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Racing Technology
Assembling weather-tight connectors
by Wayne Scraba
Electrical connections that come loose, break, and short out can become a major headache — especially on a race car that relies heavily on electricity and, consequently, electronics to function. If the electrical connections aren't right, they can cause intermittent problems that are next to impossible to diagnose, let alone track down. A good example is an open or high-resistance connection between wires. And that means you can't get the car down the track.
A solution does exist, though, and it's a good one offered by MSD and ACCEL, among others. Originally used in GM OEM passenger-car and light-truck applications and called Weathertight or Weatherpack connectors, these electrical component connectors withstand temperatures from -40 to 257 degrees Fahrenheit and are unaffected by water, chemicals, vibration, or dirt. They can't come apart accidentally, either. An external positive locking system lets you know when the respective ends of the connectors are joined. A click is heard when the connector is joined. No click, no connection. Simple as that.
Disassembling the halves of the Weathertight connector is easy, too. You can either separate them by hand or with a screwdriver in a special slot formed in the connector body. This is particularly useful if the connector is in a hard-to-reach location in your car. Each terminal has its own tower; compare that to a multi-pin trailer connector that many of us use for multiple connections. That means there is no chance of shorting between the wires. Finally, each connector half has a secondary lock that snaps over the terminals and prevents them from backing out.
The part of the connector that transfers the electrical current is the terminal pin. These terminals are non-orienting, which means that they don't have to be turned when they're plugged together. Each of the terminal pins has double lock tangs that secure the pin inside the connector. The terminal also incorporates an extra-long spring member that's designed so that the terminal can't loosen once installed.
Also important, the special Weather-tight connectors incorporate self- lubricating silicone seals for protection against water, dust, oil, brake fluid, and other fluids or chemicals. Each terminal has a silicone seal crimped to it to prevent contamination from entering next to the wire. The seal uses multiple sealing ribs to keep the terminal pins clean and dry. The male connector half includes another similar silicone seal with multiple sealing ribs to keep the actual connection dry. Obviously, that's why they're weather-tight.
At one time, the only way to terminate the wires and assemble Weathertight connectors was with a very expensive GM tool. MSD and ACCEL now offer easy-to-use, inexpensive tools for the job; for this column, I'm using an MSD tool and components. Just how difficult are the connectors to assemble with these tools? For the answer, check out the following photos and captions. MSD supplied the information on how to successfully make up the connectors.