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I have gotten the task of finding an appropriate connector for our application, but given so much information there is on connectors, I don't even know which information is relevant.

So this is the task;

I have a cable that has a strand of 10 smaller insulated wires inside. I must find an appropriate connector that will guarantee IP 67 protection.

I measured some of the dimensions of my cable and they are;
Cable outer diameter = 6.5 mm
Wire insulation outer diameter = 1.1 mm
Wire copper cross-section = 0.205 mm²

My question is where do I search for the connectors? Is it at the sellers like Mouser and Farnell, or should I try looking straight to the manufacturers? How do you find the right connector in the vast sea of all the possibilities?

Thank you all.

Additional information:

The connector is going to be used in automotive application. The wires will transmit mostly digital signals for communication and a pair for supply power of 12V no more than 1A. It should be wire-to-wire attachment.

SamGibson
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Samo Smodis
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    You should first identify what voltage and current ratings are required and what type of signals it carries. Next, where is the connector attached to? (BTW, IP67 is quite high and probably reduces the sea to a lake...) – Huisman Jun 05 '19 at 09:33
  • @Huisman the connector is going to be used in automotive application. The wires will transmit mostly digital signals for communication and a pair for supply power of 12V no more than 1A. It should be wire-to-wire attachment. – Samo Smodis Jun 05 '19 at 09:37
  • IP67 means it has to be water resistant for at least 30 minutes at 1 meter depth. Did you start by searching for 'water proof' connectors? Is the interface a standard one or is this totally custom cable? – hekete Jun 05 '19 at 09:39
  • Well, I can find plenty of different kinds of connectors, what I am wondering is, if there is a way to do like a wide search like the sellers have where you just input the filters. I run into problems when I start looking at some manufacturer and after 30 mins I see that either, my wire diameter is inappropriate or they do not have the right numer of pins. – Samo Smodis Jun 05 '19 at 09:44
  • You may not find a 10 pin that fits your needs, but a 12 pin would be perfectly acceptable, no? Something like [this?](https://au.mouser.com/datasheet/2/206/B-0094-2E_MX23A-1132557.pdf) – hekete Jun 05 '19 at 09:50
  • Indeed, most sealed automotive connectors I can see at molex (https://www.molex.com/molex/products/group?channel=products&key=sealed_connectors) can accept AWG22 at the smallest. Your 0.205mm2 is AWG24. I suspect it would be the case for most other manufacturers too. Maybe you can tell your boss that you'd have a much wider choice of connectors if the wire size was just a tiny bit bigger. – dim Jun 05 '19 at 09:50
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    Use Digikey, their parameteric search is good. Start with 'connector', then 'circular connector, then 'more filters'. The 'ingress protection' filter actually throws up zero hits for all connectors with IP67 in the rating, but shows more than 3000 with IP68, which is a better rating. Within those, you can now use the 'number of positions' filter to exclude those with too few, or way too many. Filter on current and voltage as well. I don't see a 'wire size' filter, but current will get you close. – Neil_UK Jun 05 '19 at 09:53
  • @Hekete I have came across this connector myself, but isn't it wire-to-board? I would need wire-to-wire. – Samo Smodis Jun 05 '19 at 09:56
  • @dim Yes i see this aswell, but this is a prototype connector so we probably won't change cable size. – Samo Smodis Jun 05 '19 at 09:56
  • @Samo Then, for a prototype, you can probably get away with using a AWG24 wire on a AWG22 connector. Just test and check each terminal appropriately after crimping. Heck, you might even solder it. – dim Jun 05 '19 at 10:01
  • @dim Yes I am thinking the same of using the 24 AWG on 22 AWG connectors. The difference in diameters is just 0.1 mm. – Samo Smodis Jun 05 '19 at 10:13
  • @Neil_UK Thak you Neil. The Digikey search is truly good, I have found quite some connectors that fit my criteria. – Samo Smodis Jun 05 '19 at 10:19
  • [These](https://www.amphenol-sine.com/pdf/catalog/Duramate-AHDP-Flyer-2018.pdf) ones look good and will fit your wire. But doesn't come in 10 way. – hekete Jun 05 '19 at 10:26
  • @SamoSmodis ...and the great advantage of a digikey search is that you know you can get prototypes, even if they do cost. – Neil_UK Jun 05 '19 at 12:54
  • One thing you may want to look at is 12 position connectors. I say this because they are more common in a sealed automotive application. For example IP67 or greater free hanging options on Digi-Key's site there are 65 in 12 pos and only 4 in 10 position. Most IP rated connector housing will have plugs for unused positions. Here is a link to options you could look at. https://www.digikey.com/short/pmnzq3 – Robert Fay Jun 12 '19 at 14:31

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