LiFePO4 Battery Showdown!

[mn_aerorider1]

Will cutting the balancing plugs for the cases off our Dewalt BMS be necessary, or did you find a compatible plug with wires attached, that fit the cases?

I think I saw some plugs over at the Mouser site from another post somewhere in this forum, but I am not 100% sure they fit.

http://www.mouser.com/search/refine.aspx?Ntt=538-22-03-5055

Plus, adding the terminals and wire to this plug looks to be tedious to say the least.

No, those won't work. The pitch needs to be .100", which is 2.54mm. These are 2.5mm. The DeWalt plugs are rounded on two of the corners.

There are some plugs that can be made to work, but then you still have to add wires. It is much easier to simply cut the plugs off the DeWalt units, and solder them to a board.

-- Gary

I beg to differ - the Dewalt 5 pin connectors are 2.5 mm pitch, not 2.54 mm pitch. These 2.5 mm connectors I bought from a Taiwan manufacturer have rounded corners and fit perfectly in a 2.5 mm female board connector like the one EMF found at Mouser.

(The 2.5 mm female board connector still fits OK in the holes of a standard U.S. 2.54 mm spaced circuit board, such as a strip board, because it is only 5 pins long.)

The disadvantage to cutting the plugs off the Dewalt units are
1) You essentially sacrifice the BMS module and

2) If you want to make the wires longer, you need to make splices which can be unreliable and ugly.


Brian

 

[GGoodrum]

Hi Brian, and welcome.

You are right, they are very close, and I'm sure you have the correct ones. There is still the issue of having to put wires on these. Also, as far as I'm concerned, the DeWalt BMS is pretty useless, for our purposes. I've got piles of them that I'll never use.

What would be good, however, is if there was a PCB-mountable version of these connectors. That would make it much easier.

-- Gary

 

[mn_aerorider1]

Hi Brian, and welcome.

You are right, they are very close, and I'm sure you have the correct ones. There is still the issue of having to put wires on these. Also, as far as I'm concerned, the DeWalt BMS is pretty useless, for our purposes. I've got piles of them that I'll never use.

What would be good, however, is if there was a PCB-mountable version of these connectors. That would make it much easier.

-- Gary

Hi Gary,

I see your point of view. I've burnt out several BMS modules, and am using them directly to charge my pack, so I personally consider them pretty precious. I also like to use the small 22 gauge silicone wires that are super flexible to connect to the BMS ports of the Dewalt 36V batteries. Easier to work with...

I am not aware of any pc-mountable version of these "male" connectors - that would be an improvement to doing the crimps, (although crimping is not difficult in small quantities and standard crimping tools work well) I am using the "female" right-angle version from Mouser that plugs into a circuit board to mate to the connectors of the BMS module connectors themselves.

Any interest in trading 2 of your LVC kits to me for some of these 5 pin connectors and pins? You could sell them separately, or as part of your LVC kits, even unassembled... I still have hundreds left that I'd love to unload and see put to good use....

Best Regards,

Brian