Electrical connectors

[Gordon]

I am confused about the connectors used for the CDI ignition modules for the Hall sensor and the battery connector. They say that they are FATUBA connectors and I have purchased premade cables from Amazon and I am not getting the correct connectors. Apparently there are JR, JST, SYP connectors at 2.54mm centers and 2.5mm centers.

Amazon offers a complete set with crimpers and connectors for $24 but I am not sure if that is really what I need. Input welcome.

https://www.amazon.com/Female-Conne...-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

 

[petertha]

Not sure if the typo is yours or from some documentation you are referencing, but I'm sure the name you are after is FUTABA (not FATUBA). Longstanding name in RC hobby (actually a huge electronics company in Japan).

Other than having an extra tab molded on the male & female plug for polarity alignment, they serve the exact same purpose as other 3-wire plug formats out there as long as the wires are in alignment: typically black, red & signal.

https://www.eurorc.com/page/157/rc-connectors-explained#:~:text=Futaba type of housing has,push them in to housing.

This is a great place to shop for wire, plugs & related goodies but might be over the top for your needs
https://www.hansenhobbies.com/

 

[Gordon]

OK I am sure that the the error is either my poor typing skills or my equally poor spelling skills.

It looks like the problem with trying to get a premade cable is that the wire color and placement is just what the seller decided on. Black right and white left for one supplier and white right and black left etc.

I ordered the kit from Amazon and hopefully that will allow me to make a cable in whatever configuration I need. I am ending up with one battery pack with black left and another battery pack white left. When I get the assortment I can probably do my own standardization.

 

[petertha]

If you don't need the signal wire for your application, just a positive & negative, then JST type plugs may be a better way to go (bottom plug in picture). They are also polarity protected via their shape. They typically have a bit higher current capability if that's a consideration. But be forewarned, JST is another format that has many flavors & variations. RC didn't invent this stuff, they just chose from nay available industrial standards. Much of this is coming out of China where they have their own standards, or they just plain don't fit a standard, or anything in between. But they are reasonably priced & generally do the job. So find a supplier you like (really Amazon has plenty) & buy a bag of 5, then you know they will fit one another. Crimping is not difficult but can be fiddly until you figure out how. For that reason some people leave the plug factory made & do their mods to the wire itself. Pro's & Cons to that, just telling you another way, at least to get going.

 

[Gordon]

As you said, everybody has their own standard. I am mainly using the connectors on Hall sensors and the battery pack to run the ignition module. I will probably look at what configuration that I have the most of and settle on that. I have tried just using the connectors but it really needs the crimper. I had a renter in one of my buildings a few years ago who made wiring harnesses and he gave me some of the connectors but they do not work well without the crimper. I am not going to do any production so the cheap crimper should work.

 

[petertha]

Gordon, more of a side note, but just curious what make of ignition system your are implementing? From some reading I've collected, looks like the hall sensor to module is always a 3-wire arrangement whereas other leads to battery or switches are just 2. Whether those all have to be the the same family of plug is up to you.

In RC where the signal wire is not required, you just easily modify a typical 3-wire servo lead by lifting the little latch on the plug, slide the pin out & peel the wire off the bonded strand bundle. Servo wire comes in different AWG sizes despite being the same plug if amp duty factors into any of this. Sometimes on the thicker gauges, the crimp pins don't play as nice. Also pay attention to the pins themselves, usually male pins in female housings & vise-versa. Their barbs match the orientation to aforementioned plug housing latches. What I do to further dummy proof them is make a dot on the plug housing with one of those permanent Sharpie markers, so dot-to-dot ensures you don't inadvertently force the plugs together & lets the magic smoke out. The Futaba tab makes it hard to force them backwards, but the JR style is less forgiving. Their profile is like a rectangle with 2 chamfers on one side. Always look at the wire colors.

 

[Daniel Williams]

I've had zero problems ordering Futaba extensions, battery holders with Futaba/JR connectors, connector kits with crimpers for custom needs and they all fit together. I use them all the time for the S/S Ignition bizz. I order from Amazon. They all fit my RC stuff as well.
PM me with exactly what you are looking for, and I'll see if I can send you a link that works for what you need.
Dan

 

[michael-au]

You can also get Futaba connectors and wire from here if you want to make your own

https://vi.aliexpress.com/item/1005...t_main.89.508e1802g3Km2f&gatewayAdapt=glo2vnm

I have used them and not had any problems

 

[Gordon]

OK As I understand it what I need is Futaba connectors, not JR connectors to fit my existing connectors. Mostly what I have are S/S modules but others seem to have the same configuration with a side tab for alignment, not a bevel. The JR connectors are probably just as good but they will not fit my existing connectors. I ordered a kit a couple of days ago from Amazon but they appear to be JR so I will cancel that. What I really want is a kit with Futaba connectors and a crimper. Very confusing for us non resistor twisters.
Thanks

 

[petertha]

You have it right. Now what some people do is ignore the polarity alignment slot on the Futaba female plug & insert a male JR plug because the chamfers are similar (JR's way of polarity alignment). Double check that the wires match. Similarly they nip the tab off the Futaba male & insert into JR female. It 'works' but its not optimal. There can be fitting issues depending on the mods & how accurately they are made to begin with. Another option is to lift the 3 clasps off the pin, remove the Futaba plug, leave the pins crimped to their wires & swap with a JR. (You cant do this with JST, the pins are different). So that way you can make use of a standard length servo lead & not have to crimp. The Futaba style polarity tab is just their style of a precautionary feature to align polarity.

As mentioned you can get these plugs, connectors, leads & crimpers in all kinds of electrical supply or hobby supply places. Here is another link
https://www.pololu.com/category/19/connectors

 

[Daniel Williams]

In addition to what Peter showed,

Amazon -

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BGX7157Y/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Look at the images on the sidebar, they show all the details of the orientation for all of the connector genders. Ignore the 2 pin JST connectors.

Dan