Automotive Electrical Connectors
While doing various wiring tasks on my cars
and in particular, while rewiring my 1975 Suburban, I have
learned a lot about various wire connectors used in the automotive realm. I
started this page as a personal "crib sheet" so I could keep track of what
connectors and terminals were used in what places and to cross-reference the
names I found to something I already knew. As it grew, I decided to create a page describing the various connectors, the common names for each
style connector, how they come apart (for adding and replacing wires), what they
look like complete with dimensions (for easy visual ID).
Packard 56
- 0-20A, Unsealed
- Wire terminals available for 10 through 22 gauge wire
- 10 gauge is a really tight fit, 12 gauge may be a more
realistic limit
- 1/4" blade terminal design
- Most common style I have ever seen - GM, Chrysler, and even some
Fords use these
- Many switches and other electrical parts use a 1/4"
wide blade for electrical connections
- Most common "quick disconnect" terminals use a 1/4"
wide blade that will connect with these in a pinch
- Connector bodies commonly available in 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and even 8
cavity configurations
- Pushes in from back of connector
- To remove female terminal, depress small tang with a small flat
tool inserted from the front of the connector and push out
- To remove male terminal, compress the open slot in the tang with a
small pair of pliers and push out
Packard 59
- 0-20A (I don't believe this amperage rating - it should be
higher), Unsealed
- Wire terminals available for 10 through 22 gauge wire
- 5/16" blade terminal design - a "bigger
brother" to the Packard 56 series terminals
- Used in sealed beam headlight sockets, possibly used in some
larger-diameter wire situations in older GM bulkhead connectors
- Visually and functionally similar to Packard 56, but slightly
larger - same picture and removal technique applies here
Weather-Pak
- 0-20A, Sealed
- Wire terminals available for 12 through 22 gauge wire
- Very popular general purpose sealed connector design for
later-model GM vehicles
- Uses seals at the end of each wire that are held in place by the
terminal straight relief crimp
- Plugs are used in all unused wire cavities to preserve
weatherproof design
- To remove terminals, insert the special round removal tool (GM p/n
12014012) from the front and push out
Metri-Pak 150
- 0-14A, Sealed or Unsealed
- Wire terminals available for 16 through 22 gauge wire
- Used in various GM applications for low-power and sensor
connections
- Sealed connectors use seals and plugs similar to the Weather Pack
style
- Sealed connector bodies are visually similar to Weather Pack style
- Unsealed connector bodies vary by application
- To removal terminals, depress small tang with a small flat tool
inserted from the front of the connector and push out
Metri-Pak 280
- 0-30A, Sealed or Unsealed
- Wire terminals available for 12 through 22 gauge wire
- Used in various GM applications for medium power and sensor
connections such as the 3 connector TH700R4 case connector
- Sealed connectors use seals and plugs similar to the Weather Pack
style
- Sealed connector bodies are visually similar to Weather Pack style
- Unsealed connector bodies vary by application
- To removal terminals, depress small tang with a small flat tool
inserted from the front of the connector and push out
Metri-Pak 480
- 0-42A, Sealed or Unsealed
- Wire terminals available for 10 through 22 gauge wire
- Used for various higher-power applications
- Sealed connectors use seals and plugs similar to the Weather Pack
style
- Sealed connector bodies are visually similar to Weather Pack style
- Unsealed connector bodies vary by application
- To removal terminals, depress small tang with a small flat tool
inserted from the front of the connector and push out
Metri-Pak 630
- 0-46A, Sealed or Unsealed
- Wire terminals available for 10 through 22 gauge wire
- Used for various higher-power connections
- Sealed connectors use seals and plugs similar to the Weather Pack
style
- Sealed connector bodies are visually similar to Weather Pack style
- Unsealed connector bodies vary by application
- To removal terminals, depress small tang with a small flat tool
inserted from the front of the connector and push out
Micro-Pak
- Nothing known other than the name and a picture I came across in a
terminal supply catalog
Pack-Con I
- Used in various GM low-power applications such as sensors and switches
starting in the late '70s
- To removal terminals, depress small tang with a small flat tool
inserted from the front of the connector and push out
Pack-Con HD I
- Similar in design to the Pack-Con I, but thicker
- Available in wire sizes up to 10 gauge
- Used in GM ATO/ATC style fuse blocks as the "receiving" contacts
for the fuse.
- Visually and functionally similar to Pack-Con I, but slightly
larger - same picture and removal technique applies here
Pack-Con II
- Similar to Pack-Con I, but wider and slightly different contact style
with two retaining tangs instead of just one
- Used in GM ATO/ATC style fuse blocks as the "receiving" contacts
for the fuse
- To removal terminals, depress both small tangs with a small flat tool
inserted from the front of the connector and push out
Pack-Con III
- Similar to Pack-Con II
- Also used in some fuse blocks
- Same removal technique as Pack-Con II
GM Electronic Control Module
- Nothing known other than the name and a picture I came across in a
terminal supply catalog.
GM Printed Circuit Board
- I believe these are used in the connector at the back of the instrument
cluster on older GM vehicles to make contact with the flexible "printed
circuit board" used on the back of the instrument cluster
Ford
- Ford used a great variety of connector and terminal styles through
the years, so I'm lumping these here for visual reference. GM seems to have
put much more engineering into their electrical systems, and as such has
much more standard terminals over the years. (In the interests of full
disclosure, I do prefer GM vehicles and I have worked on more of them so I
have more experience with them.)
Chrysler
- Nothing known, included here for name and visual ID only.
Mate Lock
- This seems to be a "third party" connector style that is used in
some applications.
- Seems to be for low-power applications only
- Included here for name and visual ID only.
Sources
Not all vendors carry everything, and many of these are hard to come by in
small quantities. I do enough various work, that I simply buy them in packages
of 50+ terminals if I need a few - they're relatively cheap once you find a good
source, and once you have them around, they always seem to get used.
- Waytek Wire - great source, easy
online ordering. Their minimum dollar amount/quantity on each line item can
make it frustrating to get small quantities of unusual pieces - but so far
they are better than almost anyone else I have found. Their website is
full-featured, but has a few weird quirks you have to learn to work around.
- Terminal Supply Co - I
have only found them recently, so I can't speak to ordering. They claim to
have online ordering, but it looks more like a "email us the list of part #
and qty you want and we'll send you a price" style of ordering. They do
claim to have lots of other stuff available, which seems promising.
- Electrical Terminal Service - I
found these guys on the web while searching for various connectors. I have
no yet ordered from them, but they seem to be a good source for the
Metri-Pak, Weather Pack, and Packard 56 terminals. They do not have online
ordering than I can find.
- Your Local GM Dealer's Parts Department - Seriously! They usually have a
bunch of "terminal repair kits" in the service department with an assortment
of terminals in each one. If you ask nicely and know what you want or have a
sample of the terminal you need, they will often sell you a few for a
reasonable price. Beware that their computer will have nothing to look up,
so you have to trek down to the dealer, ask nicely, and hope for the best. I
got a handful of terminals for the TH700R4 case connector that's inside the
transmission for about $5 and an bit of waiting.
- Bowman - These guys seem to be an industrial supply place, and they sell
about everything you can imagine from mops to safety gear on down to wiring
and terminals. They do not deal direct with the public and have no real
catalog to speak of that I can find, so you have to go through other
channels. They seem to supply a lot of the "terminal repair assortments"
that are floating about. I did manage to convince my local auto parts store
to order me a few specific terminals in quantities of 50 each, and the
prices turned out to be unreal - like $100 for a few bagfuls of terminals.
(Moral: ask for a price before saying "yes, I'll buy them"...)
- Auveco - These guys seem to have
an impressive catalog of stuff, and they now have a catalog online. It says
B2B only at first glance, but you can browse it following the instructions
at the bottom of the page. Note that previous versions of this page
complained that these folks did not have an online catalog. They have since
rectified that situation and even sent me some mail noting the number of
hits originating from this page. Awesome! I originally stumbled across them
via a lucky Google hit on
part
of it at another website. If it hadn't been for that lucky
Google find, I would have never known these guys existed. (Note to anyone
running a supply company: your lifeblood is your catalog. Follow Auveco's
excellent example and get a PDF up on your website, will ya? I can
understand not shipping printed catalog for free, but not posting an online
catalog for folks to look at is just saying "we'd rather not have your
business" to potential customers looking for stuff to buy.)
- Hollingsworth - I found them
online while looking for terminals. One item that caught my eye was their
flag terminals.
- Lectric Limited - I found
this place online while searching for terminals. They seem to offer mostly
complete harnesses and various custom replacements as well as
repair/restoration services. They do not sell individual terminals, so no
luck there, but they do offer various repair kits. They do claim to be
custom manufacturing many specialty items for older GM vehicles, so working
with them on certain repair situations might be possible.
- NAPA - They have a surprising amount of stuff available if you dig
around in their catalogs and have a counter guy who is willing to help out -
or even better, let you browse the catalogs yourself. Talk it up and make
friends with the counter guy when you do your regular parts ordering, and
ask nicely when you need special stuff - it pays off in the end when you
need a favor or two.
- Cole-Hersee - I can order their stuff though my local parts store and
they have some interesting odds and ends, but not much. Your local parts
store may have a catalog you can look through if you ask real nice.
- DigiKey - They offer lots of great
stuff if you can find it buried in their catalog. It turns out that some
appliances use the same basic .250" wide blade terminals and connectors as
the Packard 56 series stuff, and they offer a series of stuff called "Fastin-Faston"
that has them in it. The have them in
their online catalog
with more here,
here, and
here. One thing I
saw of particular interest in the catalog page was their "flag" style
terminals - lots of good stuff. It would be worth getting a catalog from
them to see exactly what they have.
- Mouser Electronics - has a good
variety of stuff, including a lot fo automatic electrical terminals and
connectors. One of the readers of my site pointed these folks out to me.
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