One time Molex Crimping

[loop123]

I need to create new pins to insert into the white plastic Molex head since soldering a cut wire messed it up. An original Molex crimping tool costs so much, do you know a substitute that can crimp a new head. I'd only do it for this socket so can't buy an expensive one just to do this single socket crimping. Thanks.

[Jeff eelcr]

Molex 63811-1000 crimpers and others can be found for $30.00 to $50.00 new/used to hand crimp many similar terminals.
Jeff

[Smokey]

There are a TON of crimper threads here. 

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/crimpin-aint-easy-(or-best-hobbyist-crimping-toolsystem)/

[tooki]

(Attachment Link)

I need to create new pins to insert into the white plastic Molex head since soldering a cut wire messed it up. An original Molex crimping tool costs so much, do you know a substitute that can crimp a new head. I'd only do it for this socket so can't buy an expensive one just to do this single socket crimping. Thanks.

Molex makes thousands of different connectors. Can you specify or confirm what that is? It looks like KK, and prooobably KK 254, but it could be KK 396.

[corndog]

The iCrimp's on Amazon are excellent for the price. I'm not sure what gauge you're working with there. I know it's larger than 30awg, but can't say much beyond that. 24-26awg maybe?

I have this exact model for Molex JST and similar. It's for 18-28awg:
https://www.amazon.com/IWISS-SN-28B-Crimping-AWG28-18-Dupont/dp/B00OMM4YUY/

I find myself going down a size if it's close. Like if I'm using 20awg wire, I won't use the 18-20awg slot, I'll use the 20-22awg slot. Yours would definitely be used with the smallest size of this crimper. You can always hit the crimp with just a touch of solder if you don't feel 100% about it. Just a touch though, because it's really easy to apply too much and then it won't fit into the connector.

Okay I googled, your cable is Belden 9536, 6-conductor, 24awg. This crimper should work fine with your Molex crimps and that wire.

[coppercone2]

you can also solder it. So long its soldered carefully and cleaned so there is no flux or solder wicking under the insulation and then crimp the other part on with pliers over the insulation since thats not nearly as critical as the conductive junction and even put a bit of silicone electronics adhesive on it. Just follow the nasa guidelines for how its soldered with the insulation thickness of bare wire or so left before the insulation. It does not sound like you are repairing a satellite here or particularly care because if it was a rugged application you would not be asking about which cheap crimp tool to use and the crimp tool cost would be obviously worth it for you, because getting the crimp tool would still be cheaper then getting a shop to re-do it properly. And voyager did fine with solder joints lol

[loop123]

The iCrimp's on Amazon are excellent for the price. I'm not sure what gauge you're working with there. I know it's larger than 30awg, but can't say much beyond that. 24-26awg maybe?

I have this exact model for Molex JST and similar. It's for 18-28awg:
https://www.amazon.com/IWISS-SN-28B-Crimping-AWG28-18-Dupont/dp/B00OMM4YUY/

I find myself going down a size if it's close. Like if I'm using 20awg wire, I won't use the 18-20awg slot, I'll use the 20-22awg slot. Yours would definitely be used with the smallest size of this crimper. You can always hit the crimp with just a touch of solder if you don't feel 100% about it. Just a touch though, because it's really easy to apply too much and then it won't fit into the connector.

Okay I googled, your cable is Belden 9536, 6-conductor, 24awg. This crimper should work fine with your Molex crimps and that wire.

Thanks for your Iwiss crimpe suggestion. I just cancelled a similar SN-28B from china that is rougher. I guess all SN-28B has similar head for the Molex KK 254. But I'll get the Iwiss since it looks better. Where did you get the Molex KK 254 Crimps?  The china clone clips are called KF2510.



I can't find the original Molex KK 254 at amazon. I guess the original crimps would be better than the china crimp clones?

[T3sl4co1l]

If it doesn't need to be factory-original, I'm not opposed to folding the wings over a wire, and soldering it in place.

This would be like "crimping" it with pliers, but you can't actually do that (the wire/tabs smoosh out of the way and no tension is ever built up), but on the other hand, that's the perfect setup for a low-clearance solder joint.  Downsides include, well, all the concerns that solder joints bring (weaker, prone to fatigue and creep, different corrosion resistance), not to mention you'll most likely melt the insulation away from the terminal so it won't provide strain relief -- on top of which, if the solder wicks up the wire, it makes fatigue even worse.

Like I said, it's not going to be like a factory part.  But if it's in a very boring environment, indoors say, little vibration, tension, flex, it'll work just fine.  Put another way: it's no worse than soldering onto the header post, except it's still pluggable.  If the environment is such that that would be fine, then so will this.

As for knock-off crimp tools, haven't used any myself, but beware you should do -- not just a few demo crimps, but probably more like dozens.  You want to try different crimp slots, tool pressure/displacement (preferably even make a gauge or clamp to make it repeatable; that's basically the magic feature of official tools), position of terminal in the tool, etc., and see what works best.  Set up at least a rudimentary pull test, get a magnifier on the joint, make sure it's tight but not crushed, free of "flash" (squeeze-out on the sides), fits easily in the housing, etc.  You'll always be less consistent than with official tools, but buy extra terminals, cut wires a little long, and you can always redo any that look sus.

Tim

[corndog]

The product page on the Molex site has vendors with stock count, so you may recognize some that are better than others for delivery to Canada. We had an account at work with Digikey and we all love Digikey, so that's where I'd normally order from.

https://www.molex.com/en-us/products/part-detail/08550102

[loop123]

Does the following use original Molex KK 254 or is it clone crimps? I can't tell because it says Molex.

https://www.amazon.com/3-Pin-Molex-Female-Housing-2510/dp/B06ZY7R299/ref=sr_1_6?crid=2PF9ML90ZQKT&keywords=molex+254&qid=1707101279&sprefix=molex+254%2Caps%2C564&sr=8-6

[loop123]

The product page on the Molex site has vendors with stock count, so you may recognize some that are better than others for delivery to Canada. We had an account at work with Digikey and we all love Digikey, so that's where I'd normally order from.

https://www.molex.com/en-us/products/part-detail/08550102

I just need one time  9 wire crimps job and no more after that.

[coppercone2]

you can definitely solder that wire to the first bend tab without melting the insulation unless its absolute crap. But I think its very easy to mess up unless you are good at doing it

I would lay it out in place, fixture it, solder it, then bend the other tab. I guess that might not be ideal. If you bent it first then solder it, it would be difficult. Maybe you can suspend it under water in a aligator clip so that part of the crimp is mostly submerged. But don't bend anything that has solder on it, only the segment that is solder free. Bending solder is bad

wrapping a moist tissue over the end of it it might work too. And you can also give it a extra squeeze after soldering and after it cooled down and was cleaned to make sure nothing is loose (maybe only bend it 90% of the way prior over the insulation).

[loop123]

you can definitely solder that wire to the first bend tab without melting the insulation unless its absolute crap. But I think its very easy to mess up unless you are good at doing it

I would lay it out in place, fixture it, solder it, then bend the other tab. I guess that might not be ideal. If you bent it first then solder it, it would be difficult. Maybe you can suspend it under water in a aligator clip so that part of the crimp is mostly submerged. But don't bend anything that has solder on it, only the segment that is solder free. Bending solder is bad

wrapping a moist tissue over the end of it it might work too. And you can also give it a extra squeeze after soldering and after it cooled down and was cleaned to make sure nothing is loose (maybe only bend it 90% of the way prior over the insulation).

My 100 pcs of clone crimps I ordered for 1 dollar is coming later this week. What kind of metal is the original Molex versus it? I guess the original Molex (designed in NASA) can be bent maybe 50 times before it breaks versus the china clone that can break with just 5 bends?  Maybe the Molex is made up special alloys?

But I'd not pull the crimps and back several times. I'd only plug it once to the circuit board and fixed in placed. So did you mean I don't even have to buy the SN-28B crimper but can just use any pliers to close the crimps and solder it? Need confirmation so I won't  have to even order the SN-28B for one time use only.

[SeanB]

Genuine is tinned brass, the clones can be anything, from reject brass contaminated with all sorts of metal, like aluminium and beryllium, to even being steel, all tinned and stamped.

[T3sl4co1l]

My 100 pcs of clone crimps I ordered for 1 dollar is coming later this week. What kind of metal is the original Molex versus it? I guess the original Molex (designed in NASA) can be bent maybe 50 times before it breaks versus the china clone that can break with just 5 bends?  Maybe the Molex is made up special alloys?

But I'd not pull the crimps and back several times. I'd only plug it once to the circuit board and fixed in placed. So did you mean I don't even have to buy the SN-28B crimper but can just use any pliers to close the crimps and solder it? Need confirmation so I won't  have to even order the SN-28B for one time use only.

Not sure what you're thinking here.  The contacts are spring loaded, they only undergo elastic deformation.  This can be done, probably tens of thousands of times, before fatigue sets in.  With correctly designed springs, billions or more.  (The valve springs in a car engine might do on the order 10^8 cycles in their lifetime.)  More likely, the contact plating wears out, after hundreds or thousands of mate cycles.  On the lower end if plating is mixed (tin on gold).

The terminal only ever takes two plastic deformations: once during stamping, and again during crimping.  Plastic deformation rapidly leads to fatigue and failure (work hardening then cracking).  It sounds like you'd somehow clinch the terminal, then un-clinch it and try again, which... doesn't make sense anyway? But, uh, that would be one way to break it, yes.

Genuine is tinned brass, the clones can be anything, from reject brass contaminated with all sorts of metal, like aluminium and beryllium, to even being steel, all tinned and stamped.

Honestly, I wouldn't even mind steel terminals; they'd just have a little bit higher resistance, not helpful for power connections, but they may well be more durable for low current / signal connections.  But again, plating wears out much quicker, it's a moot point.  I suppose if one paired steel terminals with rhodium plating or something exotic like that, it could last a long time, hah.

Tim

[loop123]

My $1 100pcs KF2510 crimps arrived today. They look like the original in the wire (the green is soldered but not the red and black). But wait, the original is supposed to be brass and not silver looking? So the ones installed in the wires are not original too?

I tried one piece and it fits into the white socket!   

About avoiding steel in circuits. Is it not IC holders socket female pins are made of steel too?  Are they not?

My Icrimp crimper suggested by someone here is on the way. I don't know how to solder so I'd just crimp them.

[tooki]

Genuine is tinned brass, the clones can be anything, from reject brass contaminated with all sorts of metal, like aluminium and beryllium, to even being steel, all tinned and stamped.

FYI, Molex sells KK contacts in both brass and phosphor bronze, tinned or gold plated.

[tooki]

Does the following use original Molex KK 254 or is it clone crimps? I can't tell because it says Molex.

https://www.amazon.com/3-Pin-Molex-Female-Housing-2510/dp/B06ZY7R299/ref=sr_1_6?crid=2PF9ML90ZQKT&keywords=molex+254&qid=1707101279&sprefix=molex+254%2Caps%2C564&sr=8-6

Look at the picture: it clearly shows “2510” on it, which you have already correctly identified as the clones.

[tooki]

My 100 pcs of clone crimps I ordered for 1 dollar is coming later this week. What kind of metal is the original Molex versus it? I guess the original Molex (designed in NASA) can be bent maybe 50 times before it breaks versus the china clone that can break with just 5 bends?  Maybe the Molex is made up special alloys?

Molex designed by NASA? Where’d you come up with that crap? 😂

Anyhow, the design of the KK contacts makes it quite resistant to wearing out, since it only flexes a small amount over a very long spring, so both originals and clones will give probably hundreds of mating cycles. (Unlike Chinese DuPont, which get loose after just 5 mating cycles or so.)

[tooki]

But wait, the original is supposed to be brass and not silver looking? So the ones installed in the wires are not original too?

Plated brass.  So they’re supposed to be either silvery (tin-plated) or golden (gold-plated) depending on what you ordered. Gold-plated KK is quite rare, so tin plating is what you’d expect.

About avoiding steel in circuits. Is it not IC holders socket female pins are made of steel too?  Are they not?

No, they’re not steel. Typically brass or phosphor bronze, like most electrical contacts.

[Paroidia]

HTR8519B is an "obsolete" crimper for Molex SL 22~24 AWG and 26~28 AWG terminals. It's so old there's no information on it online, as a result people don't know what they have and you can usually pick them up cheap off Ebay. I remembered seeing that tool # scribbled in the margin of an old schematic that called for SL connectors so I remembered what it was for when I saw one on Ebay a couple years ago. SL makes a really nice substitute for those crappy Harwin M20 "dupont" connectors and their clones too (though the real Amphenol, formerly Dupont, formerly Berg Mini-PV terminals the M20s are knocking off are super good but also expensive)