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D sub pins in lieu of butt splice

B

Berchmans

Well Known Member
What are the downsides to using male/female D sub pins and heat shrink tubing in lieu of a but splice where no tension will be place on the connection? This makes a very compact connection.
 
crimp vs d-sub

The crimped connector is a "cold weld" and makes the best electrical connection. Down side is they are larger than D-subs. And can't be undone, except to cut wire.

D-Subs are small and can be undone. But the smooth sliding interface between pins is not as "solid" a connection. Probably good enough. I used D-subs on the electric elevator trim due to small size needed to go thru the clearance holes and potential to take it apart someday to change motor. And d-subs in all the avionics connectors of course. But butt splices every a splice was needed.
 
I prefer d sub pin connections with shrink tubing in lieu of butt connections. I think it’s a better connection and gives the ability to easily break the connection via cutting the shrink tubing if I need to remove the thing the connection ties together temporarily.
 
If you never intend to take them apart, just use a solder connection. That said, I've used the Dsub pins for the switch wiring in my Navion yokes. It's a PITA to strip the shrink wrap to disconnect them but no other connector was going to fit in there.
 
sglynn said:
The crimped connector is a "cold weld" and makes the best electrical connection. Down side is they are larger than D-subs. And can't be undone, except to cut wire.

D-Subs are small and can be undone. But the smooth sliding interface between pins is not as "solid" a connection. Probably good enough. I used D-subs on the electric elevator trim due to small size needed to go thru the clearance holes and potential to take it apart someday to change motor. And d-subs in all the avionics connectors of course. But butt splices every a splice was needed.
Click to expand...

As noted above a 'properly installed crimp' is superior to the pin/socket connection of a D sub.
 
I used spade connectors for things like fuel pump and flap motor. One lead has a male connector and the other a female so I can't install the flap motor backwards, or some such.

Not the same as D-sub pins but close. On the wings, I have knife connectors, which work. Just stagger them and add shrink tubing. Staggering them keeps you from having a big bulge to deal with.
 
I?ve used D-sub pins/sockets in a few places with the following mod: once they are together, I put a slight squeeze on the barrel with a cheap crimper. This gives the connection an interference fit so it isn?t so likely to slip apart. Then I cover the pin/socket with a fairly tight fitting shrink wrap, except I don?t shrink it. I just tie wrap it so it can?t move. Makes it easy to remove if I need to.
 
I wrestle with connectors all the time on certified and experimental airplanes and the worst ones are various connectors with heat shrink shrunk on them. I always find those on wingtips when I'm pulling them off and end up having to put the wing tip back on temporarily until I get a sharp knife to cut the heat shrink. Total pain in the a$$.

I have a nice collection of Molex mini fit jr. connectors of various pin counts from one to ten pins and you never have to worry about mismatching wires or getting polarities incorrect using them.
 
Deutsch

I have tried many connectors including Sermos/Anderson, Molex, Metri-Pak, Weather-Pack, D-Sub, and Deutsch.

I much prefer the Deutsch connectors. They lock, are easy to assemble and disassemble, are available from 1 to 12 pins, and are available with pins to 7.5, 13, and 25 amps.

The only negative I see is the crimper for the solid pins...However, after quite a bit of searching and a bit of luck, I found a used DMC crimper with turret head for a reasonable price...works great!
 
Use the right butt splice connector

I see too often the red butt splice connector being used on the small wires. A better and thinner choice is the smaller butt splice designed for 22-26 awg wire.

I use the Morris Products 12142 Butt Splice Connector

It's a bit more expensive, but a quality product. $19 for 100 on Amazon

Mark Klepper
N1075

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005GDFFKQ/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005GDFFKQ/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1http://
 
D-subs

I've used d-sub pins in a number of connections. Some I've had to take apart to make changes to the components.

D-subs let you disassemble and reassemble without cutting and making the wires shorter, and potentially causing a problem later.

I use two layers of shrink tube. One shrink tube over each pin connection, then a bigger size over all the pins and down the wires 1/2" or more. It's virtually impossible to pull them apart and there is no way the pins can slide out at all. Use a heat gun to disassemble so you don't cut/nick any wires.

Steve
 
Berchmans said:
What are the downsides to using male/female D sub pins and heat shrink tubing in lieu of a but splice where no tension will be place on the connection? This makes a very compact connection.
Click to expand...

Plenty of ways to make connections as noted by others. Evaluate your mechanical and electrical situation, then choose the one that you think best suits. Doesnt have to be the absolute best solution (ie the infamous "gold plating"), just good enough.
 
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