The main components of automotive wiring harness
The main components of automotive wiring are automotive connectors and automotive wires, which, through protective materials and positioning elements, ensure the proper functioning of the electrical circuits within the vehicle.
As the functions provided by automotive electronics and electrical systems increase, the number of onboard electrical components and the required wiring harnesses also increase, leading to more complex wiring harness structures.
Typically, this involves hundreds to thousands of different types and models of raw materials and components.
The Importance of Automotive Connectors
Automotive connectors, which are the core components of the wiring harness, connect the wiring harness to electrical devices. A single vehicle model may require nearly a hundred different types of automotive connectors, with the total number reaching several hundred.
Generally, connectors have three basic performance requirements:
- Mechanical Performance: For connection functionality, insertion and extraction are crucial mechanical properties. The insertion and extraction force, including insertion force and withdrawal force, are key indicators of this performance. Some high-voltage or special-purpose connectors also have requirements for the number of insertion and extraction cycles.
- Electrical Performance: This mainly includes contact resistance, maximum current-carrying capacity, insulation resistance, and impedance performance.
- Environmental Performance: This includes resistance to temperature, humidity, salt spray, vibration, and shock. Due to the unique nature of automotive applications, higher performance requirements are imposed on automotive connectors in terms of safety, weather resistance, reliability, and vibration resistance.
Impact of connector performance on wiring harness
The performance of automotive connectors directly determines the overall performance of the wiring harness and plays a decisive role in the stability, safety, and reliability of the automotive electronic and electrical systems.