20-Position Single-Row Housing for Harness Builds
The 1-104257-9: It is a free-hanging (in-line) housing designed for crimp termination — you bring your own female socket contacts, as the housing ships without them. The latch lock fastening gives a positive audible click when mated with the matching header, holding the pair together without secondary hardware. This is the housing half of a wire-to-board or wire-to-wire interconnect system, typically used in internal harnesses for industrial controls, test equipment, and telecom gear where the 2.54mm pitch balances routing density with ease of hand assembly. The single-row layout keeps the housing narrow — useful when you are stacking several connectors across a board edge or routing a harness through a tight cable exit.
Contacts Not Included — Order Separately
A common trip point: the 1-104257-9 housing does not include contacts. The female socket terminals must be ordered as a separate line item — the TE AMPMODU MTE crimp socket (typically the 104257 series contact, e.g., 1-104257-0 or similar depending on wire gauge). Plan the BOM with both the housing and the per-position contacts. The crimp termination requires a hand or pneumatic tool with the correct AMPMODU MTE die set; the terminal locks into the housing with a positive retention ramp that gives a tactile click when fully seated.
Mating Half and Locking
This receptacle mates with the AMPMODU MTE pin header (through-hole or surface-mount, straight or right-angle) of the same pitch and position count — a 20-position, 0.100" header. The latch lock on the housing engages with a corresponding slot on the header shroud. When the latch clicks, the pair is locked against vibration and accidental pull-off; you can still release it by lifting the latch tab. No secondary lock or screw is needed for most stationary applications.