Question about Deans "T" connectors

[mr crispy]

I've bought a job lot of Deans connectors to replace my old Tamiya jobs, mainly because I'm starting to move over to Lipo batteries. But before I start soldering is there a universal standard to which points should have the positive and negative wires? May not have explained that too well, what I need to know is on the Deans "T" connector should the top horizontal part of the "T" be the red + wire or the black - wire?

I've not bought a battery that has a Deans plug already fitted so is there a standard set up that everyone follows to make life easier if I buy one in the future?

[TWINSET]

I've always done the top of the T as positive - pretty sure some of mine were marked with a + too

From the internet;

[danb1974]

Some have markings on the solder side

[94eg!]

Genuine Deans connectors are marked (see the - on the back of the female plug). The ones shown in the 2nd post are imitation. Female side should have silver tabs. Only Male is gold.

[BangkokBulldog]

Top of the T is positive/red.

[mr crispy]

Thanks guys, looks like I'll be burning my fingers this weekend.

[mr crispy]

Started fitting the Deans plugs last night and found like some had mentioned they are actually labeled + & - which I hadn't noticed before. Now I'm no soldering expert but it actually went pretty easy. I know some people have issues fitting these so I thought I'd show what I use.

I have an old basic soldering iron that's rated 25w still with its original tip, I must've had this for over 10 years at least. The solder and separate flux is from a store called Clas Olson in the UK. It wasn't cheap but is very good and lasts for ever.

The method I follow is I usually file the surfaces I'm about to solder a little and then wipe them with the flux and heat it on the tip until it burns off. Then add some solder to the tip and bring the surface to it until the solder flows and covers it nicely. Do the same with the wire, removing the insulation and tinning the ends first as described above. Then I add a little more solder to the tip and bring both the wire and surface (in this case) together onto the tip and hold it until I see the solder freely flow into and over both. Careful remove from the tip and watch it cool before letting go and putting any stress on the joint.

I should say between every section I wipe the tip with a damp sponge and I usually clamp the tip in a vice so it's the work that I'm holding. Unless I need to get into somewhere fiddly I find that's the best way for me. Took me about 5 mins to do a complete pair of male and female Deans plugs, taking my time. I even remembered to slide the heat shrink onto the wires first ! And my fingers were only "mildly warmed" by the whole experience Now to do the rest of my stash of batteries and ESC's. Actually I'll make up a few Deans to Tamiya conversion leads with some of the connectors I remove, should come in handy.

[Yonez]

Nice work!

Clamping the iron was a good tip - I always find myself wanting a few extra hands when soldering heavy or stiff wire like this.

[Champ85]

Yup, once you get into the groove you can switch over your entire collection to Deans in just a few hours. And don't let the wires touch each other when doing battery packs!!! Very bad indeed.

The key to getting a great solder connection I found to be to pre-tin both the wire and the connector before attempting to solder them together, just like you did. Then they just "melt" together with just a bit more solder to fill the gap between them. Soldering them "dry" simply results in frustration.

[CoolJetta3]

I've had a few batteries spark back at me a couple of times haha

Making a Deans-Tamiya adapter is a good idea. I think I'll do that too

[94eg!]

I always keep a small rubberband in my pit bag so I can wrap them around my needle-nose pliers to hold things for me. Very useful.

[mr crispy]

That's a clever idea 94eg.