1977 280z Dash Harness Connectors

[ckurtz2]

Hey guys,

I am reassembling my dash and my next obstacle is replacing all the broken connectors (have broken locking tabs) on the dash harness. I have heard vintage connections carries datsun connectors, but they don't seem to have what I need. My connections seem to be bullet connections inside the connector instead of spade.  I am sure many people have ran into this problem. 

Should I just repin the connectors for spade connections and go with one of the vintage connectors. I would prefer to find the proper connector and save the hassle of repinning the harness, so let me know if you know where to get these connectors!

 

[SteveJ]

I don't know if the old Yazaki connectors are available anywhere. Even my good friend, Google, is stumped. The Yazaki connectors that are available aren't the same type.

https://www.easternbeaver.com/Main/Elec__Products/Connectors/Sealed/YPC/ypc.html

This one may work for the 2 pin connector: https://kojaycat.co.uk/epages/950000457.mobile/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/950000457/Products/2W-YAM-RD125-MAL-CONN https://kojaycat.co.uk/epages/950000457.mobile/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/950000457/Products/2W-YAM-RD125-FEM-CONN

6 pin: https://kojaycat.co.uk/epages/950000457.mobile/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/950000457/Products/6W-YAM-ML-CONN

4 pin: https://kojaycat.co.uk/epages/950000457.mobile/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/950000457/Products/4W-YAM-MAL-RD-YPC https://kojaycat.co.uk/epages/950000457.mobile/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/950000457/Products/4W-YAM-FEM-RD-YPC

It's not easy finding those parts.

[ckurtz2]

@SteveJ This is a great lead, pretty similar to the original, thank you! I was just looking at them a little further and they seem pretty specialty, as to where they are designed with tabs so that they can lock onto the dash itself (the big white plastic box). 

I wonder if anyone on this site would be willing to expirement with a 3D printer. I am decent at CAD so I bet I could design the connectors without too much trouble, I just don't have access to a 3D printer to do trial and error.

[LorenB667]

13 hours ago, ckurtz2 said:

@SteveJ This is a great lead, pretty similar to the original, thank you! I was just looking at them a little further and they seem pretty specialty, as to where they are designed with tabs so that they can lock onto the dash itself (the big white plastic box). 

I wonder if anyone on this site would be willing to expirement with a 3D printer. I am decent at CAD so I bet I could design the connectors without too much trouble, I just don't have access to a 3D printer to do trial and error.

My brother-in-law has a 3D printer (I used it for the fuse box I posted about). I might be able to finagle some use out of it. No guarantees on timeliness, though.

[crayZlair]

I have a 3-D printer, and could try your designs. However, it is the middle of Autocross and lawn mowing season, so my free time is very limited.

[Captain Obvious]

My experience with connector shells is that there are very tight dimensional tolerances and very thin walls. I would be surprised if connector shells like that could be successfully printed. Not to mention the brittleness vs. flexibility of the printed materials.

Hope I'm just being pessimistic and it works!! 

[crayZlair]

PLA material is somewhat flexible (not as much as nylon), but the main function of the shell is alignment and insulation. The pins do all of the electrical connection. Underhood connectors need moisture barriers, underdash not so much.

Edited June 27, 2023 by crayZlair
added text for clarity

[ckurtz2]

Awesome, thanks for the support guys! Out of curiosity what type of 3D printers do you have @crayZlair and @LorenB667.

Well, I spent a few hours and made a prototype of the female 6 pin connector. Let me know if anyone here can actually view the part in CAD. Not going to pursue this further if members can't access the parts I make. 

@Captain Obvious My old highschool had extremely nice 3D printing equipment ( I was extremely privledged to have acess) and I often made small intricate parts, was hard to tell they were even 3D printed. However, the printers I used were like $40,000 plus each. I have used many printers all the way back to the old Makerbots, and I think it is strongly dependant on the material and settings used in the software to break down the part into tool paths. 

280z gauge female connector.SLDPRT

[crayZlair]

Creality Ender-3 V2

Can you convert your .SDLPRT to a .STL?

I use UltiMaker Cura to generate the .gcode files

Edited June 27, 2023 by crayZlair

[LorenB667]

Brother-In-Law's is an Anycubic Kobra (I want to say the Max version).

[ckurtz2]

Sweet.

Let me know if the STL works

280z gauge female connector STL.STL

Edited June 27, 2023 by ckurtz2

[crayZlair]

Print is in progress. Supposed to take about 3 hours. I will let you know how it turns out.