Does anyone have any experiance with intermittent connections using Deans Ultra connectors?

I have three planes each set up with their own ESC's using Dean's connectors, and each has their own battery.

Recently, all three exhibited power cut-out issues. (The set-ups are about three years old, although one plane has hardly been used).

The first time this happened I thought that the connection at the battery end (manufacturer's connection) had let go because the Deans end appeared fine and I got a "no battery" error message on my charger.

However, if I connect the Li-Po's to a Watt meter (no load) and apply a very gentlle pressure in a "break" direction at the Dean's connection,

Upon further inspection the cell end of the wire connections were found to be good.

The watt meter goes blank untill I release the pressure. This can be duplicated 100% of the time on these three batteries connected to the watt meter or the ESC's.

Pressure exerted in any direction at the solder joints does not cause this apparent connection loss.

The connecting tabs are clean (tried "scotch brite") and the "spring leafs" are intact on all the male connectors..

Note: Two other batteries with the same connections, zero failure with the same test(?) proceedure using the same male connector on the watt meter.

Anyone experiance anything like this; or have any ideas?

Al

C'mon guys; I can't be the only person in the RC community that has encountered this problem.[X(]
To sum up; power is totally cut when a little side pressure or vibration is applied to the mated Deans conectors.[&o]
No one else?

Al

Let me see if I get this.

It is narrowed down to only one battery. It is the fault of the female connector, right?
Can you list which terminal is going open? + or -

Which direction shall I apply presure?

Hi; thanks for the interest.

No, the problem is common to (3) three different Li-Po batteries. All three have been used in their respective planes many times over the past 3-years with no hint of this problem.

Two other bateries set up with exactly the same Dean's connectors do not exhibit this problem. (However, they are newer)

I have no way of telling which + or - (or if both) terminals are loosing their connection(s)

I can't take a photo and, yes, trying to describe how to apply the pressure is difficult to put into words.

Sooo; here goes my best attempt: Take the female connector and place it on a flat surface with the horizontal terminal on the bottom and the vertical terminal on top. '

All of my battery connectioins have the positive lead connected to the horizontal terminal and the negative lead connected to the vertical terminal when viewed as described.

Now, if you keep the female held firmly in this position, plug in the male connector with some type of visible load and then apply a little (it doesn't really take much) pressure to either side of the male connector, the electrical connection breaks. Or, to put it another way, if you hold the wider sides of the connectors between your thumb and forefingers and apply gentle pressure side to side, the electrical connection breaks. The pressure is applied the same way you hold a stick that you were trying to break in two, BUT GENTLY.

If I apply a rocking pressure to the connectors (I can't even detect any movement of the connection) when hooked up in the planes, the ESC will continually kick in and out.

I don't dare fly any of these planes while they exhibit this intermittent behavior.

Thanks again for the interest.

Respectfully, Al

Have you tried it with the failing male connector mated with a non-failing female connector. ie. using a good battery pack, (assume you
always put the female connector on battery and male on the load) with the same test, does it fail. If yes, then it is the male connector, if no, then test with a failing female conncetor and a non-failing male connector. Also, not throwing rocks but are they genuine Dean's conncetors and not knock offs?

What brand is the battery? Some of the cheap Chinese packs have "Deans" like copy connectors which are inferior and are probably the problem. Try replacing the connectors with genuine Deans.

Ok, I think I get it. 3 out of 5 batts are acting up. Your ends are wired correctly too.

I can't duplicate the problem , but can only guess it is the female connector being worn out. A quick test may be to plug the terminal in upside down to test the fit/continuity/wear of the neg and then plug it in "off-set" to test the fit/continuity/wear of the + one. I know it does apply the spring part against the mating terminal, but still may give a clue to where the trouble is.

Another idea is to check continuity of each pole to see which is giving trouble + or -. I'm guessing they wear about the same, yet the - is the culprit considering the presure you put on it sideways. What is surprising though is that a side pressure either way will break connection.

Hi Guver; and others.

Well; I brought my problem(s) to my LHS; one of the employee's Ray; is quite knowlegeable with respect to electronic issues.

We discovered that it is indeed the positive teminal connection on the female connector that is the problem.

It is Ray's belief that I used too low a wattage soldering iron when I made the connections.

He stated that it appears that I held the heat on the spade for too long a time.

Although this was required to get a good solder joint; it allowed the heat to build up in the body of connector which allowed the connectors to move out of proper alignment.

I bought a bag of Deans female connectors and replaced the three that were causing the problem. As an aside, I was just about ready to change all the Dean's connectors on my equipment to Servoss connectors.

This time I used a 100/150 watt soldering gun. Originally, I used a 50 watt soldering iron (because I didn't want to overheat the connectors! [:-]

The connections on all three batteries appear to be fine now, as I cannot duplicate the intermittent connection problem that I was having.

For both usal767 & LSF2298; yes these are genuine "Dean's" connectors; I purchased them from my LHS, who stands by what he sells.

Ray; stated that could see some movement of the positive blade within the connector housing. Alas, my aging eyes could not perceive any movement, so I took his word that the movement was there, and the careful replacement of the female connectors seems to have corrected the problem.

Thank you again for you interest and responses! All I can say is be very careful when making the solder connections.

It appears that you must use a gun/iron of at least 100 watts, be sure to pre-tin both the leads and the terminals, apply heat only long enough to get the solder to flow, and remove the heat as quick as possible.

I guess its like anything else, one must learn the proper technique as it applies to the project at hand. You must use enough heat to insure a good solder connection, but not so much heat that terminal can move.

I live in Connecticut and its snowing again Well, I guess that why we call it building time.

Happy flying all; and watch those solder connections!

Al

Thanks for the update and solution. It's always nice to hear feedback as to what the real trouble was.

Thanks for the update. I love the Dean's connectors but wish the housing was a little more heat resistant so it didn't soften when
trying to solder the leads. I'm going to check mine tomorrow to see if I can see any movement inside the connector. Again, thanks for sharing your findings.

I've had a nearly identical experience as Al with Deans connectors. I've replaced one female connector to solve a problem and must now replace another. While flying my foamy today, it lost all power. Luckily I was near the ground so no damage. I've performed a few diagnostics to determine the problem is definitely in the connector. A little wiggle is all it takes to break the connection.

Maybe it really is a soldering issue (though that just doesn't 'wash' with me). I don't claim to be a soldering expert, but have soldered plenty of successful connections.

I know these connectors have a fierce following, but here's my thought: If they're that tempermental, how good are they really?

Now my question: What's a good alternate brand of connector?

I like Powerpoles. http://www.flyrc.com/articles/using_powerpole_1.shtml