I have tried some of the connectors on the market, but always end up going back to hard wiring. Thinking about trying battery connectors again and would like some opinions on them. It may be helpful to some of the beginners out there also.

Or is hard wiring still the way to go ???

Thanks for your input,
AL

Deans connectors are the best out there. They have been tested over and over, and have the same readings as hard wiring. Remember when you use a connector to keep your wire length a little shorter then when you hard wire. The total length of wire and the connecter should equal you hard wire length. The longer your wires are the less efficient they will be. Also try to use as little solder as possible. to much solder creates a less efficient circuit.

I also heard the new Traxxas connecters are just as good as the deans ones. But It seems that 90% of the lipo packs come with a deans plug on them. Id say thats for a good reason.

Dura Trax-Power Pole connectors!!!!!!!!!!!.But ya cant beat hard wiring.

Deans, anderson and power-pole will all work and it is your choice since everyone of them is rated for 40A continous. I just recently tested one of my lipo packs at 60A using deans and 10Awg wire solderd to the deans. The connectors did not warm up after 1 min.

With every connector check the contacts. Sometimes they get gunky and need some motor spray. Just use your GFX and a battery cycle once on a dirty plug and then clean the plug again and see what dirt will cost you in mah and ir.

My vote would be for deans. I used connectors even when they weren't cool :p

My theory with hard wiring was always this. A guy quickly solders the same joint over and over with an ill maintained iron now is that joint really gonna have less resistance than plugs... I highly doubt it, and while we would all like to think we're all good enough to notice that difference that even a well soldered joint could make the fact of the matter is that most of us are not and that we need metering devices to tell us otherwise. This is because there is virtually NO difference. Really with the quality of connectors made today I would have to say that having shorter wires would be the only advantage hard wiring has over plugs because everything else about hard wiring is a PITA and the convenience of plugs far outweighs any advantage hard wiring offers :cool:

as tested YEARS ago, Sermos wins due to silver contacts.

But Deans are easuer to work with, what I'm using now.

....I would have to say that having shorter wires would be the only advantage hard wiring has over plugs because everything else about hard wiring is a PITA and the convenience of plugs far outweighs any advantage hard wiring offers :cool:

You forgot weight...
They are heavier. Although these days you use half
as many as the brushed days..

I switched to Deans after starting to have trouble with the contact on even brand new red/black (Powerpole, Anderson, Duratrax, etc) connectors. I had used the Powerpoles since I started racing back in '93 but started having problems with them making good contact about a year ago so I changed to Deans. Definitely take some getting used to soldering them and a "third hand" from Radio Shack is a must but I'm glad I changed.

You forgot weight...
They are heavier. Although these days you use half
as many as the brushed days..

But yet you add 2 oz to the car once your done setting it up right? :)

My vote would be for deans. I used connectors even when they weren't cool :cool:


I'm with ya there brother. Been using them from day one of my racing.:thumbsup:

But yet you add 2 oz to the car once your done setting it up right? :)

True...
but it's low, and where you want it...

I even use Deans connectors for the motor in our ROC class, I just reset my records for fast lap and 4 minute qualifer.

I love not needed a hot soldering iron in the pits all the time.

If Deans made a 3 pole conneector l _ l style, I would use it for when I change to brushless.

I do use silver based solder though when mating the wires to the Deans connectors.

I've never had an issue with Sermos/Anderson/AAMP connectors ONCE you got them clicked in....but that was the battle I hated.

BTW when I used to compete in multiple car audio classes, everything except the RCA's were on AAMP connectors.

If Deans made a 3 pole conneector l _ l style, I would use it for when I change to brushless.
I've never had an issue with Sermos.......

If you did want to 'connect' your motor, you could
with the Sermos type, as you can configure your own
design... if you recall... with as many as you want....
:thumbsup:

If you did want to 'connect' your motor, you could
with the Sermos type, as you can configure your own
design... if you recall... with as many as you want....
:thumbsup:
I've done that once. Three powerpoles together gets kind of bulky. So now I'm using the Castle bullets for brushless motors that aren't direct soldered. But I long for a 3 pin Deans Ultra.

This is my experience with connectors, The power pols are great, But, if your trying to use 12 gage wire, forget it.. the wire don't fit.. and if you do get it jammed in to hole, good luck getting the plastic housing on. I used them for a while and they cost me a few races by coming unplugged in a crash... The deans are also great, BUT, you better be good at soldering, and don't get it to hot, the plastic will melt and then you can't get a tight fit.. and again, one little bump, and your dead on the track.. This is why I always end up going back to hard wiring.. Hard wiring can also be a bit of a pain.. always having a hot iron siting on the table... trying to keep the tip in good shape.. and trying not to over heat the cell while making the connection... But while hard wiring, I have never lost a race because of a bad connection... And I cant prove it, but, I do believe there is a little improvement in performance by hard wiring.. and if you think about it the more solider joints you have the more chance of a power lose through a bad connection there is..
But as I said at the top, thinking about trying connectors again and wanted to know if there was any thing new and better that people where doing..
Thanks for all the replies. but I think I'm going to stick with hard wiring for a while yet..

AL

I found it was difficult to get 12 guage wire inside the 30 amp powerpole terminal so I came up with a solution. I use a finely pointed needle nose plier inserted into the barrel to expand it (open it up a little bit). I flux the wire, put some flux in the barrel and slide the wire right in. Then I close the barrel back up with a pair of pliers and solder it.

Yup, I've had powerpoles come apart in a hard crash. So now I put a little masking tape on each pair once connected and I've never had a taped pair come apart. Using that little bit of tape each time is way more convenient than a soldering iron each time.

I used powerpoles on the battery connectors on my 1/8th scale electric this past season (but I use the 45 amp terminals rather than the more common 30 amp terminals). We know those 1/8th scales with the huge Neu motors draw lots of current, but I've seen no problems using powerpoles. I would have used Deans in this instance had I been using a single 4S battery, but I was using two 2S in series and the powerpoles allowed direct connection of the plus of one battery to the minus of another, making for a much cleaner installation than using a wye cable with Deans.