Deutsch Connector Review

[bigred88]

I posted a week or two ago asking for advice from anyone who has used Deutsch Connectors. Didn't get much of a response, but @dyeager535 asked for a review, so here it is.

First- I've never used any of the other connector lines that are out there, so I can't compare.

Tools: You need two special tools to use Deutsch connectors. First, the whatever the hell they call this, it's about $15 and you need it for disassembly. I suppose if you're perfect and never do anything wrong you could skip this one, but I screwed up my first one, so I'm glad I bought it. Honestly a minimally modified screwdriver would work just as well.


Second- the expensive one... you need a special crimper that is... $200. No there is not an extra zero there. I almost didn't go with Deutsch connectors because of that cost alone, but finally talked myself into it. Lifetime investment, I'll use this on tons of cars, blah blah blah same shit we all use to talk us into spending money that we know we shouldn't. That said, as crimpers go, this thing is pimp. It makes an 8 point crimp on the connector. Two rows of points every 90 degrees. I did my best to get a picture of the teeth on the inside, hopefully that shows up well enough. There's also a picture of the crimp pattern on the connector. The handle ratchets, so if you need to adjust your grip you don't loose your spot, and it automatically releases once the crimp is complete. This will handle all sizes of Deutsch connectors, from 10ga wire on up to 20ga. You spin the dial on the front to select wire size, and the green bolt on top is for adjusting depth. Adjusting the depth took a minute to get right, but one I figured out that if you line that green ring on the connector up right at the top of the teeth, that sped things up and my crimps were all in the right spot.



Two other notes on the crimper- there are far cheaper ones available ($40ish), but they can't handle 10 or 12ga. I needed the 12ga capability. If you don't your cost goes way down. I think the cheaper ones are also only a 4 point crimp instead of 8, but 4 seems like plenty to me.
Second, there are two types of connectors- open and closed. This tool is for the closed connectors (which seemed the more bomb proof ones to me). The open connectors need a different tool, and I didn't look into those so I have no info there.

That's it for tools, next post will cover connectors.

 

[bigred88]

Alright, onto the connectors themselves. What drew me to these was the professional appearance- these could easily be OE for any manufacturer, and the ability to make a proper, waterproof connection. Plus, all the reviews made them sound really easy to use.

There are 3 different sizes of connector (named DTM- M for mini- smaller wires, DT- 14 to 18ga, DTP- P for I don't know what the P stands for but they handle 10 and 12ga) to accommodate from 10ga to 20ga wire. Numerous configurations are available, too. 2 wire, 3 wire, 4 wire, 6 wire, you get the idea. The choices aren't infinite but there are enough that you can find something that will work.

Prices vary from not too bad to rather pricey. The one I'm using below was about $3 for all the parts. A 4 wire DTP with a flange (see bottom picture) cost $19. Yes, that's spendy, but I think most things I'll use them for will be on the cheaper side.

In the following pictures, I'm adding the connectors onto fog lights that had been previously hardwired. I'm using a DT connector with 2 wires. The wires are 14ga.

Here's all the bits that come in the bag:


Metal bits are pins and sockets for the connection, the green and orange pieces are wedges that hold the pins and sockets in place.

Assembly is straight forward and easy. You crimp the pin or socket, shove it through the rubber with a hole that looks way too small but works just fine, and press the wedge into place. That's it, all done. The wire sits very deep and very snug in the terminal- as long as you don't cut the wire back a ridiculous amount there is no exposed wire visible- it all ends up inside, past a very tight fitting piece of rubber. Once they are fully assembled, there is no jiggle to the wires- they don't move at all.




One thing I really like is the size of the tab to uncouple the connector. It's big- like fit a whole finger on it as long as you don't have giant sausage fingers. Super easy to connect and disconnect, not like those stupid pieces of shit Jeep was using in the early 2000s that I break every time I try to use them...

They also offer flanged connectors, for going through a bulkhead (firewall, etc). I really like these.


I think that's all I've got. So far I've only made the two connectors for the fog lights, but I'll be using quite a few more before the project is finished. I'm happy with them and would definitely recommend them. The only downside I've found so far is the price, but they really do seem like a professional quality product, so I suppose you're going to pay more for that.

 

[dyeager535]

Thanks, appreciate you posting that. I think the proper crimper alone will keep me away from them. Obviously good ratcheting tools will cost more...no one can be faulted for paying for good tools.

Metri-pack is similar with all the different terminals/connectors. Some are stupid expensive, some are extremely reasonable.

Unfortunately, it seems like Aptiv (successor to AC and Delphi in the Weatherpack etc systems) has made it a lot more difficult to review all their stuff. They have firewall connectors as well. I'd like to find something that would make unplugging the interior and exterior wiring easy, but fits in the stock holes.