The black housing includes a feed-through design and a polarizing key to prevent mis-mating with the header.
IDC Termination — What the Wire Range Means for the Harness Build
This connector terminates 26-28 AWG ribbon cable through an IDC slot — the insulation is displaced by the forked contact as the cable is pressed into the housing. The free-hanging (in-line) mounting suits cable-to-board harnesses where the receptacle mates with a board-mounted header. The polarizing key in the housing ensures the cable is oriented correctly before termination — a mis-oriented IDC termination is a scrap assembly, so the key saves a rework step.
Position Count and Cross-Shop — 14 vs 17 Positions
The 1658621-2 carries 14 positions in a dual-row, 0.100" pitch layout. The same AMP-Latch receptacle family includes a 17-position variant (1-226733-4) that shares the same IDC termination, wire gauge range, and free-hanging mounting — the difference is the position count, which changes the cable width and the mating header pin count. For a harness builder standardising on one connector family, the 14-position and 17-position members use the same tooling and the same 26-28 AWG ribbon stock; the only variable is the number of signal lines terminated. No single-vendor lock — the AMP-Latch series is widely second-sourced.