What's the ideal connector for ESC/battery/motor ?
 

Finally getting to point of installing electronics in my 10 ii kit and realized I have different connectors on different components.

My charger has banana plugs out so I can select any type connector
Battery has the Star connector (same brand as charger)
ESC HW1080 has the XT60 connector
Holmes motor solder lugs

Just doing a search of new batteries it seems like the XT60 is popular. The Deans and Star look the same? Haven't seen both side by side but going by pictures.

So if I want to keep things standard what connector is either most common or best in field use? Handles current, stays connected, keeps out dirt, ect....

At this point I'm going to cut either the battery or ESC and put the mating style on the other but which would be the best choice?

Also do you guys solder a connector harness to the motor/ESC or just hard wire them direct?

Thanks

Re: What's the ideal connector for ESC/battery/motor ?
 

Xt60 and harness so I can swap parts out in the field. ;)

Re: What's the ideal connector for ESC/battery/motor ?
 

XT60 for me.
I use bullets on brushless motors and XT60s on brushed.

Re: What's the ideal connector for ESC/battery/motor ?
 

^^^ Exactly - XT60 have become the go-to connector, much easier to unplug with slippery fingers than Deans / Star (faux-Deans)... Easier to solder too!

And hard-wiring may be the thing to do in racing onroad vehicles, but that's just to get every iota of juice from those spec batteries and electronics.

It's much handier to be able to unplug the occasional part in case of troubleshooting or testing.

Re: What's the ideal connector for ESC/battery/motor ?
 

I originally went with Traxxas connectors on everything because my first vehicle was a Traxxas. With my crawlers I made the decision to go with XT60 connections and I prefer them to the Traxxas plugs. I'll be converting the majority of my fleet to XT60, with my more powerful vehicles getting converted to XT90.

I also use XT60 connections for other things around the house & garage that I want to have a solid, but removable connection for. They make great quick disconnects for various things. I used them on the tweeters that are wired into my A-pillars in the truck so that I can quickly and easily remove those panels without putting any strain on the tweeters themselves.

Re: What's the ideal connector for ESC/battery/motor ?
 

XT60s for the batteries: they are easy to solder, handle plenty of current, stay connected, are easy to unplug, and don't take up a lot of space (an often underlooked consideration for cramped scale builds). Also, you can get close to a lifetime supply for about $35 which is way cheaper than a lot of other connectors ($.70/pair for XT60s vs. $3-4/pair for the Traxxas connectors I previously used).

As for motors, 4mm bullets all the way. Those are basically the defacto standard for 1/10 brushless motors these days so I just use them on all motor connections. The solid type bullets are preferred but I have no problems using the birdcage style plugs on simple brushed setups (mostly when I'm out of solid bullets).

Also, all connectors are soldered directly with no adapters. I don't need the extra wire, extra solder joints, or extra connectors taking up space on my truck.

Re: What's the ideal connector for ESC/battery/motor ?
 

XT60 is the future. Switch now before you get left behind. China, HobbyWing, Holmes Hobbies, etc have switched to XT60. They're easier to solder, cheaper, and easier to pull apart than Deans. Just make sure you get genuine Amass connectors. There are lots of clones out there already.

Deans are the past and for very good reasons IMHO. Way overpriced, small and slippery and tough to pull apart, and not the easiest to solder.

Deans and the Star connectors are NOT the same. The say they're compatible, but they simply aren't. They are either too loose or so tight that you can't fully seat the plug.

Re: What's the ideal connector for ESC/battery/motor ?
 

I like Traxxas connectors, but they are a bit of a pain to solder. Especially if you are using a BEC. Another downside is that there are not too many cheap batteries available with those connectors on them. For those reasons, I'm switching a lot of my stuff over to XT60. They are easy to solder and much easier to pull apart than Deans. Also, I use a lot of Turnigy batteries and they are readily available with XT60s in tons of different sizes.

Re: What's the ideal connector for ESC/battery/motor ?
 

Thanks everyone. Sounds like XT60 is the way to go !

What are these "bullet" connectors also mentioned?

Re: What's the ideal connector for ESC/battery/motor ?
 

Solid bullet connectors
https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1DATKQ...Xq6xXFXXXL.jpg

Birdcage style bullet connectors
https://image.dhgate.com/albu_113534824_00/1.0x0.jpg

The solid style are preferred since they don't wear out as fast, the birdcage connectors wear out their spring tension and get loose after a while. Tons of companies make them and they are available everywhere but you can usually get them pretty cheap in larger quantities from Hobbyking, Banggood, or places like that.

Re: What's the ideal connector for ESC/battery/motor ?
 

^ brushless combos often come with bullets preinstalled on ESC to motor wires.

There's also a 3 pole XT60 version for that.

Re: What's the ideal connector for ESC/battery/motor ?
 

I must be lucky because I run them on my Wraith with no issue. Then again my AE-5s still work.


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Re: What's the ideal connector for ESC/battery/motor ?
 

Brushed or brushless, bullet connectors in my opinion are the best, and usually fairly cheap.


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Re: What's the ideal connector for ESC/battery/motor ?
 

What are you using on your Wraith?

Play the lottery if you have never killed an AE-5. :lmao:

Bullets are great except they provide no protection for reverse polarity unless you solder one male and one female on the ESC.

You can say "just be careful" all you like, but stupid mistakes happen and it's an easy way to fry expensive ESCs and batteries.

Re: What's the ideal connector for ESC/battery/motor ?
 

If I was to start again I'd be using XT60. But everything I own is setup with deans and star plugs. Personally I have never had an issue with the two working together, nor have I ever had an issue soldering them on once I got a good soldering equipment. I like the star's better than the deans cause you can grab them more easily and they have a nice little integrated cover for the leads once you solder them. No reason for me to switch quite frankly.

Re: What's the ideal connector for ESC/battery/motor ?
 

I prefer Stars over Deans as well for the same reason you mentioned. They give you something to grip onto.

I have had issues getting Stars to plug into Deans though. I was at Ott's and a customer wanted to return a battery with a Deans connector because it wouldn't plug into his vehicle with a Star connector. The person behind the counter said they were compatible and when he tried plugging it into another connector it wouldn't work. It's odd how some people have no issues and others do.

Good soldering equipment is everything.

Re: What's the ideal connector for ESC/battery/motor ?
 

I'm a noob when it comes to soldering and I even I don't have issues soldering a dean's connector even while using a 25w iron , but the xt60 does look a bit simpler

Re: What's the ideal connector for ESC/battery/motor ?
 

True. The only AE-5 I killed was by trying to plug the battery in backwards.


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Re: What's the ideal connector for ESC/battery/motor ?
 

From my experience both connectors can warp due to the heat required to solder them, moving the tabs around slightly and then not lining up.

Re: What's the ideal connector for ESC/battery/motor ?
 

Deans aren't that much harder to solder than XT60s, but would you put a square peg in a round hole? Then why solder a round wire on a flat terminal? :lmao:

That's true. That's why I plug a connector into the opposite sex while soldering. It prevents the terminals from moving while it is heated and cools.

I haven't had issues fitting XT60 to XT60, Deans to Deans, or Stars to Stars - only Deans to Stars. I'll have to try to remember to upload a photo to show the issue I have.