Deans Connectors

[Spetz83]

Hey guys,

I just received my deans connectors, and I expected that the side where I have to solder wires onto would have small holes to pass the wire through before soldering it, however there aren't any.

Do I just solder straight onto the metal? Will this hold? Or is there some sort of trick?

Thanks

[tamiya monkey]

Yeh you just solder to the bars, make sure you have a good soldering iron and some good solder and you will be doing a lot of swearing lol, a small hobby vice is handy to hold them while your soldering. make sure you put heatshrink on the wires first not like me lol.

[nakedsv]

Yeah, just solder right to the tabs.

Make sure when you solder it, the solder flows and "flows in" to everything. Use rosin core solder, not acid core or pure. A cold solder joint is going to cause heat build-up and maybe start a fire.

A through-hole soldered connection is stronger, but it is much harder to recycle the plugs that way, and the tabs would have to be bigger.

[Butler]

You can rough up the sides of the plugs after with your soldering iron..this make them easier to pull apart.

[Spetz83]

Thanks for all the info guys

[TWINSET]

Don't touch the other side of the connector immediately after soldering the wire on either - funnily enough it's about as hot as the side you just soldered the wire to

[Blacque Jacque]

Don't touch the other side of the connector immediately after soldering the wire on either - funnily enough it's about as hot as the side you just soldered the wire to

.....and tends to give you a nasty case of idiot rash !

[TA-Mark]

Grab the pole with a pair of cold pliers and it will draw most of the heat from them and make them safe to touch after soldering. No need to do it on the female plug on the battery, the pole is inside the plug and can't burn you easily.

[94eg!]

- Use a pair of pliers with a rubber band around the handles to hold the deans in place

- Tin each tab on the side you wish to solder

- Tin the ends of the wires you will be soldering onto the connector

- Slip a cut piece of heatshirnk over each wire

- Tin the tip of your soldering iron

- Touch the wire to the deans tab and apply pressure with the iron until all the existing solder melts and the wire sinks in

- After cooling, slip the heat shirnk bits over the exposed solder joints and shirnk them with a lighter or heat gun

BTW: Never use a soldering "gun". They can't store enough heat in the tip to get the job done. Plus they are only rated to be on for 30 seconds with a required off period of 5 minutes. A cheap 40watt iron with a flat screwdriver style tip makes these jobs easy.

[Snakehands]

Hey guys,

I just received my deans connectors, and I expected that the side where I have to solder wires onto would have small holes to pass the wire through before soldering it, however there aren't any.

Do I just solder straight onto the metal? Will this hold? Or is there some sort of trick?

Thanks

There are lots of good videos on youtube showing how to solder them. Don't forget the heat shrink!

[Spetz83]

94eg, what do you mean by tin? Jusr wrap it with solder?

I hadn't even thought about youtube! Good advice

[TWINSET]

.....and tends to give you a nasty case of idiot rash !

Quality

[94eg!]

94eg, what do you mean by tin? Jusr wrap it with solder?

I hadn't even thought about youtube! Good advice

Tinning is a term for coating something in solder. To tin the tip of the iron, simply add solder to it. Always tin the tip of the iron a little bit before you try to solder anything. This helps transfer more heat more quickly into the object your trying to solder. If the object itself doesn't get hot enough, the solder won't flow over it...

To tin the ends of a wire, add a little solder to your iron. Then heat the wire with the iron while feeding more solder directly onto the wires (not the iron). If done properly, you will see the solder get soaked up by the strands of wire. This is when you stop...

When you tin the tabs of the deans connector, just put solder on the one side that your going to attach the wire too. No need to do the other side. Touch your freshly tinned iron to the tab, and feed solder directly onto the tab. If done properly, you will see the solder spread out over the entire surface of the tab. This is when you stop...

[theRuggedMan]

Also proper deans connectors have a little + and - symbol on the plastic housing if you are unsure what wire polarity to solder.

[cubsfan2009]

Just thought I'd add this.

Although many use and push Deans as great connector, which it is, the soldering of the wires are PITA. Anyone who has tried Traxxas style will know they are way easier to solder. The metal tabs get soldered and then inserted into the plastic connector. Not having to deal with trying to hold the whole connector while soldering is way easy. Almost as easy as soldering two wires together. Added bonus is that no shrink tube is needed since the tabs and solder connection is completely shrouded inside the connector. Just thought I'd add that IMHO they are a better connector in many ways and capable of equal amp flow as Dean's

[Power Surge]

Just thought I'd add this.

Although many use and push Deans as great connector, which it is, the soldering of the wires are PITA. Anyone who has tried Traxxas style will know they are way easier to solder. The metal tabs get soldered and then inserted into the plastic connector. Not having to deal with trying to hold the whole connector while soldering is way easy. Almost as easy as soldering two wires together. Added bonus is that no shrink tube is needed since the tabs and solder connection is completely shrouded inside the connector. Just thought I'd add that IMHO they are a better connector in many ways and capable of equal amp flow as Dean's

And also, the same with Power Poles. I was a Deans fan for 20 years, but really just because they were the only option 20 years ago. I tried Power Poles this time around and I like them way better.

[Spetz83]

On the packaging of the deans connectors it tells me which is -ive and +ive.

However, which one is -ive and +ive on the tamiya connector?

There is one side which on the connector it's square, and the other side where it's half square and half circle

[irenL]

On the packaging of the deans connectors it tells me which is -ive and +ive.

However, which one is -ive and +ive on the tamiya connector?

There is one side which on the connector it's square, and the other side where it's half square and half circle

for ESC to battery and battery leads: red is positive, black is negative. --> pretty much international standard for DC system in any industry, be it automotive, marine, hobby, etc.

for ESC to motor leads: orange/yellow is positive, blue/green is negative.

If using knock off deans style connector (some venom ones, etc...), lay the connector flat on the broad/wide side. The tab which is vertical is positive, the tab which is horizontal is negative.

If you want to, and if you're handy with a drill, you can drill each of the solder-able tabs thru with 2mm drill bit. this will allow the solder to pass through to the other side of the tab, which makes the joint even stronger. Though, as long as you cleaned and tin everything properly it should be a strong solder joint. I've never had a solder joint comes loose on Deans style connector, regardless how hot a setup I'm running. You might melt a bit of the plastic insulation on the connector while soldering, so have the heat shrink a tad longer than necessary.

I'd actually put use the pliers with ruber band to hold the wire still on the tab, and then solder it on between the wire and tab. Just enough pressure to keep the 2 together while soldering. Be forewarned, not only will the connector be really hot, the wire will be very hot as well. Please use wire with thick insulation to prevent insulation melt down.

Funny, in the past I've actually soldered on a 1awg welding cable using butane torch.. Was moving the battery in the car to the boot to clear up the engine bay for IC piping..

[Pavster]

That's what i used when i did it. Use the pliers he uses they are very useful because they are quite weighty. If you don't have any then use some blutak to hod things down but be careful. It likes to get very tacky when hot...use the pliers!!