Deans- how to easily connect

[CharliesTheMan]

Everyone who uses or has used deans connectors knows that they can be a real female dog when it comes time to plug them in, and sometimes even worse when it comes to unplugging them. It's almost bad enough to cause you to want to switch to another brand of connector. But when you've worked for months to get everything switched over to Deans, you don't want to have to start over with another connection. I knew there was a way to get the deans working good. I decided to try lubrication based on another theory where a dry receptacle is hard to get the male plug into . When I was at the local electronics supply house a few days ago, I picked up some "GC ELectronics- Specialty Anti-Oxidant grease that specifically designed for lubricating terminals. It worked wonders on the deans connectors. All you have to do is apply a light film of grease on both of the terminals of a male Deans Ultra plug. After that I just plugged it into the female plug, and then plug, unplug, plug, unplug about three times. Now my deans Ultra connectors are just as easy to plug in as a blender into a house receptacle. I was thrilled, so I thought that I would pass on the information.

I'm also writing a how to article on how to solder deans ultra connectors (or anything else for that matter) the easy way.

 

[Webbage]

Good tip, but I prefer mine tight, so I know they won't putt apart if the wires foul something.

The old elastic band an a pair of pliers works well for soldering them, although I have a more re-usable solution, I set a few zip ties up so if I slide em on the handle it tightly grips the connector. I only have to use a pair of pliers if the cables are short on the item I'm soldering, usually I use a hobby vice.

 

[Lessen]

I will definately be on the lookout for that one Chuck Thanks!

 

[RC Addict]

Dielectric grease rocks!

 

[sweetdiesel]

I found that the only time I have had a deans connector that was hard to connect was due to the spades becoming misaligned from soldering. To prevent this, keep a spare male/female plug connected while you are soldering to keep the spades in alignment.

Nice find on the terminal 'lube, I'll be on the lookout for some.

 

[CharliesTheMan]

I found that the only time I have had a deans connector that was hard to connect was due to the spades becoming misaligned from soldering. To prevent this, keep a spare male/female plug connected while you are soldering to keep the spades in alignment.

Nice find on the terminal 'lube, I'll be on the lookout for some.

I also always keep a terminal on the end of what I'm soldering to keep them from warping. I think part of the problem that these connectors are hard to plug and unplug is because they are generic. Most of the Deans connectors on the market today are Chinese knockoffs. It's become such a problem, that Deans has not been able to sell theirs. Most vendors can buy the Chinese knockoffs for a penny or two, where the authentic deans are more A LOT more than that, closer to a dollar than a penny I believe. Deans has finally pulled out all of the stops and has started to file lawsuits on every vendor that they can find that is advertising Deans Ultra connectors and selling fakes. Also, I know that it's not the soldering make them ahrd to connect (for me) because when I take the new ones out of the package I sometimes have to use pliars to get them to slide in and out the first few times, which I think it due to poor manufacturing overseas.

Good tip, but I prefer mine tight, so I know they won't putt apart if the wires foul something.

The old elastic band an a pair of pliers works well for soldering them, although I have a more re-usable solution, I set a few zip ties up so if I slide em on the handle it tightly grips the connector. I only have to use a pair of pliers if the cables are short on the item I'm soldering, usually I use a hobby vice.

They are still plenty tight enough to not come out, even with a good tug on the wires. You just don't have to risk breaking the connection or using pliars to get tehm disconnected as some of the terminals are that hard to get undone.

 

[sweetdiesel]

I didn't know you were referencing knockoff deans. I've tried the ebay knockoffs in the past and they were the opposite, too loose. I only run genuine Deans now and no issues with the connection as long as I solder them with a spare plug. Maybe I'm just lucky.

 

[CharliesTheMan]

I didn't know they were knockoffs until I did some research. They were sold to me as regular Deans. After doing a good bit of research, I learned that most of the people running deans on their RC's are buying knockoff and don't even know it. From now on I will only buy the real thing.

 

[WoodiE]

I'd be interested in see how the new Traxxas compares to the Deans, but I was very surprised how easy it was to make Traxxas connectors.

 

[Webbage]

Mine are undoubtedly knock-offs. They were very cheap and came from Shanghai BUT they work just great. IMHO they are just about right - stiff but not so you can't get em apart.

To be honest I can't see what disadvantage you have from using cheap replicas, at the end of the day it's 2 damned great slabs of metal with springs on the back mounted in a plastic (that doesn't melt!) block. That's what mine are and they do the job just fine and I have zero problems soldering them.

 

[HeartBreak]

Mine are undoubtedly knock-offs. They were very cheap and came from Shanghai BUT they work just great. IMHO they are just about right - stiff but not so you can't get em apart.

To be honest I can't see what disadvantage you have from using cheap replicas, at the end of the day it's 2 damned great slabs of metal with springs on the back mounted in a plastic (that doesn't melt!) block. That's what mine are and they do the job just fine and I have zero problems soldering them.

+1 on both parts. I bought 20 pairs for $12 from Hong Kong. They're knockoffs, but they work great. Plus, they do connect just fine with "official" deans connectors.

 

[CharliesTheMan]

I got mine, I think from a link that hearbreak provided on ebay, but it may have been from another member. They function fine, but they were a bitch to connect and disconnect without a pair of pliars until I used the grease. Now they work as they should.

The only problem that I have with the knockoffs is that if someone went and started mass producing my skidplates or other parts that I'm about to release, lots of which were of poor quality, and selling them for $1, I would be pissed when I was forced to go out of business.

Woodie, from what I've heard, the Traxxas high current connectors are pretty much a no loss connector and work as good as deans for RC use. The only reason that I'm not using them is because I have so much stuff that already has Deans on it, and the Deans stuff works great for me. If I was just starting fresh though I would strongly consider the Traxxas connectors.

 

[HeartBreak]

I think it was me that posted the link. I do understand where you're coming from, in a business sense. The only reason I went with the knock-offs' is price. I had a lot of stuff to convert over (adapters, chargers, dischargers, etc), and it just made sense to go the cheap route.

 

[CharliesTheMan]

Hey I went the cheap route as well, I wasn't criticizing anyone, it's just that after seeing how they work and hearing about how much trouble Deans is having, I decided to go with the authentic Deans connectors.

 

[mach1basher]

Great tip! Even though I don't have trouble pulling apart or connecting. Good thinking.