Technical Electrical plug in connectors

I don't drive in rain as a rule but others do...and if this was between the rad and the shell it may be vulnerable on a highboy. I'm no electrician but yes a sealer would perhaps eliminate potential issue. Oh and then theres shrink tubing perhaps with a dab of sealant at each end after the fact.

 

I don’t think non waterproof Packard type connectors are something I would consider using.
I don’t think I’d want to rely on some sort of sealer.
To simplify things a small waterproof type of connector that would fit through the holes for the headlights wiring conduit in the grille shell and the headlight buckets too would be ideal.

4 wires, high beam, low beam, signal and park lights that are in the top of the guide 682-c.

So, 2 double wire connectors
Wonder if anything that small exists.

 

I would think so maybe even 4 in one modern aviation...Aircraft Spruce comes to mind as it sells to the little guy...

 

I’ll keep looking, haven’t found anything yet in searches.

 

4 pin which I think means wire...and it may be very small perhaps .250"...dunno
Might be cable dia not connector.

https://www.ledjump.com/products/waterproof-4-pin-rgb-male-female-connector

 

18 Gauge wire is very light for incandescent light bulbs, should work OK for LED turn signals and marker lights.

 

Headlights no right?

Sorry I just saw incandescent...so no to that...

problem with this like so many is dimensions are no where to be found...and obviously gauges.

 

This would probably not be what you are after, but I have thought of using a 4 pin Mic plug and socket for a similar deal. The socket could be made waterproof with an o-ring and some sealer, but the current draw for headlights might be more than they could handle.

 

My '57 F100 just had molded bullet connectors (male and female) for all the headlight/turn signal wiring. When I rewired the truck I just replicated the way it was built at the factory but used crimp on or soldered/shrink tubing new bullet connectors. Worked great and not much bigger than the wire diameter. I plan to do the same thing on my current builds.
SPark

 

I mount one of these to frame,or sheet metal where you can. Then wire to each side with ring terminals. Spray them with Boe-shield T-9 and they won't corrode. I also used them under the dash for gauge harness and dash lights also so you can wire off the car and just install.
May not be as "clean" as a connector or as fast, but they work and if treated right won't corrode.
https://www.bluesea.com/products/category/19/10/Terminal_Blocks/Terminal_Block
https://www.theruststore.com/Boeshield-T-9-12-oz-Aerosol-P3.aspx

 

I tried to position the connectors so they were tucked out of sight, as a result they are behind something that would help shield them from direct spray.

An observation I will make based on 3 decades of fleet maintenance in the trucking industry is this, items intended to be "waterproof" will often trap moisture if the seal fails.

 

To bad you have to have to run the wires thru holes in your grille shell; otherwise you could leave the lights in place for regular service work.

 

I would just make a bigger hole that will fit whatever connector, and use a grommet to shrink the hole to wire size. Then just pop out the grommet if you need to pull the wiring.

 

Something like this maybe.
http://www.directindustry.com/prod/hirose-electric-europe-bv/product-20697-1609807.html

 

Larry, you might find something HERE that would do the job. HRP

 

Neat!

 

The wires come out of these and have been used for many years.
Reinventing the wheel?

 

If you were paying attention you would realize that we are talking about the wires coming out of the headlight bucket itself and then they run through the conduit to the sides of my grille shell.
With my guide headlights this also includes signal light and park light wires.

The desired disconnect will be inside the grille shell so that things can be removed without cutting wires.

 

@Blue One , I like wiring connectors as much as the next guy but the problem up front is that 1/2" hole that you have cram the connector through when you service the headlight. My '34 had 4 wires to each light, would have been 5 but I ran the ground through the light base. I ended up using the bullets and receivers that @LM14 refrenced above. They can be disconnected and passed through the hole individually provided you leave enough wire to do that.

Tip one: Color code them and match them side to side
Tip two: after install I had made a leather sleeve that cover up the connections and closes with Velcro.
Tip three: always tip your waitresses

 

Thanks Billy
After looking at all the responses and searching all the options I really think this will be the easiest way to go.

No need for connectors at the bottom of the conduits inside the grille shell and no worries about them being water proof because they are inside the headlight buckets.
And for sure the ground can go to one of the mounting bolts so 4 wires per side.
Larry

 

So, then the next question arises, who makes the best quality bullet connectors ?
I’ve seen some that were obviously of questionable quality and I actually really despise the red blue and yellow plastic crimp terminals.
I really prefer to properly crimp and shrink tube but that’s probably not an option for bullet connectors.

Maybe I can find some good quality crimp and shrink glue lined bullet connectors.

 

These are the ones Stogy was talking about.
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/project-29-phaeton.772795/page-22#post-12620470
Wanted that "Bonneville Style" Remove 4 bolts + Untwist the Mil Connectors (Water Tight!) -
And Headlights, Fog Lights and Horns come right off!...5 minutes!

 

If you're going to use bullet connectors and want to weatherproof them, go to your local motorcycle wrecking yard. A lot of the Jap bikes in the '70s/80s used those, and had soft vinyl slip-on male/female covers you could slip over the uninsulated connectors. They won't stop full immersion, but will keep splashes off. You may be able to buy these new, check vintage bike parts suppliers.

 

I looked around for the Mil connectors and found that they are really hard to find as a complete male and female pair that fit together.

At least I had a hard time locating listings for them.
Another thing I noticed was that there were no physical size details for the ones I did find.

 

If I use the bullet connectors the waterproof factor won’t be an issue, as they’ll be inside the headlight buckets.
I know the connectors you’re talking about having owned several new Honda’s during that time period.

 

Military surplus maybe? Those place sometimes have neat stuff.
They make coloured shrink tubing Maybe even different mil thicknesses and its inside the bucket anyways it just has to be good for moderate if any abrasion

 

@Blue One I was at Canadian Tire (I have no Affiliation)... a while back and they had some pretty good selections of those pin type M/F Connectors with heatshrink sheathing...might be worth a visit. Again its not a visible link it just has to work, protect and be of worthy quality and in the end you could colour code several ways...if needed.

 

ok.....I hate to say it...found some good stuff from China...
on E-Bay!..Some, few...things are good.
Military twist connectors.

Twist Click ... They Really Work!
GREEN:
Brush'em with paint stripper...get that green off.
EAST:
Tried a few from the East...4 crap! 1 good...
USA?
Anyone Know's someone here that sells "Real Stuff" IN PAIRS!

Solder Pins.

 

Well does anyone out there know a source for the motorcycle connectors? I've always wanted to use them too.

Sent from my SM-T350 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Yep, when I was in the .mil even those Cannon plugs or Amphenol connectors, multi-pin gold plated etc $$$ every once in a while some avionics component or gee-gaw would wig out. The equipment bays were more or less waterproof, the connectors often aren't. Usually it seemed like extremely dusty or dirty environments would cause faults. Even if the equipment bays were clean, some tiny mote of dust would find the right spot, or something. Never did figure it out.

Cleaning the connector with Trike, blowing it out, ritualized incantations and reseating would often clear the fault. This would sometimes save me countless hours of replacing some inscrutable gray box and then maybe a required test flight, and the rest of it, so I quickly learned to check the connectors first to rule those out. On top of these the .mil had EMP protective devices that were also prone to failure or just wearing out.

The manuals specified a whole stable of specialized cleaners and CPC products, many probably banned by now. It taught me that most connectors and connections are at best just a source for future trouble. Good materials and design are important but any connector will to be fettled with now and then to keep the electrons happy.