GPIO pins, how to use (physically)

[divinenanny]

This is a total beginner question, but how much force should one use to put something on the GPIO pins?

Long form:
I have a Raspberry Pi B+ and a PiGlow. I want to put the PiGlow on the RPi. I line it up on the left side (away from the USB, on the edge) of the GPIO pins. When I push a little bit, it seems to be very wobbly (just touching it knocks it off). I have to push extremely hard to get it to go on and stay there.

Is this normal? Should you push very hard to get something on the GPIO pins? Or will I break my RPi when I do this?

If this is a duplicate question, please excuse me, but I cannot for the life of me find anything here or through Google that helps me with the actual connecting of an accessory on the GPIO pins...

[scotty101]

Something like the PiGlow should be pressed down on to the GPIO pins as far as it can go.

You do have to take care when you are lining up the pins and apply equal force on both sides as you press it down on to the pins so you don't bend them. There is a decent amount of mechanical strength when it comes to pressing down or pulling on the pins but they do bend quite easily.

[BMS Doug]

Something like the PiGlow should be pressed down on to the GPIO pins as far as it can go.

You do have to take care when you are lining up the pins and apply equal force on both sides as you press it down on to the pins so you don't bend them. There is a decent amount of mechanical strength when it comes to pressing down or pulling on the pins but they do bend quite easily.

+1

it may feel like you have to use a lot of force to push the connector on, just remember that each pin is a tight fit to make a good electrical connection and you are pushing (or pulling) against 26 pins worth of simultaneous friction. As long as you have it on straight and none of the pins are bent you should be fine.