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Has anyone made 12VHPWR cables that replace the 12 little wires with 2 large gauge wires yet? That would prevent the wires from becoming unbalanced, which shoul
by ryao 1y ago
Has anyone made 12VHPWR cables that replace the 12 little wires with 2 large gauge wires yet? That would prevent the wires from becoming unbalanced, which should preempt the melting connector problem.
As a bonus, if the gauge is large enough, the cable would actually cool the connectors, although that should not be necessary since the failure appears to be caused by overloaded wires dumping heat into the connector as they overheat.
- bobmcnamara 1y agoOr 12 strands in a single sheath so it's not overly rigid.
- alright2565 1y agoMight help a little bit, by heatsinking the contacts better, but the problem is the contact resistance, not the wire resistance. The connector itself dangerously heats up. Or at least I think so? Was that a different 12VHPWR scandal?
- ryao 1y agoI thought that the contact resistance caused the unbalanced wires, which then overheat alongside the connector, giving the connector’s heat nowhere to go.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- bobmcnamara 1y agoContact resistance is a problem. Another problem is when the connector is angled, several of the pins may not make contact, shoving all the power through as few as one wire. A common bus would help this but the contact resistance in this case is still bad.
- ryao 1y agoA common bus that is not also overheating would cool the overheating contact(s).
- alright2565 1y agoIt would help, but my intuition is that the thin steel of the contact would not move the heat fast enough to make a significant difference. Only way to really know is to test it.
- chris11 1y agoI think it's both contact and wire resistance. It is technically possible to solder a new connector on. LTT did that in a video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzwrLLg1RR4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzwrLLg1RR4
- ryao 1y agoUneven abnormal contact resistance is what causes the wires to become unbalanced, and then the remaining ones whose contacts have low resistance have huge currents pushed through them, causing them to overheat due to wire resistance. I am not sure if it is possible to have perfect contact resistance in all systems.
- AzN1337c0d3r 1y agoThey don't just specify 12 smaller cables for nothing if 2 larger ones will do. There are concerns here with mechanical compatibility (12 wires have smaller allowable bend radius than 2 larger ones with the same ampacity).
- kuschku 1y agoOne option is to use two very wide, thin insulated copper sheets as cable. Still has a good bend radius in one dimension, but is able to sink a lot of power.