: ThunderZed
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 31, 2022, 03:55:18 pm
content: New battery has just arrived. It's smaller than the original one but it's the most similar one I've found on the web.Now let's focus on its connections. As you can see from the pics:- wires are single-cored so there're no strands;- wires are only 3cm (= 1.18in) long so they're much shorter than the original ones but I can't understand if this will be a trouble for now;- wires diameter is bigger than the original (0.02in), I guess it's about 0.7mm (= 0.028in).That said (and looked) what do you suggest me? As you remind there're 2 possibilities: 1) pulling the clips out from the original connector and then trying to put the new wires inside and setting them by the clips; 2) cutting the original wires and soldering the new ones without touching the original connector.My main concern is that if I try to dismantle the connector but I can't set the new wires inside then I won't be able to put the original wires inside the connector again.PS1. The new battery is quite smaller than its housing so what could I do to avoid "shakings" and other troubles? Will it be enough to renew the glue to keep the new battery firmly?2. Are there any things to do to extend the new battery life? Eg. 1st charge for 24h; do not recharge until the battery is completely down, etc.

author: edpalmer42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 01, 2022, 07:03:00 pm
content: IDC connectors are intended to have one wire attached at the factory and to never be touched again. You've already risked disaster by taking the wire out and reinstalling it. I recommend that you quit before your luck runs out. Cut the original wires and solder the new ones without touching the original connector.Ed

author: ThunderZed
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 01, 2022, 10:48:03 pm
content: That's a fundamental information, if I had known that before I'd haven't done it.Now how to avoid short circuits between the 2 soldered wires after this job? Can I just use the short black tube on the red wire that came with the new battery (see 1st attachment in my previous post)? Consider the smallest heat shrink tube I could get shrinks to 0.6mm while the old wires are 0.5mm thick.PS - What about my 2 PS above?

author: edpalmer42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 01, 2022, 11:19:20 pm
content: Quote from: ThunderZed on April 01, 2022, 10:48:03 pmDo you really expect me to tell you everything that you shouldn't do? You didn't ask if it was a good idea to pull the connector apart - you just did it. Now I'm telling you that it was a bad idea but it looks like it was okay so don't do it again.QuoteChances are that when you solder the wires you'll have a bit of a lump so the heat shrink should be able to hold onto that. Otherwise, you could use electrical tape or anything else you can think of. The black tube that came with the battery is probably heat shrink that they used to prevent the battery from shorting out. Unfortunately, it's already shrunk so probably won't be useful.QuoteI didn't have anything useful to say about either of them.Ed

author: ThunderZed
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 04, 2022, 06:10:05 pm
content: Quote from: edpalmer42 on April 01, 2022, 11:19:20 pmSorry for that, I just misunderstood these statements:Quote from: SL4P on March 22, 2022, 07:17:41 pmQuote from: edpalmer42 on March 22, 2022, 09:00:52 pmI thought it was a real and safe option to dismantle the connector by pulling its clips out so I did it without asking that for first. My fault.Anyway I've soldered the new wires but my result's not very good because it's my first time with such small elements (see attachment), anyway the continuity is ok (ohm=1). I'm just afraid in one or 2 years that will turn into a cold junction.

author: edpalmer42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 04, 2022, 07:29:36 pm
content: I've seen better soldering, but I've also seen worse!It should be okay.It's a bad idea to work on both leads at the same time. For safety, you should work on one lead at a time - solder, then insulate it, before starting on the second one. This will prevent accidently shorting the battery leads together. Your new battery has a built-in protection circuit but again, how lucky are you? It would also be a good idea to offset the connections to reduce the chances of shorting them. Both of these ideas were mentioned earlier in this thread.Are there pieces of heat-shrink tubing out of camera range? If not, before you do anything else, cover the red lead with electrical tape. Because the wire is so small, you won't be able to wrap the tape around the wire, so just fold the tape so it sticks to itself with the wire trapped inside the fold. Now look at the black lead. You see the pointy ends of the wire sticking out of the solder? They could cut through the tape so use a pair of pliers to flatten them against the wire. Now you see why I said to immediately cover the red lead. You don't want to go working with pliers around those bare leads. It's too easy to short them together. Once the pointy things are dealt with, insulate the black wire as described above. Now remove the tape from the red lead and repeat the pointy inspection / repair. Yes, I know you just put the tape on, but it was required immediately to allow you to work with the pliers.Note that even if you're using heat-shrink tubing, those pointy wires *must* be dealt with before you shrink the tubing. They could cut the tubing as it's being shrunk.Ed

author: ThunderZed
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 05, 2022, 11:39:45 am
content: Quote from: edpalmer42 on April 04, 2022, 07:29:36 pmSo I did. You can't see the tubes in my picture but I inserted them in the wires before working, then I used each tube to protect the strands of each wire, I mean I covered one wire and soldered the other one then I covered the soldered wire and worked on the other one. The only time the strands were unprotected was while the photo shoot. Now the tubes are in and I've to fix the pointy ends for first and then shrink them by my hair dryer (I've not got a prof tool for that). So I saw this warning and followed your suggestionBy the way, I guess I could keep the tubes as they are because they are firm due to the "big" solderings, I mean it's not necessary to shrink them. What do you think about it?Quote from: edpalmer42 on April 04, 2022, 07:29:36 pmHonestly I didn't understand this suggestion neither previously... nor now. Can you explain it in other words for my other future works?If you mean to protect/isolate the male connector's pins while working then I guess it's not a such big problem, I mean the pins are parallel and fixed so they can't contact unless, for example, I use my probes to check the continuity soldering<->pin but I avoided that.

author: edpalmer42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 05, 2022, 05:37:25 pm
content: Quote from: ThunderZed on April 05, 2022, 11:39:45 amExcellent!By the way, it's also possible to use a lighter or soldering iron to shrink the tubing. I've seen people actually rub the iron over the tubing, but I prefer to just hold the iron a few mm from the tubing. Both methods have to be done carefully to prevent melting or burning the tubing.QuoteUsually, the tube is much larger than the repaired area so it has to be shrunk to hold it in place. If the tube is small enough to stay in place without shrinking, it's too hard to slide it into place. I guess if everything is perfect you could leave it unshrunk. Another reason that you'd want to shrink the tube is to seal the repair from moisture or dust. You can buy tubing that has adhesive on the inside for applications like that.QuoteIf the two repairs are at the same point in the cable, they can rub against each other. Since they're the thickest part of the cable, they will see lots of rubbing and, over time, they could rub through the heat-shrink tubing and cause a short. Offsetting the repairs helps prevent this. Also, if you have multiple leads to repair, the repaired area can become quite large due to the build-up in size of all the connections. Offsetting the repairs helps spread out this build-up.Ed

author: ThunderZed
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2022, 03:21:28 pm
content: All right, I've fixed the spikes in the soldering and I'm going to shrink the tubes by my iron put at the right distance.Quote from: edpalmer42 on April 05, 2022, 05:37:25 pmAmazing. How to offset these connections to prevent that?I'd like to ask a last question on this topic but just for my knowledge.I had discardedthis 3 wired batterybecause it was too big but I wonder if it could be ok for my goal/scenario though it comes with 3 wires and not only 2 ones. In other words, Could I just took it and connect it only by its red and black wires, I mean excluding the white wire?This is its dsand one difference with the one I've just installed is "Safety Circuit: Yeswith NTC" if it's important. What does NTC mean?

author: edpalmer42
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 06, 2022, 05:30:32 pm
content: Quote from: ThunderZed on April 06, 2022, 03:21:28 pmI'm not sure I understand the question. You offset the connections by not cutting both wires at the same point. Cut one wire and then move along the wire 10 or 20 mm or whatever distance is reasonable and cut the other wire. Now your repairs will be seperated from each other instead of all at the same place. That reduces the chances of short circuits during the repair and reduces the size build-up if you have multiple leads to splice. The size build-up isn't really an issue with just two seperate wires, but can become an issue if you have to repair a multi-lead cable.QuoteYes, you could use that battery. NTC stands for Negative Temperature Coefficient. Actually it should say NTC Thermistor which is like a resistor where the resistance decreases as the resistor gets hotter. If the battery starts to heat up, the thermistor's resistance will drop. The charging circuit reads this resistance and can reduce or cut off the charging current and alert the user that the battery has a problem. If the charger doesn't have that feature, just don't connect the NTC lead.The battery you're using appears to have a built-in protection circuit so it might have a built-in thermistor. I'm not suggesting that disassembling your battery is a good or safe thing to do.EdP.S. I can't believe that this thread has almost 1800 views.