Adding connectors to wires helps with connectivity and allows for plug and play compatibility with electronic and electrical devices. This guide will provide an overview of adding and removing Molex connectors and housing to wires and the how-to process of doing so.
Let’s begin by taking a look at the components that will be involved:
- Wires
- Molex Mini-Fit Jr. Female Power Connectors
- Molex Mini-Fit Jr. Male Power Connectors
- Molex Mini-Fit Jr. Receptacle Housing
- Molex Mini-Fit Jr. Plug Housing
- Molex Crimping Tool*
- Generic Crimping Tool
- Header Pins
*If you do not have a Molex Crimping Tool, a generic crimping tool can be used.
All the connectors and housing used in this tutorial are rated for usage with 18 to 24 AWG wire. If you will be using a thicker gauge wire (< 18AWG), the part numbers provided in this tutorial will not apply. However, similar Molex accessories can be used. The connector housing requires the use of male Molex metal pins and female Molex connectors. The receptacle housing will contain the female power connectors, and the plug housing will contain the male power connectors.
Part 1: Stripping Wire and Adding Power Connectors
Begin by stripping back enough wire to ensure proper connection when crimping on the power connectors.
Load the un-crimped power connector into the crimping tool.
Feed the stripped wire into the connector and then clamp down on the crimping tool. Once completed, release the tool.
Part 2: Adding Wires with Crimped Power Connectors to Connector Housing
The crimped wires can now be fed into the connector housing. The orientation of the wires can be based strictly off preference or may be required to follow a certain pin layout, depending on the type of system that you are working with.
For example, a Progressive Automations control box may require the actuator wires to have a designated orientation to obtain an extend and retract sequence that correlates to the ‘up’ or ‘down’ activation buttons on a wireless remote.
Female Power Connector and Male Housing:
Male Power Connector and Female Housing:
The power connectors have hooks that allow the connectors to latch into the connector housing. Once the crimped wire has been inserted into the housing, it will be difficult to remove. However, there is a method of removing the wire from the housing without damaging the power connector.
Part 3: Removing Wires with Crimped Power Connectors from Housing
Since there are two hooks keeping the connectors in place within the housing, they will need to be pushed back to release the wires. In this tutorial, we are using flat header pins that are used to release the hooks. This is completed by pushing the header pin into the thin gap between the metal power connector and the plastic on both sides of the housing.
Once the header pins push back the hooks, the wire can then slide out of the housing without causing any damages to the power connector.
Removing the wires without damaging the connectors is a simple method of enabling users to switch the polarity of actuator wires without having the need to obtain additional Molex connectors or Molex Housing.
For further questions, reach out to us at sales@progressiveautomations.com