Wire connector idea's

daplatapus · #1 03-17-2013, 06:41 PM

So I just finished building a LED fixture for a friend. It has 2 - 12" heatsinks both mounted on their own pocket door tracks and wheels. I used one of these to hook up each fixture:

I mounted it to the under side of the hood and wired each fixture to it. But I'm worried that as the heatsinks are moved back and forth, the wires will weaken and either pull out of the terminal strip or break. Is there anything out there that you can think of that I can use that would be similar to a ribbon strip connector that I can use to plug these fixtures to?

ScubaSteve · #2 03-17-2013, 08:56 PM

Should be fine with what you have as long as there is some slack on the cables. You could go for a Molex of some kind (they have thousands to choose from) since the wire will basically never come out of the connector. I'd toss the wires into a woven nylon sheath to keep things tidy or go for some 18 guage multi-wire (8+ wires inside a common sheath - stays flexible).

What voltage current is each wire running? There are some larger guage ribbon wires out there.

daplatapus · #3 03-18-2013, 12:54 AM

I think I might go with a Molex style connector. I wired up the fixtures with 20ga wire and left 8" or so hanging out the sides to make them disconnect-able. And I had a roll of 18/8 wire kicking around so I ran 2 - 5' lengths of that between the dim4 which was under the tank in the cabinet to the light fixture in the hood. I needed a total of 14 wires for all the different channels and the fans so it worked out pretty good. I hooked up all of the one 18/8 for the + side and the other for the - side. If I go with a couple of the molex type connectors I can plug and unplug one fixture at a time if repairs or upgrades are necessary.

ScubaSteve · #4 03-18-2013, 01:24 AM

I have a 15% off voucher for Newark Electronics that is good until March 31 if you want to order the molex through there. Voucher code is NEW2PC. Shipping from Newark is only $8!

daplatapus · #5 03-18-2013, 02:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScubaSteve

I have a 15% off voucher for Newark Electronics that is good until March 31 if you want to order the molex through there. Voucher code is NEW2PC. Shipping from Newark is only $8!

Hey, thanks for the offer! But... I had already found a bunch on ebay and ordered them. Du'oh! Still only costing me $15 for 10 male and female 8 pin connectors after shipping, so not too bad.