About Piggyback Spade Connector: During your electrical connections, you are always looking for precision, reliability, and tightness to ensure efficient and safe current flow.
While you can use soldering to achieve such, it may not be ideal when you want frequent connections and disconnections.
Here, your option is spade connectors, and one type people adore for its versatility is the piggyback spade connector.
In our discussion today, we see the piggyback spade connectors definition, their types, benefits, and steps to install them properly.
What Is a Piggyback Spade Connector?
As you may have gathered from the introduction, piggyback spade connectors refer to a kind of electrical connector.
You use it in automotive and other wiring usages that require a reliable connection that you can connect and disconnect as required.
As the name suggests, the connector features a big terminal resembling a spade with another smaller terminal on its back.
Its design allows you to connect two wires to a single connector from one device or a system.
Typically, you use the large terminal for the main current and the smaller one for grounding or additional gadgets powering.
With such a connector, you streamline your wiring when you need multiple connections in one terminal, yet you have limited space.
Types of Piggyback Spade Connectors
Let’s look at the types of piggyback spade connectors.
Classification by constructing material
Here, you have the types of metal that engineers use to make these connectors. The first one is brass, which you would like for its ability to bend making it easy to shape the connectors how you want.
It is also corrosion-resistant and has high conductivity for durability and efficiency in environments with chemicals.
You also have copper piggybacks, which, like brass, have high conductivity but may require plating/coating to enhance longevity.
Lastly, in this type, you have tin-plated, reliable, highly conductive, and corrosion-resistant steel.
Insulated and non-insulated connector
After materials, you can have insulated or non-insulated piggyback spade connectors with pros.
For instance, an insulated one features a protective covering over the spade to reduce short circuits and accidental contacts.
On the other hand, non-insulated ones don’t have a covering and are only useful where the insulator is not required.
You can also use them where you have a tight space, but they are prone to environmental factors and accident contacts.
But do not worry; you can always use electrical tape or heat-shrink tubings to secure them.
Vinyl Piggyback Crimp Terminals
As the name suggests, they come with a vinyl insulation sleeve on their terminal for insulation and protection against corrosion.
You can use these in your car, appliance, or any other wiring that requires an abrasion-resistant and reliable insulator.
Nylon Piggyback Crimp Terminals
Unlike the vinyl ones, these feature a nylon insulating sleeve of the terminal for the same purpose.
However, expect them to be more durable in harsh conditions as nylon is resistant to chemicals and heat.
For this reason, you can see them in marine and industrial applications as well as outdoor electrical installations.
Double Crimp Piggyback Crimp Terminals
These come with another crimping area on the barrel for a tighter and more secure wire connection.
The extra crimp provides the needed snugness, ensuring your wires don’t come off.
Such piggyback connectors can provide durable and reliable service in cars, airplanes, and other industrial wiring applications.
What Are the Benefits of Using Quick Disconnect?
Now that you know about piggyback spade connectors and their types, let’s discuss why you should use them.
- First, they are easy to install and remove, requiring effort and time during maintenance or initial device assembly.
- Then, expect them to be versatile and flexible in applications since they come in different sizes for various wire gauges.
- They also help you replace components without entire disassembly, thanks to their seamless connection and disconnection. For this reason, they save labor costs during industrial machine maintenance practices.
- In addition, their modularity allows easy addition or removal of components in an electrical system. Therefore, it allows you to upgrade, expand, and customize your wiring easily to adapt to changes.
- Another thing is that a good piggyback connector provides a safe and reliable connection even in vibration-prone areas. For instance, they align and retain the connection thereby avoiding coming off even, hence minimizing electrical hazards.
- Lastly, they allow you to make or break electrical connections in tight spaces without extensive clearance and maneuvering.
How to Install a Piggyback Spade Connector
Although installing a piggyback connector is easy, you will need a wire cutter, stripper, and crimping tool.
If you also have your new piggyback spade connector, you can follow the steps below for a correct installation.
Preparations
In the first preparation step, ensure your connector coincides with your wire gauge. Note that a very small wire but a big connector can bring a loose connection that may be hazardous or impossible.
Then cut your wire depending on the length that you need. From there, stripe their insulation at the end based on your piggyback spade connector barrel.
Stripping a wire
Insert wires and crimp
Now that your wires are ready, you will insert their stripped ends into the connector’s metal barrel.
Remember that we said the big barrel is for the main connection, while the small one is for the auxiliary connection?
From there, insert the connector barrel into an appropriately sized hole on the crimper and crimp until it’s snug.
Crimping a connectors
Inspect the connection and test
After gently crimping both barrels, try to gently remove your wires to see if they are tight enough.
Also, inspect the crimped joint to ensure you didn’t leave wire strands outside the barrel.
Additionally, see that wires are secure on the barrel with no play or slippage.
You may now roll the insulator on the joint to prevent shortcircuits if necessary.
Lastly, you can use a multimeter to test the continuity of your newly made piggyback spade connector joint.
Testing continuity using a multimeter
Conclusion
I trust you can now identify the type of piggyback connector you need, depending on your application environment. While you can also use my researched steps to install it correctly, always ensure you follow the manufacturer’s guidelines.
