pic: Anderson motor disconnects

[Richard McClellan]

I absolutely love the smaller Anderson powerpoles! Just remember the convention if you're looking into the connector: "Tongue down, hood up, red on left, black on right!"

And the gold fans? Did you guys take out the blades and paint them? Is that within the rules, or would that be modification of an electrical component? Either way, they do look cool

[Cory]

We had major issues with these in 2006. We had all our motors using Anderson quick disconnects, all properly installed, crimped, soldered, etc. We had intermittent contact issues on numerous occasions, even after totally replacing the crimps. Eventually we decided it wasn't worth the hassle, and went back to using standard connectors.

[MikeJ675]

It sounds like a silly question, but were the contacts fully inserted into the housing? If not, that could cause the contact issues you had as the contacts will not be in the right position and even able to pull out completely.

[DonRotolo]

West Mountain Radio sells an excellent crimper for the PowerPole 15/30/45 amp series, worth it's weight in gold.

Don

[Cory]

Originally Posted by MikeJ675

It sounds like a silly question, but were the contacts fully inserted into the housing? If not, that could cause the contact issues you had as the contacts will not be in the right position and even able to pull out completely.

Yes, they were.

[Drwurm]

The powerpoles are a bit pricey for my liking. I think you're better off with the usual spade connectors.

[jason701802]

I've had to use pliers to many time to get the spade connectors apart. i use these when ever i can. and mcmaster has them.

[dlavery]

Originally Posted by Cory

We had major issues with these in 2006. We had all our motors using Anderson quick disconnects, all properly installed, crimped, soldered, etc. We had intermittent contact issues on numerous occasions, even after totally replacing the crimps. Eventually we decided it wasn't worth the hassle, and went back to using standard connectors.

Cory-
I am not sure why you had problems with these. We have been using them for years. Provided we assemble them with some care, we have never had problems with them and they have been very reliable.

-dave



.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by dlavery

Cory-
I am not sure why you had problems with these. We have been using them for years. Provided we assemble them with some care, we have never had problems with them and they have been very reliable.

-dave



.

We aren't sure either. We never took the time after the season to pursue why they weren't working correctly for us. I'm sure if we did, they'd be fine.

I didn't mean to put anyone off to using them. Clearly others have had good experiences. Just to be very, very careful with how you assemble them.

[MrForbes]

Something about my life experiences with vehicular electrical systems makes me think that putting a ring terminal on the end of the motor wires, crimped and soldered, would be the most reliable way to go. This requires designing the robot around this concept, though! like putting the Victors next to the motors, and fully accessible.

[Pavan Dave]

My team has used Anderson Power Pole quick disconnects since I joined and we use the 45 AMP ones. You can get those at Allied Electronics if you don't like the sites listed by the people that posted above me. These are very reliable but you have to be careful with two things. One is that IF you solder, you make sure that you don't get past the crimp. If you get even a little bit of solder past the crimp than it has a possibility of causing problems snapping in. The second is that you have to make sure you hear the "click" noise. If you didn't I'd a) make sure that I inserted the pin correctly and b) grab a pair of needle nose pliers and try to push the wire forth. If you still can't get it in I would recommend crimping on new leads.

Also I recommend to ANYONE who is doing something like this to use ring connectors. It may be a bit painful to unscrew and then tighten the screws back in but overall it will be worth it when it comes down to troubleshooting a problem because that eliminates one important variable: a bad connection.

Pavan.

[Newzealand38]

thank you for all the responses we printed them out and are now haveing an intense debate.