Deutsch 6 Pin Connector Black - Female

This 6 pin Deutsch connector is the female half: a black plug with six cavities and an orange wedge lock across its face. Blue Alpine lists it as part number E00136-00, at $2.72. It mates with the male receptacle (E00125-00), the one with the green wedge lock.

Female plug or male receptacle: telling them apart

It’s easy to mix the two up, especially from a small photo. Look straight into the mating face. The female plug has six holes, and the socket contacts sit back inside them where you can’t easily touch them. The male receptacle has six pins standing up inside a shroud. On these two Blue Alpine parts the wedge color settles it: orange on the female, green on the male.

A 6 pin Deutsch connector only works as a pair. If the other side is damaged too (bent pins, corrosion, a cracked shroud), order the male Deutsch receptacle at the same time and replace both.

What the orange wedge lock does

On a 6 pin Deutsch connector each contact is held two ways. A small plastic latch inside the cavity grabs the contact when you push it in from the wire side. Then the wedge lock slides into the face and holds all six in line. Think of it as the backup. It stops a contact backing out when the halves are pressed together.

If the wedge isn’t fully home, the plug may refuse to mate, or one contact can sit loose and make an intermittent connection. Those are miserable to track down, so press it flush. For background on connector families in general, Wikipedia’s electrical connector page is a reasonable start.

Moving your wires to a new 6 pin Deutsch connector

Unplug the freeze dryer from the outlet before you start. Separate the halves by pressing the release latch and pulling on the housings, never the wires. Then photograph the back of the old 6 pin Deutsch connector so every wire color and its cavity are easy to read. Most Deutsch housings have tiny cavity numbers molded in. Write those down next to the colors.

• Pull the orange wedge lock straight out with needle-nose pliers or a small hook.
• With the wedge out, lift the latch finger holding the first contact. A jeweler’s flat screwdriver does the job.
• Ease that wire out the back. If it resists, the latch isn’t clear yet, so don’t yank.
• Push the contact into the same numbered cavity on the new 6 pin Deutsch connector until it clicks, then tug the wire lightly.
• Repeat for the other five, then press the new orange wedge in until it sits flush.

Doing one wire at a time is slower. It’s also how you avoid swapping two of them.

Contacts and crimping

The photo shows this 6 pin Deutsch connector housing with its wedge lock. If you’re unsure whether you’ll need new contacts as well, ask us before ordering. Good contacts from the old plug can usually be moved across. A damaged one has to be replaced and crimped on fresh, which takes a crimp tool made for this style of contact. Ordinary pliers squash the barrel flat, and the wire works loose later.

The mating half of this 6 pin Deutsch connector, plus another cable we carry:

Still getting a fault after the swap

A new 6 pin Deutsch connector fixes a bad connector and nothing else. If the trouble comes back, go through this list:

• Did every contact click in? Tug each wire. One that slides isn’t locked.
• Is the wedge lock flush on both halves?
• Did the latch click when you pushed the halves together?
• Any green or white crust on the male pins, or a pin bent sideways?
• Is a wire broken just behind its contact? Flex it gently and look.

When the plug checks out and the problem’s still there, the cause is likely further along the circuit. Describe the symptom, and what you’ve already checked, on our contact page, or phone +1 (443) 514-5708. More connectors and cables are in the electronics section.