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Procyon

DIY
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Hello,

I would like to run a custom electronic engine control unit on one of my vehicles and to avoid cutting up the factory wiring harness. To do this I have found a 60 pin ECM plug from a breakout box and would like to connect the pins to flying leads. These leads would then go to the new control unit. I would like to connections to be robust and to be resistant to vibration.

What is the best way to do this? I'm attaching photos of the plug I plan to harvest. If there are any non-soldering methods I would be open to this. The gauges of the wires attached to the plug will vary from 14 gauge (ground wire) to 20 gauge.

Thanks!
 

Attachments

  • DiY - Car Project Breakout_Box_With_Connector_Plu - EletriciansForums.net
    Breakout_Box_With_Connector_Plug.jpg
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  • DiY - Car Project Backside_of_Breakout_Box - EletriciansForums.net
    Backside_of_Breakout_Box.jpg
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The best solution would be solder and adhesive lined heatshrink sleeping for anything on a vehicle. Any reason you are wanting to avoid soldering?
 
The only sensible method would be to solder. I'm guessing you want to keep it as compact as possible. I would probably cut the PCB around the connector and peel the tracks back to the pads, so that the outgoing wires are soldered to the back of the pins but the pins are still supported by the board. Once all wires are terminated and tested I would de-flux the solder joints and encapsulate the back of it in flexible (removable) potting compound inside a small plastic box with the connector projecting from the potting compound. That would support the cables to improve vibration resistance and protect against moisture.

An alternative to soldering to the back of the connector itself would be to remove the 0.1" pin headers, cut the board just outside their solder pads and install the new wires through the vacated holes. A method that avoids soldering is to obtain the matching cable-mounted connector housings and crimp contacts to fit on the pin headers (they look similar to Molex KK series) but these connectors might not be as highly rated as the ECU connector, aren't environmentally protected, and won't accept anything like #14 wire.
 
Potting compound is a good idea. Don't spill it on anything though, it's a right git to clean off!
 

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