PB Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Had a strange thing happen today. Bought a new Lipo battery, soldered a female deans to it, connected it to the charger - charger said no connection to the battery. Connected the battery to a model - nothing, connected it to another model - nothing. Connected another battery to the models and the charger and all was fine. Put voltmeter probes down the female deans I'd just soldered on, read 15.357v. Connected the charger again - charger said no connection to the battery. Then, as I eased the male charger deans out, the charger suddenly said battery connected. Went back to the models and sure enough they only connected to the new battery with the male deans pushed about ¼ the way into the battery's female. If I pushed the male all the way in there was no connection. I undoldered the battery deans I'd just put on and replaced it with another one out of my bit box. Everything was fine. So it looks as though I have an unserviceable female deans connector, and it's a bit worrying to think that these connectors can actually go unserviceable. Has anyone ever come across dodgy deans connectors before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingman Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 I've noticed that if you keep the heat on too long (or have two go's at soldering without letting it cool ) and melt the plastic the contacts can get very slightly out of alignment and don't connect with the male - it's such a small mis-alignment for such large contacts that it's not really noticeable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB Posted October 25, 2012 Author Share Posted October 25, 2012 Yes, it could have been heat damage but I've soldered dozens of deans without having this trouble before. I use an 80W iron and 60/40 tin/lead solder, never lead free solder. It only needs 2 seconds in contact with the work to flow the solder onto the joint and I always solder with a male and female pushed together for extra heat dissipation. So I don't know why this one should have suffered heat damage when none of the others I've soldered in the same way didn't, unless it was genuinely a duffer before I started. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunnyFlyer Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 I have heared about Deans going open circuit - but have never had the problem myself. At least it was very obvious when you tested rather than intermittent when in the air... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chambers Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Genuine Deans or Cheap knock-off Deans? Big quality difference between the two. A large proportion of the cheap deans melt easier, the spring steel is poor quality and has a low tensile strength, etc. Si. Edited By Simon Chambers on 25/10/2012 17:32:14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FunnyFlyer Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Thing is - how many of us have ever actually used "Real Deans"? How can you tell? Where can you source the real thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PB Posted October 25, 2012 Author Share Posted October 25, 2012 I think you can tell by price. You can pick up 10 pairs of Deans on eBay from UK based outlets for 3 or 4 quid but I wouldn't touch them with a barge pole. I pay £1.35 for one pair of Deans in my local model shop and I'm happy to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alwyn Gee Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Hi I've just copied this post I made a couple of months ago but did not get any repies to:- Since this happened I discovered that SMC do a pack 10 pairs of Deans Ultra connectors for £3.99 they are gold and have had no problems with them. Alwyn Hi Just recently had to make up a lead to connect 2 x 3s packs in series for 6s. I usde the deans plugs that I had in my box but was one short. So off to the LHS to pick up some more. Only three packets of JP Accessories polarized connectors left so I took them. I only used the female half of the new connector as it's mate was already in place on the ESC. Went to plug this all together at the field and there was nothing! No power getting through to arm the ESC. Checked everything with my multimeter and all seemed fine. Still no power. Tried a single battery direct to ESC and bingo we have power. To cut a long story short the new JP plug is white metal on the female ends and will not pass the power to the gold pins on the ESC. When discussing this with clubmates it seems that others have had the same problem with the same plugs from the same LHS and one model was lost because they did get an initial contact but then lost it in flight. Has anyone else had any similar problems with these plugs or is it a bad batch. The strange thing is that the male side of these plugs appears to be at least gold coloured but the female side is not. Wont be using anything other than gold in the future. Alwyn Edited By Alwyn Gee on 25/10/2012 19:53:01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bennett Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 I got my genuine Deans initially from Tower Hobbies in the US, but more lately from Electricwingman. You'll know if they're genuine Deans because they come in individual packets with the Deans name printed on. As for your dodgy connection, it's probably due to the flat spring going walkabout, or weakening. Edited By Allan Bennett on 25/10/2012 19:55:31 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Chambers Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 +1 on Electricwingman for genuine Deans. Like others said, genuine Deans are a LOT more expensive. I've given up on Deans now and settled on 4mm gold connectors. At least most Chinese factories can manufacturer them to some degree of standardisation. Even then though, I had a dud 4mm gold connector at the weekend. The contact area around the the loose section became black and the plating had worn off. This caused the resistance to go up and actually cause the solder around the lead to start to crystallise and turn into a dry joint. On top of that, the high resistance appears to have increased the impedance of the connector and wire loom - and I think it's killed the caps in the ESC. Not certain as I haven't checked yet, but the ESC glitching like hell and struggling to keep timing. So assuming that the ESC microcontroller is struggling to operate in the noise when running. I do wonder how much gold that half of these cheap connectors actually really contain though... Si. Edited By Simon Chambers on 25/10/2012 21:00:25 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Billings Posted October 25, 2012 Share Posted October 25, 2012 Hi, I too used to have problems with Deans, but now I have changed over to EC3's and EC5's no more problems, and a lot easier to solder. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulH Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Thanks Tony, I too have been having problems with Deans Ultra, the genuine ones. Not a connection problem, I've used them for years and only had a few duff ones. My problem is the difficulty in soldering heavy duty wires from 4c and 6c batteries, there really isn't much room and I tend to get it too hot in the process using a 50 watt iron which can make the pins misalign slightly. Further more after having an rtf fitted with EC5's I find my Deans a real fiddle to get apart. So I'm following your suggestion and have begun changing my fleet over. Paul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Crosby Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 I've had the same problem with charger v deans. I found that a quick, possibly short term, fix is to bulge out the leaf spring with a small fine bladed screwdriver. I guess it is possible that my deans are cheapos and I have removed the tempering from the springs whilst soldering. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben B Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 I don't like Deans. They're a pain to get apart and tricky to solder. The only advantage is that they're small. I've gone pretty much exclusively to XT60s and love them! It helps that the HobbyKing batteries come with them as standard!!! Although I do believe there are now fake XT60s circulating also..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Marsh Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 As said above, there are knock-off deans connectors. These melt easily, spring is not as tight and look different. Now we get fake Spektrum Receivers, Fake Futaba 3003 servos, fake Towerpro servos, and now even fake connectors! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatMc Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Phil Green warned about the problem months ago & explained what caused it in both genuine & copied Deans type connectors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plummet Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 I had a problem some time ago. It was with bullet connectors not Deans. My problem was that I had managed to coat the connector with flux while soldering, and it made a good insulator. Could this be your problem? Plummet Edited By Plummet on 01/11/2013 18:15:50 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erfolg Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Having managed to upset Phil Green recently over this very subject, i am still at a loss to understand what is going on. It does seem that there can be a problem. Yet it is this which I struggle to comprehend. The plugs incorporate features that switchgear manufactures see as a basic features, the first is that there is a large contact area, a second there is a wiping action whilst making a contact, the conductors are of ample cross sectional area. Of course switchgear incorporates a lot more features than our humble plugs. Though the features Deans incorporate are not common to all plugs, such as ample contact area, current carrying capacity, although most if not all feature the and self cleaning. Most people, including me find the main issue is separating the plugs due to the high pressure from the springs, and perhaps friction, although the surfaces on my plugs are very smooth. It is spring pressure that appears to be the issue. Yet, some are reporting problems. If the plugs are overheated and the components move, sufficient not to make contact, won't the spring pressure also have gone? Conventional misalignment i(that is sideways displacement) s not possible, with such a wide contactor. So what is really going on, is what is dumbfounding me, other than massive displacement/movement of the fixed (female) or the sliding (male) connectors. Surely this would be obvious due to housing distortion. If it were the sprung connector failure, would you not notice the ease of insertion and disengagement? Having said all of this I would probably use the XT60 type where polarity protection is required, if starting again. As for motor to ESC connection i use the bullet type connectors that most use. Most others I have used in the past, were questionable in current carrying capacity or bulkier than their rivals for the same performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PatMc Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Posted by Erfolg on 01/11/2013 18:25:35: Having managed to upset Phil Green recently over this very subject, i am still at a loss to understand what is going on. Phil explained it clearly enough. I assume that you have had the grace to apologise for you comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erfolg Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 PatMc, are you trying to be provocative? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete B Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 I rather think the moment has passed for any patching up, so you two can either square up with handbags at dawn and we can get the popcorn in - or we can steer the thread back to the original topic...... Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erfolg Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 At the very real risk of causing offence and perhaps starting a major conflict, I am still at a loss to understand how the problem arises,that is what causes the issue. There is what appears to me a vague statement that there is a break in continuity, very real to those affected. Yet to me and perhaps others who have never had an issue, difficulty to understand what has occurred, or perhaps better described how the issue arises. That is as long the plugs and sockets are to a manufacturing specification, or perhaps I am missing how the failure occurs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Harris - Moderator Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Looking at this thread prompted me to seek out the explanation suggested by Phil Green and it seems a quite logical explanation for a phenomenon that I have experienced on a few occasions. One of those was in flight and the model simply cut out and described a gentle arc into our safety fencing with no response to any inputs, sustaining only minor damage and allowing me to confirm the cause as an intermittent contact in the Deans plus/socket connection. On other occasions, an intermittent contact on connection has been resolved by re-tensioning the springs. I have to admit to having been quite baffled how gold plated connectors with a perfect wiping action could exhibit this behaviour so I welcome Phil's theory which seems quite plausible to me! Edited By Martin Harris on 02/11/2013 00:46:23 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Green Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Chaps, no-one has upset me at all, I simply sensed an argument brewing so took a step back. I've PM'd Carl (Erfolg) and everythings cool, but thanks Pat, Pete & Martin for your support. The problem is real, I wont go into that now but to say that separating the + and - of either the plug or socket is a complete cure - splitting the connector into separate pos & neg allows each to settle fully with proper sprung pressure on each contact. This tends to support the theory. Having said that I recently bought a couple of lipos from HK and the XT60s they came with do look very good, I'm tempted to change the lot but its a daunting task... On a lighter note, have a laugh at my expense... heres my Druine Akrobat with its newly-soldered & heatshrunk deans connector... Cheers Phil Edited By Phil Green on 02/11/2013 01:43:03 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bran Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Ah, good luck with the blades exposed on the battery then............... TEE HEE! (Some weeks ago I needed to make a EC3 extension...........I put the plastic bodies on the wrong metals..........They latch so well you cannot correct that!!!) From direct experience and info from others in one of my clubs (most of who now won't use Deans type at all), one source of issues is when used with larger voltage cell packs such as 6S. The "splash" connecting these appears (poss over time) to produce enough gritty "soot" debris to cause HR's to occur, and if this is buried unseen/unnoticed inside the socket area not even gold and the best spring steel is going to help you. Above 3S I now use EC5's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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