'Fixing' your Spark Fun 2-pin JST connectors
2011-Mar-25, Friday 07:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chebeI've talked about using Spark Fun's Lithium Ion batteries before, and of my frustration disconnecting their 2-pin JST connectors. As I've said before JST connectors come in different sizes, seemingly arbitrarily from every single different vendor. So if you're going to use Spark Fun's make sure you get some replacements with your order. You could get the headers themselves, and crimping pliers, and do it all yourself, but unless you plan on doing a lot that's a bit on the expensive side. I recommend getting some of the pre-made wires, with only plain wire on one end.
See, when removing my Li-ion battery to recharge it, the wires snapped right where they joined to the connector. I was forced to repair by soldering on one of the pre-made wires.
In order to make sure I didn't have to keep doing this I examined the connectors closely and found the problem.
It's those three lines of protruding plastic on top. Don't get me wrong, they should be there, they are part of what keeps the connector snugly in the socket. But on most of them there are, what seems like, artefacts left over from the moulding process. The 'fix' is to take your wire snips and cautiously trim back the excess plastic. You don't want to remove all of it because then it will be too lose. But you have to remove enough so that you can get it out of the socket without breaking it. That done these actually become quite a pleasure to use. A simple fix, but a necessary one.
See, when removing my Li-ion battery to recharge it, the wires snapped right where they joined to the connector. I was forced to repair by soldering on one of the pre-made wires.
 |
In order to make sure I didn't have to keep doing this I examined the connectors closely and found the problem.
 |
It's those three lines of protruding plastic on top. Don't get me wrong, they should be there, they are part of what keeps the connector snugly in the socket. But on most of them there are, what seems like, artefacts left over from the moulding process. The 'fix' is to take your wire snips and cautiously trim back the excess plastic. You don't want to remove all of it because then it will be too lose. But you have to remove enough so that you can get it out of the socket without breaking it. That done these actually become quite a pleasure to use. A simple fix, but a necessary one.
