How To Maintain Different Types of Forklift Battery Connectors
Forklifts often have a tough life hauling massive loads and undergoing extensive use. In order to get the most use out of your forklift, it is important to check up on its various components and conduct proper timely maintenance for best results.
Types Of Forklift Battery Connectors
Electric forklift battery connectors can be categorized into two types; Flat Connectors & Euro-Din Connectors.
Flat connectors or “Anderson Connectors” as they are often referred to have a simplistic design with only two primary components; the housing unit and the main contacts. The connectors are gender-less with the same connector types used on the battery, charger, and forklift. In order to connect them together, one simply rotates 180 degrees to the other. The contacts themselves have a design life of about 10,000 connections.
The Euro-Din forklift battery connectors have a more robust pin and socket technology contacts (male and female) with an in-built safety mechanism that prevents the connectors from un-mating due to shock or vibrations. The Euro-Din forklift battery connector has several components that include the housing, voltage pins, Main & Auxiliary contacts, air tube adapters, connector handle as well as adapters for water.
The Rema MRC is a commonly used Euro-Din connector for forklift trucks and because of its design, it can not be repaired. However, replacement is easy and in case it does get damaged you simply unbolt the damaged harness from the battery and bolt in a new one.
Maintenance Checks & Tips
Forklift battery connectors, like any other electronic component, suffers from the rough and tough use associated with forklift trucks. Damage to connectors, cables and contacts are inevitable over time and expedited if proper maintenance checks are not conducted in the desired time frames.
It is highly recommended to always check the manufacturers and companies guidelines before making any repairs. It is best to be safe and always report issues before working on fixing it yourself. However, some basic routine checks maintenance tips can help extend the useful life of forklift battery connectors and prevent them from suffering extensive damage
Dirt & Grime
Wiping dust and dirt off the contact points can help connectors maintain a clean contact surface area improving performance. Using White Lithium or any suitable grease for metal to metal applications can also keep the connector points clean and easy to connect and disconnect.
Crimping
Checking the crimp to see that is tightly in-place and not lose is also recommended if encountering electric malfunctions.
Surface Contact Pitting
When the battery is disconnected from the charger and the charger is still on it creates an electric arc that pits the contacts. This causes frequent disconnections under heavy load and use. Contact surface pitting can also occur from dust and dirt settling on the contacts. Once the contacts are pitted the only way to fix it is to replace the contacts as repair becomes no longer possible.
Connector Housing
The plastic cover keeping all the components together should be regularly checked for signs of cracks, discoloration, and melting.
Battery Cable
The battery cable itself suffers from wear and tear that can result in splits or cracks in the cable leading to exposed copper wiring. Checking the battery cable for signs of wear and tear is essential to avoid major problems from occurring down the line.
Taking out just a few minutes to make routine checks can help you save a lot of time and money in the long run. For more information on forklift battery connectors visit Tontio.com.
