Looking for Low Voltage Wire Connectors for Home Automation Projects

Try as I might, due to the abundance of various types of low voltage wire connector types, I can't seem to find exactly what I'm looking for.

I do a lot of LED strips and DC powered automations and I've used many Wagos and soldered some stuff in place. These tend to have some problems though. Wagos can take up too much space, especially when connecting power to LED strips that can't be tucked away. Soldering in place sucks and usually ends with a poor connection. LED snap on clips are ridiculously unreliable and weak connections. Barrel connectors are nice and small but the connection has the potential to pull out.

The holy grail IMO would be a very small plastic two wire housing that can clip together like a plastic belt buckle or those connectors that often come with 12V DC batteries in battery backups/motorized kids toys. I have no idea what term to search for to find these.

Anybody got any hints?

I like the idea of presoldering these onto the ends of LED strips in lieu of barrel connectors, so once you are ready to install in the location it's as easy as snapping in place. If the LEDs burn out it can be replaced easily as well.

brygphilomena ,

There are inline screw terminal connectors. A quick Google of ch2 and ch3 connector will give you an idea.

ironhydroxide ,

There are screw together butt connectors, in my experience have a more solid connection than the crimp style as far as pullout is concerned. https://www.posi-products.com/index.html

Pretzilla ,

Maybe up your soldering game. A proper connection will be solid.

And know that solder shouldn't be used for structural support. Especially for anything that moves or is subject to vibration, etc.

brownmustardminion OP ,

The issue with soldering I was trying to convey is that it isn’t an ideal process to make connections “in the field”, aka in a tight corner or behind a cabinet. A proper connection is solid, but it’s not feasible to make a proper connection if you’re upside down under a cabinet or standing at the top of a ladder.

Pretzilla ,

Ok then up your circus skills!

Or if you're not ready to run away and join, these solder seal heat shrink connectors are a good choice:

https://amzn.to/3Ui0DpY

incogtino ,

I think the JST and Molex recommendations are on point, in case you're after another option I use Tamiya connectors for 12v car chargers

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamiya_connector

brownmustardminion OP ,

This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks!

RamblingPanda ,

There are 3 pin XT30 connectors, and those can handle a lot of current as they're used in drones. They won't come off easily as well.

9tr6gyp3 ,

Can also check out Phoenix connectors

https://www.phoenixcontact.com/en-us/products/connectors

h3ndrik ,

JST connectors? They're fairly common in all sorts of electronics.

brownmustardminion OP ,

This seems like it. Thank you.

Do you think the JST SM connectors are the best option for this application?

h3ndrik , (edited )

Hmm. They're dirt cheap so that is a pro. I don't think they're made to withstand mechanical load. So good for internal connections but less so if you're moving around the wires constantly. There are beefier and more elaborate connectors available for that. But in my experience the JST connectors do their job well for normal electronics projects.

One thing to consider is the current rating. A quick googling tells me a common JST connector is rated for 3 Amps. That's not a lot. About 75 LEDs per connector to stay within the limit. (Given 5V WS2812 RGB at full brightness. Or ~220 if it's 12 Volt strips) So if your led strips aren't longer than that, I'd say you're fine.

But I'm not an expert on those things. I can't tell you whether to choose the SM family or another one... But:

The Wikipedia article says JST SM connectors are used in some LED strips...

(So. I'd use them. But they're not "the best solution". They're the minimum to do an alright job, make sure you can't connect them backwards etc and apart from that, made to be as cheap as possible. The best would probably be some high quality german engineered products or sth like that (the country doesn't really matter...))

nezbyte ,

Molex MicroFit 3.0 are my gold standard for general purpose low voltage connectors. I buy from an electronics distributor (Digikey or Mouser) and crimp my own connectors. However, I did find a listing on Amazon for pre-crimped jumper wires and connector housings.

https://a.co/d/hrrtj3f

Tolookah ,

Best part is they can handle 5+ amps. (I also like them)

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