Restock Weatherpack supplies, or switch to something different?

[FigureItOut]

I've been using Weatherpack connectors for a while for various things, but I'm thinking about trying a different system since I'm low on contacts, housings and seals. The system has a lot of pros: it's inexpensive, virtually all of my supply vendors carry it, they're easy to assemble, and the contacts go all the way up to 12AWG.

Cons: I understand it's not as reliable as some of the newer systems, and I've had my doubts about the quality, the connectors are bulky and density is probably the worst among all the options, and too many mating cycles really seems to degrade the connection.

All that said, the cost of entry into a new system is always pretty high, good crimpers are expensive and my standard for a good crimper is pretty high.

I also use Molex mini-fit jr. for connections where environment and water intrusion is not a major concern, and I'm very happy with it, so I'm definitely looking for a sealed connector system. My use is automotive upfitting and accessories.

So do I stick with "good enough", or is it a good time to upgrade instead of restocking?





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[BroncoAZ]

I still use weatherpack, as does a buddy who builds prerunners. If they aren’t failing for you is something else worth the extra cost? I haven’t looked into alternatives, what else are you looking at?

 

[matt_i]

Having spent a few hours repairing broken wiring in Amphenol connectors I'd say that increasing the density isn't necessarily a good thing. Its painful to have to deal with 24 wires in something like a 1-1/4" place to work and the super fragile plastic extractors one has to buy in quantity as several get consumed on each job. Granted Amphenol isn't the same class as Weatherpack - Metripack but the comments about density require more dexterity and finesse and while its great to work on the bench as we know a lot of wiring jobs on vehicles get done in less ergonomically correct positions

I also have the weatherpack set and its done very well for a lot of trailer wiring upgrades. I would continue to use it.

I'm also curious as to what other "sets" of products are out there and how they stack up price-wise? The Weatherpack-Metripack are really cheap but one has to buy 5 figure quantities to get there. The cats restocking the kits in 50-100 quantities are making the coin...

 

[ransil]

Deusch or the equivalent are nicer, smaller and have higher pin counts. Cost is higher. I use both.

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[Stooge]

At work, a good 90% of the wiring I do is amphenol. its great for what we need it for, and what I think is one of the big pros of amphenol, which involves needing to constantly connect and disconnect from test devices possibly thousands of times over the course of the device's lifetime. But they are also somewhat heavy and, atleast the ones we get, theres no mounting device on the connector to keep it secured and while I don't think having an unsupported aluminum connector is going to cause it to fail, I could see it looking a little untidy in an finished car, unless it was mounted in a firewall/ bulkhead. For things that don't need to be regularly disconnected and needs to be reasonably watertight, I would stick with what you are already invested in, atleast for the things that possibly exposed to the elements.

20190620_073430 by Dan Haas, on Flickr

 

[LumpyMusic]

I've never heard of a "reliablilty" issue with WeatherPak's. I've got some on my 30 year old chevy. Never an issue. I've seen, worked on tons of them from cars newer and older than that. Never seen a failure.

What kind of reliability/failure issues are you seeing?

Thanks - Lumpy

 

[Luciferi]

Weatherpacks are garbage and real ones are expensive. Only benefit is large current capability.

Look into Metri pack gt150 and gt 280 series. Less expensive, smaller, and up to 16 pins. There are also mixed gt150 and gt280 connectors. The gt150 has a specific crimper that does the wire and seal at same time. Terminal removal is also very easy.

 

[FigureItOut]

Weatherpacks are garbage and real ones are expensive. Only benefit is large current capability.

Look into Metri pack gt150 and gt 280 series. Less expensive, smaller, and up to 16 pins. There are also mixed gt150 and gt280 connectors. The gt150 has a specific crimper that does the wire and seal at same time. Terminal removal is also very easy.

Right now I'm looking pretty hard at the 280 series. Everyone carries it so I don't have to wait for an order from a specific supplier to restock. And up to 25 amps! I was also looking at Deutsch DT series. I really liked it because it looks like there's a great assortment of boots, backshells, flanged receptacles and bussed housings. Do you know if the GT280 series has anything like that? If so, I'm not finding it.

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[FigureItOut]

I still use weatherpack, as does a buddy who builds prerunners. If they aren’t failing for you is something else worth the extra cost? I haven’t looked into alternatives, what else are you looking at?

I was initially looking at Amp Superseal, Molex MX150, Deutsch, GT 280 and a few others.

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[Luciferi]

The gt280 doesn’t have all the extras that deutsch does. I love Deutsch connectors but the prices have become outrageous, even the fake ones. The dt series drawbacks are size on larger pin counts and only handles 13a. The solid terminals with mil spec crimper are great. I pretty much stopped using them since everyone thinks they are free and take them. I lose money using them.

You can get panel mounts with mx150. I have yet to get the crimpers for them since they use 4 $300 crimpers. I am using a metripack crimper on them and doesn’t work too great. I bought the Molex removal tool but still can’t get out terminals(even factory crimped)out most of the time, I have best luck with paper clip. You can’t remove the front lock, it breaks. I have taken the front lock off and the terminals twist around making it difficult to realign especially with high pin count.

 

[FigureItOut]

The gt280 doesn’t have all the extras that deutsch does. I love Deutsch connectors but the prices have become outrageous, even the fake ones. The dt series drawbacks are size on larger pin counts and only handles 13a. The solid terminals with mil spec crimper are great. I pretty much stopped using them since everyone thinks they are free and take them. I lose money using them.

I work alone, so that's not a huge concern. I really like all the little extras, and it looks like the same crimper will also get you into the DTP series, up to 25 amps. The only thing still kinda pushing me towards GT280 is the price and that they're a bit more common in OEM, so if I'm tooled up to use it that gives me the ability to do repairs on more stuff.

You can get panel mounts with mx150. I have yet to get the crimpers for them since they use 4 $300 crimpers. I am using a metripack crimper on them and doesn’t work too great. I bought the Molex removal tool but still can’t get out terminals(even factory crimped)out most of the time, I have best luck with paper clip. You can’t remove the front lock, it breaks. I have taken the front lock off and the terminals twist around making it difficult to realign especially with high pin count.

That's always pissed me off about Molex products, using just one series of products, you need different crimpers for male and female and different size contacts. If you want to use just red, blue and yellow quick connects with the double crimp sleeve, it's 5 $400 crimpers. I found one that works well on all six and got an Ebay deal on it for $200, but it's only technically the right tool for one of the six. The mini-fit Jr. thankfully uses just one crimper, and I got that for $100 on Ebay.




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[RedneckWelder]

We use Deutsch and another similar connector (amp seal maybe). Uses same pins, deutsch used wedges while the other uses keyed terminals. Easy to repair, easy to make jumper wires and testing harnesses

 

[Luciferi]

I work alone, so that's not a huge concern. I really like all the little extras, and it looks like the same crimper will also get you into the DTP series, up to 25 amps. The only thing still kinda pushing me towards GT280 is the price and that they're a bit more common in OEM, so if I'm tooled up to use it that gives me the ability to do repairs on more stuff.


That's always pissed me off about Molex products, using just one series of products, you need different crimpers for male and female and different size contacts. If you want to use just red, blue and yellow quick connects with the double crimp sleeve, it's 5 $400 crimpers. I found one that works well on all six and got an Ebay deal on it for $200, but it's only technically the right tool for one of the six. The mini-fit Jr. thankfully uses just one crimper, and I got that for $100 on Ebay.




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What are you workin on? I see a lot of Molex, amp and yazaki lately on gm/ford.

I use a daniels crimper for the deutsch. A knob a with presets to select wire size/depth. Another knob to select terminal size 12/16/20.

You can get both series. The gt280 are cheap enough to get a few to try out. I use a Delphi crimper for the smaller gauges and a generic for 10/12g, I think it was under $200 for both. Those crimpers work on metripack and I use them on 630. They are pretty successful at crimping quite a few other terminals.


I have been stocking, deutsch dtm, dt, dtp, metripack 150 and 280, gt150, gt280, weatherpack, 56, 630, 100w ecu pins, Polaris ecu pins. I have started getting mx150, Mini fit jr, mcon, and Molex jwpf. I also have few different Ford/gm bcm pins.

 

[mikehaugen]

I apologize for drifting the thread, but while everyone's mind is on weatherpack, has anyone used the astro weatherpack kit? 9478 I believe? It gets good reviews but honestly I trust gj users' opinions more.

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[paranoid56]

after using weatherpack for years, i sold all that **** 2 years ago and went with Deutsch and havent looked back. I do a lot of custom wiring and its so much nicer to use, I dont see failures as much as the weatherpack (would see moisture in the connectors) and didnt like how big they were.
i normally pick up my stuff at waytech wire in bulk so cost isnt to bad

 

[WhoWhatNow]

May be a slight thread highjack, but what do people thing about AMP connectors? I think this is what most of German cars use.

 

[iowa4x4dieselman]

Another vote here for Deutsch connectors over weatherpack. there are many different configurations though IE square, triangle, round. This could be good or bad, depending on what your use is though. Deutsch connectors have a wide range of gauges from 28-4 AWG also.

 

[Fix Until Broke]

Another vote for Deutsch and/or the Molex equivelant (ML XT). They're very conservatively rated, high performance, super modular and easy to assemble/disassemble. The Molex versions have some nice features that the Deutsch ones don't have too.

DT and DTM should fit most all applications, DTP if you need higher sustained currents (though I think they only have 2 and 4 position connectors).

A second recommendation for Waytek as well.

 

[C.L S2000]

I apologize for drifting the thread, but while everyone's mind is on weatherpack, has anyone used the astro weatherpack kit? 9478 I believe? It gets good reviews but honestly I trust gj users' opinions more.

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You know, I was thinking the same thing? but since the thread jumped to Deutsch, I seen they have a Deutsch crimper too.. I have the 9477 and I love that thing but wondering if anyone used these crimpers for Deutsch and if they are any good ??

http://www.astrotools.com/9479.html

 

[FigureItOut]

What are you workin on? I see a lot of Molex, amp and yazaki lately on gm/ford.

I use a daniels crimper for the deutsch. A knob a with presets to select wire size/depth. Another knob to select terminal size 12/16/20.

You can get both series. The gt280 are cheap enough to get a few to try out. I use a Delphi crimper for the smaller gauges and a generic for 10/12g, I think it was under $200 for both. Those crimpers work on metripack and I use them on 630. They are pretty successful at crimping quite a few other terminals.


I have been stocking, deutsch dtm, dt, dtp, metripack 150 and 280, gt150, gt280, weatherpack, 56, 630, 100w ecu pins, Polaris ecu pins. I have started getting mx150, Mini fit jr, mcon, and Molex jwpf. I also have few different Ford/gm bcm pins.

I work on almost everything up to and including heavy equipment, but I rarely see anything German. Ford and GM trucks make up the plurality of what I'd be really digging into deep.

I've been eyeing that Daniels crimper you're talking about. It's quite a bit a more money than the "offical" Deutsch one, but it sure does look nice. I'm almost certain Daniels makes the official one also.

You carry a hell of a lot of stuff there, I'd really like to get there eventually. With the cost of entry being what it is, I try to choose carefully. I got into mini fit jr because several pieces of equipment I work with use it, so I can repair and modify their harnesses as well as making my own.

I apologize for drifting the thread, but while everyone's mind is on weatherpack, has anyone used the astro weatherpack kit? 9478 I believe? It gets good reviews but honestly I trust gj users' opinions more.

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It's a good weatherpack kit. I've used the Delphi (made by Sargent) crimpers and they're not demonstrably better. I'm pretty sure the included pieces are genuine. Weatherpack in general has its detractors, as you see in this thread, but it's served me reasonably well on a professional level and that kit is a great start.

Another vote for Deutsch and/or the Molex equivelant (ML XT). They're very conservatively rated, high performance, super modular and easy to assemble/disassemble. The Molex versions have some nice features that the Deutsch ones don't have too.

DT and DTM should fit most all applications, DTP if you need higher sustained currents (though I think they only have 2 and 4 position connectors).

A second recommendation for Waytek as well.

I'm curious what features the Molex has over Deutsch that you're referring to. I'd kind of dismissed it partially due to the need for multiple expensive tools.

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[FigureItOut]

You know, I was thinking the same thing? but since the thread jumped to Deutsch, I seen they have a Deutsch crimper too.. I have the 9477 and I love that thing but wondering if anyone used these crimpers for Deutsch and if they are any good ??



http://www.astrotools.com/9479.html

That must be new. In general, I've found Astro's dies to be quite good, though I've been far happier with the OEM tools for any terminals. Keep in mind that those dies are for the Deutsch stamped contacts, they come on rolls and are designed for a large scale production environment. Deutsch recommends the solid contacts for field work and small scale production.

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[Fix Until Broke]

..........
I'm curious what features the Molex has over Deutsch that you're referring to. I'd kind of dismissed it partially due to the need for multiple expensive tools.

Mostly little things, but the wire seals are better retained as well as the leading seals, the release has ribs and a curl on it so it's easier to release, they're available in different colors, etc

They claim to be interchangeable with Duetsch so that's handy.

https://www.waytekwire.com/datasheet/MLXTConnectors.pdf

I really prefer the turned Duetsch pins vs the stamped/formed ones - much less likely to cut a wire seal upon installation. I think the dual 4 pin radial crimpers for the turned pins are relatively reasonably priced too (~$100). The downside is that each pin and socket is around $0.25 - if they're even available!