Need a spade connector.... what size, and where from?

[RostokMcSpoons]

One of the female spade connectors to connect from the gun to the motor has broken in my Classic Army M15... I went off to Halfords and bought the smallest one they had, but it's still mahoosive compared to the diddy litle thing on the other wire.   I'd say it's about 2.5 or 3mm across by memory.  (Stupidly I didn't actually measure it when I had the pistol grip apart)

I presume Amazon or eBay will be the best place to go (in the absence of bricks'n'mortar Maplin's stores :sniff:) but can someone let me know the absolutely-definitely-no-doubt-about-it correct size to order?

Cheers!

Edited December 27, 2023 by RostokMcSpoons

[Pseudotectonic]

2.8 mm

[JimFromHorsham]

2.8mm Or sometimes listed as .110” 

 

 

[Sewdhull]

The heschen female connectors 2.8mm from amazon are good quality compared to some of the rubbish out there. They feel right too. 3.79 for a bag of 100.

[gavinkempsell]

I got some from fleabay... 900pc Assorted Insulated Electrical Wire Terminal Crimp Connectors Spade Set Kit

Edited December 27, 2023 by gavinkempsell

[RostokMcSpoons]

Thanks chaps! 👍

[Speedbird_666]

I use these:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143048166056?hash=item214e55caa8:g:0hQAAOSwyYRcD-CB

 

Link above is for the exact retailer I used back in 2020 when I ordered them.

 

You'll need a terminal crimping tool to do it 'right' though:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154287918094?hash=item23ec46cc0e:g:ACYAAOSwuLJf~InA&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwP135fNtGdaCFCq6K0kaJ9mp%2F%2Foe%2Fp%2FENLgH2qXrLAXibdzuXe5p8aZohafUzuhecIB7sa2m1M5m60lWxcvpdNKLrt6BCgnTLWTtgcjyXCMulj1hCBfZtAIt%2B%2B4LKvufbQM7xvre2RORgq0aKzBNbpVGHwSO5AnqDEdML4IUrVb%2Faab5CGmjH2Ef8kedpCqAwswmA2k8MRkqU7RzH8QuE%2Fto000cukd%2BCZD3KwrAF0A95%2B0hlkQxJAN%2FMPOP3VkPGw%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR7T_lM6VYw

 

 

 

[Reef]

Anything electrical I swear by 12voltplanet. No association just happy customer.

https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/

[RostokMcSpoons]

1 hour ago, Sewdhull said:

The heschen female connectors 2.8mm from amazon are good quality compared to some of the rubbish out there. They feel right too. 3.79 for a bag of 100.

 

 

Thanks, I bought these as they're cheap, with free delivery tomorrow, spot on!

[Sewdhull]

A good crimper matters. Poor crimping will let go and can result in bad things happening.

 

If you choose to solder them bend to shape before hand and only solder the inner crimp, but I would choose crimping over soldering.

47 minutes ago, Reef said:

Anything electrical I swear by 12voltplanet. No association just happy customer.

https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/

This place is good. I've ordered stuff from these guys before.

[RostokMcSpoons]

I'll have to check whether my wire stripper tool can also crimp... But can't a decent pair of needle nose pliers in my highly skilled hands not do the job?

[Sewdhull]

I dunno, those connectors are supposed to end up with the tabs bent back in a u shape. A good crimp is better than a soldered joint, but a poor crimp will loosen and the cable not make proper contact, get warm and fall out. 2.8mm connectors are a bit small for these motors, some automotive connectors are better but the fit might be an issue.

If you don't have a decent crimper you're better off soldering the wire to a pre-bent connector, crimping the insulation for cable relief then heat shrinking the lot.

[Pseudotectonic]

I actually have that same style of crimping tool but it doesn't have an exact crimp for 2.8 mm for some reason and I ended up having to use needle nose pliers to do a better job, in principle you just need to make sure you apply enough crimping force to make it secure but not a deadly amount of crimping because you need to retain the diameter for conductivity

[RostokMcSpoons]

I should have added a : hugely rolling eyes in sarcasm: emoji after my comment about my skills 😋. So thanks for the hints.  I will take care with the crimp but my soldering 'skills' would likely be worse than anything I do with some pliers!

 

(I am trying quite hard to avoid spending £15 on a crimp tool that I won't get much use out of)

 

 

 

Edited December 28, 2023 by RostokMcSpoons

[Sewdhull]

I'm tired, probably lacking in sense of humour.

 

To no one in particular, crimping properly creates a molecular bond between the metals impervious to moisture, where soldering sticks the wires and connector together. 

 

 

[RostokMcSpoons]

7 hours ago, Sewdhull said:

I'm tired, probably lacking in sense of humour.

 

To no one in particular, crimping properly creates a molecular bond between the metals impervious to moisture, where soldering sticks the wires and connector together. 

 

 

 

I'm very grateful!  I didn't know anything about crimping, beyond what these guys taught me...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 28, 2023 by RostokMcSpoons

[Sewdhull]

15 hours ago, Sewdhull said:

That is some excellent crimping

 

[DanBow]

6 hours ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

 

I'm very grateful!  I didn't know anything about crimping, beyond what these guys taught me...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What. The Hell. Was. That?

 

Im too scared to laugh in case i get sucked into some strange wormhole of inappropriate humour!

[Sewdhull]

Take the plunge...go on

[RostokMcSpoons]

You gotta watch Mighty Boosh Surreal humour, loved it, got the box set etc

 

 

Well, I thought I'd give the crimping a go as I found my best needle-nose pliers.   I've not had much luck... perhaps all this talk of 'over crimping' has meant I've not 'fully committed', but the damned spade connector is never on tight enough to survive any manipulation.   I have got the motor to run though, I did get a good enough connection to do that... but when trying to fiddle the wires into place in the grip, it came off again.  

Is the fact I've got a multi-strand core the problem?  Do I need to tin it with my soldering iron for best results?

 

Edited December 28, 2023 by RostokMcSpoons

[Pseudotectonic]

The ideal is the two sides bending 180 degree back into the wire

 

But with needle nose pliers an overlap is probably more practical (unless you have the perfect crimping tool it will be impossible to achieve the correct 180 bend)

 

And arguably airsoft is not very critical application, so as long as it is secure enough, it is secure enough

 

1 hour ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

Is the fact I've got a multi-strand core the problem?  Do I need to tin it with my soldering iron for best results?

 

Nah multi-strand is not the problem. Don't tin it, it is going to be worse because tin cannot deform like copper and it will actually make it worse

 

Also note there are two pairs of "legs", one is for the wire jacket which is just for the mechanical stress relief, and another pair for the actual copper wires and this is for doing the actual work of conducting electricity

[RostokMcSpoons]

If my l33t needle-nose pliers skillz remain lacking, is this the very thing I need?

https://www.screwfix.com/p/forge-steel-crimping-pliers-9-220mm-/489XG

 

Ah, I forgot there was this one posted earlier:
 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/154287918094

 

And that actually says '2.8mm' on it, which inspires more confidence.   The main problems are it's a few more quid, and it's not available in a shop down the road

 

 

Edited December 28, 2023 by RostokMcSpoons

[Sewdhull]

You are crimping to get an electrical connection so you need to fully compress the wire inside the crimp so there are no gaps, deforming the wire and providing as much contact as possible with the connector. Folding the tabs over rarely provides this.

There are crimpers for insulated and non insulated wires.

The Screwfix one there is for insulated terminals.

The eBay one is fine.

 

This page shows a range of tools.

 

https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/cable-termination.html

 

You can see how small the gap is on the crimping tool jaws.

 

https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/non-insulated-terminal-crimping-tool-standard-duty.html

 

That crimper will do, altho I have the 40 quid one or similar. The ratcheting helps alot.

 

Wire thickness will affect the size and quality of your crimp. 16awg wire is the largest that will fit a 2.8mm terminal usually, which is the largest guage you'll see in Airsoft.

My perun doesn't even have that...

 

 

Cheapest is soldering the wire having lightly crimped with pliers and then crimping the insulation in the strain relief part of the connector. Bend it beforehand if you'll be bending it.

[gavinkempsell]

20 hours ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

I am trying quite hard to avoid spending £15 on a crimp tool that I won't get much use out of)

A crimping tool will last you a lifetime, you might only use it twice but it'll last a lifetime.

[DanBow]

20 hours ago, RostokMcSpoons said:

I am trying quite hard to avoid spending £15 on a crimp tool that I won't get much use out of

Isn't that one of the main purposes of being a man? A cave of tools that only ever see the light of day every other year?