My Mac Andersons Melted

[kudos]

I took the bike out the other day to find the motor making a terrible straining noise and power was well down.

Thanks to this forum I knew to check the connections first.

I grabbed the phase connectors and straight away noticed that two of them were very hot.

I tried to pull them apart but they were sticking together. Managed to get them apart to find the housing had melted.

Snipped them off and replaced and we're back in action.

Has this happened to you?

Kudos

 

[GCinDC]

yep. i never bought the proper crimper, and at high amps, they always melted...

bought a few packs of 4mm bullets back in 2010, and never had the problem again...

 

[Ykick]

Good pics guys!

Even with the proper crimper I don't like APP's for motor phase wires. 4mm bullets handle my moderate (40-80A) phase current and bundle better inside the harness.

 

[kudos]

Nice collection of melt pics!

I did think of going bullets actually but I have the proper crimp tool now so it's a no solder job which I like.

To be fair this was the 'standard mac' from 2.5 years ago, the new 'upgraded mac' comes with bullets as standard.

Kudos

 

[melodious]

My PP looks just like yours :| I just used cable ties to keep the connections from loosening.

 

[arkmundi]

Anderson connectors are great and I use them throughout. I don't have the crimper either, which is why I solder the wire in place. The connectors come in various amperages, so you may want to upgrade on that basis.

 

[Architectonic]

I've melted lots of Anderson connectors. Not a fan. Bullets for phase and power IMO.

 

[GCinDC]

i loved the way the andersons locked together. maybe someone w/ a 3D printer could scale the powerpole housing up to fit snapin 4mm bullets?

 

[kudos]

Is there a triple bullet connector good for the three phase leads ?

Kudos

 

[izeman]

i loved the way the andersons locked together. maybe someone w/ a 3D printer could scale the powerpole housing up to fit snapin 4mm bullets?

this won't work as the pressure and shape of this little metal tongue is used to hold the connectors together. you lose that if you use bullets.

 

[GCinDC]

this won't work as the pressure and shape of this little metal tongue is used to hold the connectors together. you lose that if you use bullets.

the inside of the housing would have to match that of the plastic bullet housing, so the connector could 'snap in'. then the outside could be square like the andersons with the little tracks, so they could be attached... that's what i was thinking anyway. and they'd obviously have to be bigger, but same basic design on outside.

 

[TheBeastie]

Yeah I got sick of andersons, I kept melting the odd connector my self and its very annoying.
I found my own 4mm bullet crimp only solution out of desperation as I hate soldering.

I buy the presoldered connectors
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__24422__hxt4mm_w_12awg_silicon_wire_10cm_battery_side_5pcs_bag_.html
http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__24423__HXT4mm_w_12AWG_silicon_wire_10cm_ESC_side_5pcs_Bag_.ht



I then crimp them on to wires using these non-insulated butt connectors (10-12 gauge) I have bought cheaper ones from ebay sellers in china but these "Made in the USA" ones in the link below are just awesome and worth the extra postage money even if you don't live in the US like me. Preinsulated ones are just a pain in the ass avoid them. Just buy some heatshrink tube to cover the connections.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/100-Uninsulated-Butt-Connectors-Wire-Splice-12-10-Gauge-/350831063521?pt=US_Car_Audio_Video_Connectors_Terminals&hash=item51af2931e1&_uhb=1
Its hard to describe what make these specific connectors so great but they are, they got little thing inside them in the middle that holds the wire/butt in place while you handle the crimper, everything about them just feels quality, they are just way less fiddley then china ones.


Get a crimp tool, if you dont have one.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=crimper&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR12.TRC2.A0.H0.Xcrimp+tool&_nkw=crimp+tool&_sacat=0
The crimper I use is just ok but I still get much better connections all up, nothing even warm, much better then andersons that were getting so hot they melted. After changing to this setup I can quite literally feel better take off and general performance on my ebike, because all that good amperage is going where its suppose to.

This is the crimp tool I have, I originally got it for Andersons until I decided I dont like Andersons.
http://www.powerwerx.com/powerpole-accessories/tricrimp-crimping-powerpole-contacts.html
You can just unbolt the die set thats designed for Anderson and it then works great for butt/splice connectors.


If you still don't get it then heres a video on crimping butt connectors.

[youtube]pdBcPJ7Dtaw[/youtube]
Hope this helps some people.

 

[biohazardman]

Yum toasty/melty McAndersons, nice pics, probly somewhere in the four main food groups? Are those real Andersons or the counterfeit jobbies? I had two real ones melt until I got the right crimping tool and none since. Thought I did an excellent job on the crimping with my mediocre crimping tool cuz things looked so nice. Then I gave a tug on the wire and it slipped right out. Needless to say I went through the whole system after I got the tool and re-crimped everything. I do like decent 3.5 or 4mm bullets for my phases wires though as they take up less room and less shrink tube as well. Much more stealthy. Still I love my Andersons for battery connections that are often disconnected.