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Near Intersection of I-35 & I-90 Southern Mn. | At work we generally set people up with a two pole weatherpak connector for these situations. "Our" wiring pattern follows Ag Leader's convention of having the source (tractor whatever) have the Tower connector which uses sockets. Pin A is 12V and Pin B is Ground. Obviously the mates are the Shrouds with pins for the various devices being powered.
We have made adapter multi-connectors that convert the standard three pole AMP connector found in most modern tractors to the weatherpak style. Some of the branches are wired with Red wire and others with Orange. The Orange goes to Pin 1 of the Amp connector. The Red wire goes to Pin 2. The ground wire goes to Pin 3. With this arrangement some of the weatherpak connectors are keyed (orange) and others are always hot (red).
We have also made some Cig Ligther adapters that branch into a couple of weatherpak connectors following the above scheme. These are not recommended for the majority of situations but can be handy for demonstration and testing.
You are correct in that the weatherpak connectors are rated at 20 Amps which is fine for the majority of electronics but not adequate for electric pumps and the like.
In those case we use often use the three pole AMP style that the newer vehicles have. These are more expensive but generally suitable for all but the heaviest applications. In those cases we go directly to the battery and usually use a keyed switched relay.
For other "heavy duty" applications we have used connectors made by the Anderson company. These are the style used by many electric forklifts etc. They are a clever design where both halves are the same. These can work well for semi-permanent connectors for fuel transfer tanks etc. These are good connectors and well suited for this type of application but are overkill for hooking up GPS etc.
The weatherpak and Anderson connectors and support products are available from Waytek.
We get out AMP supplies from the Mouser Company.
I know some farmers use regular AC electrical connectors which are readily available but we frown on this practive for several reasons. Obviously you don't want someone plugging a DC device into a wall outlet. Often times these connectors although readily available are fairly expensive. The weatherpak connectors are resonable, easy to work with and readily available. The main drawback is with the higher amperage load situations.
Edited by tedbear 7/23/2008 08:06
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Durable, weather resistant, quick electrical connectors
