Detachable Wire Connections- DuPont or other method?

Using Arduino Project Guidance
1

I've had success using male Dupont connectors to make detachable connections to the female header pins of my Arduino Mega.

In my current project, I have wires soldered to a PCB in a case that run to soldered connections to LEDs and Buttons in the removable top cover of my case. I want to cut those lines and add a detachable connections using pins.

I planned to use male Dupont connectors on one side of this junction and female on the other. Surprisingly, I found the female Dupont connectors are not as deep as the female headers on the Arduino so that Dupont to Dupont connection doesn't stay together very well.

Is there a better way to make a detachable connection between two sets of wires?

2

I use Crimp terminated wires and housings from Pololu.com, these stay together quite well.
Pololu - Crimp Connector Housings

3

Thanks for your reply.

The connectors that I'm using are a different brand, however they look very similar to the ones you linked.

The issue is that the crimps in the female connectors, don't leave enough room for the male connector pin.

I've attached an image that shows the problem.

I'm using pre-crimped wires (similar to those available at the site you linked). I remove the single pin housings and replaced them with multi-pin housing.

It's possible I'm assembling these incorrectly, but the crimp only fits in one side of the housing.

Dupont.jpg
Dupont.jpg861×482 50.8 KB

4

Dupont.jpg
Dupont.jpg861×482 50.8 KB
It looks perhaps as if the crimping has been done badly and the stranded wire is extending into the socket space.

5

Thanks Paul. So it sounds like my problem is with the pre-crimped connectors and not the housings.

The female crimps on the Pololu site that @CrossRoads linked appear to have less material that would extend into the socket than the brand I've been using.

Can you confirm for most brands of rainbow wires with connectors, the male connector should fit snugly inside the female connectors with the two housings able to touch? On mine there is a 1/8 gap between the two housings.

6

If you have a 1/8” gap, the female connector was crimped with too much wire protruding past the bare wire crimp portion.

The DIY Duponts I make are tight and fit flush to each other.

FYI

https://forum.arduino.cc/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=376971.0;attach=153794

I use Dupont connectors all the time in projects and never had problems with them, however, all are DIY :).

7

larryd:
FYI
FYI Making DuPont jumper wires. - General Electronics - Arduino Forum

Note particularly illustrations 12 and 21!

8

@larryd, those instructions for DIY connectors are great.

Thanks to all for your responses.

9

I'm embarrassed to admit it, but the problem was simpler than bad crimps.

When trying to insert a 4-pin connection into the socket, the pins first stop at the tips of the female crimps.
I assumed the pins make butt connections with the female crimps. It turns out by pushing harder the pins will go through the small sleeves at the top of the female crimps. That makes sense because butt connections would not be very reliable.

Hopefully sharing this might help another newbie that finds themselves in the same situation. :blush:

10

:cry: you will not forget this :wink: