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prkaye

Well Known Member
My Vans Lighting System 6 came with a bunch of "Mate-N-Lok" connectors to be assembled (housings, sockets, pins). Do these require a special type of crimper to attach to the wire?
Does anybody know where i can find instructions on installing these?
 
TerminalTown.com sells the crimp tool, the pins and the connectors. If you already have the tool the only other thing you may need is the pin insertion/extraction tool.
 
See Aeroelectric web site reference articles

Bob Nuckolls keeps a pretty good set of reference articles on his Aeroelectric web site. Here's a link to his article that details how to install the style pins you are talking about:

http://www.aeroelectric.com/articles/matenlok/matenlok.html

You can get the crimping tool from B&C (part # BCT-1, which I think is same as what's available from TerminalTown or other places):

http://www.bandc.biz/cgi-bin/ez-catalog/cat_display.cgi?9X358218#BCT-

[Moderator's edit: The above link appears to be dead. The reader is referred to the following link to another B&C page for the BCT-1 tool: http://www.bandc.biz/openbarrelcrimptool.aspx ]

You can browse some of Bob's other helpful "how-to" articles at:

http://www.aeroelectric.com/articles.html

Good luck!
 
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Alternative to this type connector?

I hate this type of connector. I've used them in a few places but I find these very difficult to work with.

Just today I was making one of my last wiring connections, the PTT on the co-pilot stick. I started doing it with a small mate-n-lock connector because it's are small enough to fit in the stick. After messing with it for a while, I decided to try to find a different type of connector. Any suggestions for an alternative to this type of connector?
 
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PTT alternative

I just used standard insulated PIDG insulated spade connectors for the PTT connections:

ElectricalWiring03.JPG



I did the same thing on the passenger side but just before final inspection I pulled that wiring out of the stick and mounted the passenger side PTT in the panel on that side to make it less of a hassle installing/removing the passenger side stick (given my wife's and my son's preferences, I expect to be removing/installing relatively often once out of Phase I).

I only used the mate-n-lock style connectors in a few places, primarily on lines with three or more conductors.

other pictures at:

http://rv6aproject.ckhand.com/panelAndElectrical/electrical/electricalPg7.htm
 
Rick_A said:
I hate this type of connector. I've used them in a few places but I find these very difficult to work with.

Just today I was making one of my last wiring connections, the PTT on the co-pilot stick. I started doing it with a small mate-n-lock connector because it's are small enough to fit in the stick. After messing with it for a while, I decided to try to find a different type of connector. Any suggestions for an alternative to this type of connector?
Click to expand...

I LOVE the Mate-n-Lock connectors. I used them exclusively in my RV-6. After 11.25 years flying and more than 2,188 flying hours, they work great, have great reliability, and are easy to service. They are the BEST VALUE out there. IF there is something better is a LOT more money and more difficult to work with.
 
Rick_A said:
I hate this type of connector. I've used them in a few places but I find these very difficult to work with.

Just today I was making one of my last wiring connections, the PTT on the co-pilot stick. I started doing it with a small mate-n-lock connector because it's are small enough to fit in the stick. After messing with it for a while, I decided to try to find a different type of connector. Any suggestions for an alternative to this type of connector?
Click to expand...

Have you considered Deutsch connectors? They have a range of AutoSport (WRC, F1, etc) connectors and variants. Not even close to being the cheapest solution, but compact, light and reliable. They have GA and upwards products too... I've never tried to source those though. There's plenty of alternatives more comparable to Mate-N-Lok, like Metri-Pack and Weather-Pack, so have a browse in some automotive wiring catalogs... eg Waytek (although I see Aircraft Spruce has "Seal-All" that look just like Weather-Pack).
 
Whether you like 'em or not, it probably won't be the last open barreled type pin you crimp in your plane, so you should invest in an open barreled pin crimper. I think ours is about $30, and is good for the molex pins (we sell the exact same one B&C does), narco/king/icom square pins, small Garmin ground pins, etc.. Get one and you'll be glad later on down the road.

Cheers,
Stein
 
Stein, I already have 2 different open barrel crimpers but I may just go ahead buy yours to see if it helps. I have one that looks a lot like your SAT-018 and I also have an open barrel die set that goes in my Paladin ratching crimper.

The problem I have is that either the crimp doesn't lock on the wire or the body of the connector gets deformed and won't go into the Molex connector.

I also have a heck of a time getting the pins out of these connectors. I've already destroyed one SAT-033 (blue) insertion/removal tool
 
Thanks Guys!
Yesterday I sent an email to SteinAir ordering their Master Kit, and i see it includes an Open Barrel Crimper... sounds like that should do the trick!
Also ordered SteinAir's large black anodized vents... thanks to all those who gave their recommendations for these.
 
A good crimper makes the difference.

I got my first molex type crimper from a Weldon starter kit. Later on, I organized and attended an Aeroelectric clinic at my EAA690 chapter hangar. After Sir Bob Nuckoll's himself struggled to put a good crimp with my el-cheapo crimper, we quickly decided I ought to look into getting a crimper from the B&C site. (I'm sure Stein's is just as good. I've paypal'd Stein's site many a time for other electric stuff...)

What a difference the new crimper made. No more wondering if the crimp is good enough. I replaced my early attempts to do the wiring on my strobes with new plugs and pins. And now I'm actually impressed with the design of these things.

Don
 
I'll let ya'll in on a little secret. That Molex/Open Barrel pin crimper that we/B&C carry is from a machine shop here in the good ole US, and they are they guys who actually make many crimpers for AMP/Tyco, Molex and some Ideal stuff. The ones we both get are actually the identical ones to a few of the branded ones, without any branding on them. Of course you have to order large qty's from them, but in this case they aren't just "close" to some of the other branded ones, they are identical. Naturally that's not the case for all tooling we have, but in this case it is.

Anyway, just a neat point of trivia.

Cheers,
Stein
 
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