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SoliForum - 3D Printing Community → Hacks & Mods → E3D Wiring
I just got my new E3D kit and bracket. However the one part of the guide that seems a little sparse is the wiring.
What I was wondering is, if I could chop off the connectors from my old hotend and connect them to the E3D?
Sure can.
I would run the new heater cartridge wires all the way to the board if your going to go that route. Those connectors aren't the greatest and some day you'll want to upgrade them. This way you can cut to length at that time instead of wishing you had not cut them so short. 
The thermistor wires you can just use the existing wires and plug or even use the old thermistor until you are confident you can make the necessary firmware changes.
I've rewired all my existing extruder connections using JST connectors from a guy on eBay. I really need a crimper as my connections using a pair of needle-nose pliers is unreliable and I'll probably have to re-do the connections.
I did find out that my cartridge isn't blown as I was grabbing the cartridge with a clothespin after testing it and it just started smoking, so I know it works.
The thermistor is also intermittently dropping so that needs to be re-done.
I made a nice little y-connector using the JSTs so that I can connect both fans to the OEM fan connection. Those connections seem to be stable. This allows me to switch back to the stock hot-end and use only the one fan on the stepper.
Sorry for hijacking, but it is safe to remove and re-do the connectors from stock to new. You just have to make sure the connections are solidly crimped and that requires a little bit of time.
Some more notes about this are available here: http://www.soliwiki.com/E3D_extruder
For small orders of connectors (or small orders in general), DigiKey is your friend. After moving back to the east coast from the west, I certainly don't miss (the trainwreck that once was) Fry's, largely thanks to DigiKey. They've recently upped their USPS First Class rates from ~$2 to ~$3, but still reasonable, and they arrive in a couple of days, which is fine with me (there's also Mouser, Newark/element14, etc, but the shipping rates start higher).
For the MTA100 IDC connectors, you could reuse by cutting and soldering the wire, but I would not recommend removing and re-inserting the wire (even on a fresh connector, inserting without the proper tool can easily lead to poor connections -- much more if you reuse a connector that already has it's blades deformed).
+1 on crimper (next driver order from Pololu, throw one in, perhaps?) -- if you don't have one, soldering is better (although a PITA).
SoliForum - 3D Printing Community → Hacks & Mods → E3D Wiring
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