Electronic – Recommendations for 3.5 switching audio jack which does NOT short to Ground at plug-in or plug-out

battery-chargingconnectorpower supply

I have been using a 3.5 mm switching Audio Jack in order to charge/switch-on and off my RC-Glider model. For this I connected the battery of my RC-glider to the one-part of the audio jack and the electronics to the other side. The audio jack I use seems to be a SJ1-3515 (although, I am not sure as this switch was delivered with the model). Here are the schematics: Schematics of my wiring

However I noticed that whenever I plug-in or plug-out a cable, ground is shortly connected to either of the two other pins, which then of course shorts-out my battery! This led to high-current and some very hot wires which desoldered my connections to the switch. Obviously I do not want to short my battery every time I plug-in or plug-out the charger or the on-off insert.

Therefore my question(s):

  1. Is this a normal behavior for a switching 3.5mm Jack?
  2. Can someone tell me if non-shorting-out 3.5mm Jack connectors exist, and how to find those? Or am I just plainly using the wrong tool for the job?

Thanks in advance!

Edit: Per demand I included a (badly drawn) schematic.
Edit2: Generalized the question such that I ask for the class of non-shorting products instead of a specific product.

Best Answer

  1. Yes that is normal, the sleeve connection of the jack most likely touches the tip and ring when plugging and unplugging.

  2. Yes, wiring large battery currents via a short-prone audio connector rated for 1A max current does seem like a bad idea. It is a completely wrong tool for the job. There are far more suitable connectors available that are designed for connecting DC power (instead of audio), such as the common barrel plugs.

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