"Stealth" Mode Button

[rusty houndog]

After some running around, and paying too much for ten connectors, I have discovered the source for connectors used in the Sigma EV switch kit and all those Toyota connectors the instructions tell us to salvage out of the Prius harnesses.

The part is made by Tyco, available from Newark Electronics in both tinned copper and gold plated copper.

The tinned part number is 1123343-1
The gold part number is 1123343-2

They are available on the web though Newark at six cents or less each, The Newark page says you can order as few as one! I'll believe that when I see it happen, not before.
I'm talking about the one six-cent part order, not the six-cent price.

Another place is at a GM car dealer. The number is the same and the service people will love you for bringing in the number and not making them waste time trying to match the connectors on those pig tails in the Sigma kit. The connectors are parts in the Kent-Moore electrical repair kit all GM dealers must have to service modern computer controlled cars.

It's possible you could go into a large Toyota dealer and find them there also. My local Toyota dealer didn't have such a connector kit in the Toyota shop.

In any event, having clean, new connectors to use for the EV wiring task is a necessity for me; I don't like the idea of messing with any more than is absolutely needed to make a clean install. Trying to salvage connectors from the installed equipment is just asking for trouble. Buy new and avoid any potential disasters.

It goes without saying that these connectors are automotive communication wiring parts. DO NOT try to make do with D-sub (RS-232) parts from Radio Shack. They will not stand up for any length of time in an automotive environment; they don't last all that long just connected to a computer.

Think of how badly the vibrations in a car will effect them. Retention of connectors in a manually assembled unpotted RS-232 plug has always been a problem. Being in a car will just encourage those connectors to fall out of the automotive plug; the retention method is completely different. The computer part is friction retained, the Toyota (read Tyco) automotive part is positively latched in with a spring latch.

Originally Posted by efusco

search EV Button and EV Mode and prepare to do a lot of reading....
Here's my original article, sans pictures.
[KB] EV Button Installation Instructions

EV Button Installation with Y harness
Check out calcars.org too for a differetn version of my article.