Waterproof connector

[Warwick]

I am connecting the battery on my Oxygen eMate MTB to the controller via cables that will have to be exposed to the elements. I will need some way of separating the battery cables from the connector to remove the battery.

Is there a small, waterproof connector that will do the trick?

 

[Nealh]

Where are you housing the controller ?

 

[Deleted member 4366]

Does it need to be waterproof? Surely, it'll be shrouded by the battery. can't you arrange it so that you can push it into the battery housing after connection. water doesn't normally go uphill. I'd silicone a small plate over the controller side to stop water going in there, leaving about 2" of wire to the connector. Leave about 100mm of wire hanging out of the battery, connect and push the wire into the battery housing as you slide the battery on.

If you go out and in heavy rain and want the battery sealed, then you could cast a silicone bung onto the wire below the connector. Cut the right shape hole in some 10mm board. Cover the surrounding area around the hole in cling-film. Hold the board in place on the controller exit, inject the silicone. When cured, remove the board to leave a silicone plug around the wire.

Also, you can Dremmel out the insides of the original connectors, so that you get at least an overlapping sleeve to keep the rain off.

 

[Warwick]

The controller is in a Das Kit all-in-one battery/controller in-frame holder: http://oxydrive.co.uk/store/#!/~/product/id=63979&prid=23&ctid=6&tp=pv

I'm going to drill through the side of the battery case, add a couple of grommets and push the cables through, then sealing with silicon. I'll do the same thing with the controller box if possible.

That means I'll have external cabling to join up, hence the need to have a connector. A bit Heath Robinson, but effective.

Due to the damage incurred to the battery case joint, I'll need to silicon seal that as well, otherwise the connector being waterproof is rather irrelevant.

 

[Deleted member 4366]

The controller is in a Das Kit all-in-one battery/controller in-frame holder: http://oxydrive.co.uk/store/#!/~/product/id=63979&prid=23&ctid=6&tp=pv

I'm going to drill through the side of the battery case, add a couple of grommets and push the cables through, then sealing with silicon. I'll do the same thing with the controller box if possible.

That means I'll have external cabling to join up, hence the need to have a connector. A bit Heath Robinson, but effective.

Due to the damage incurred to the battery case joint, I'll need to silicon seal that as well, otherwise the connector being waterproof is rather irrelevant.

That seems a bit extreme. Why not just remove the connector blocks to leave the holes in the battery and controller where they were? You have to remove the wires anyway. after that, the blocks just slide out.

 

[Warwick]

I am fed up of the thing going wrong, so I am prepared to put in what appears to be a rather elaborate fix. The way I'm doing it means I can seal up all the previous joints between the battery and the connector - the cause of the fault - and have an easily accessible way to remove the battery.

A Delphi WeatherPack connector has been suggested as a good connector for this application. Any experience of these, anyone?

 

[Warwick]

Forget the above...

d8veh, your advice is sound as usual. I will use the current set up, without drilling, but use a Tamiya connector to join the battery and controller. There is space in the battery case to house a little extra wire which I can pull out when removing the battery to allow me to unclip the connectors.

 

[Warwick]

So, the deed is done. The battery is now linked via a Tamiya connector. It fitted well into the housing, which surprised me. It all powered up as it should, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating! Unfortunately, it has just started to rain here, so I'll delay that for a while. I silicon sealed the battery case join, so hopefully that will add a touch of weatherproofing.

 

[Warwick]

Testing done over an 11-mile route that included a very bumpy bridlepath, so if my wiring was going to give way, it would've done on that stretch. I cranked the power up to the maximum and rode on rural roads up to the 25MPH limit set on the bike. Back to commuting tomorrow.