A wiring harness is a set of wires, terminals and connectors which runs through the entire vehicle covering each and every part, connecting each and every part and at the same conducting electricity throughout the car. Automotive harness connectors are basically the backbone of an electromechanical system. A DC connector is used which supplies direct current to the wire harness connectors. The connectors are directly related to the wire harness as the overall performance of the wire harness is directly determined by the performance of the connector. This whole system plays a huge role in the overall system, stability and safety of the whole vehicle.
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| Automotive Harness Connectors |
The plug connector is a very important component of the wiring harness. Plug and socket connector is made up of female receptacle socket contacts and male plug contacts. In case of automotive harness connectors, a plug is often referred to as the male contact and is movable whereas a socket is the female counterpart and is fixed.
Types of Automotive Harness Connectors:
There are many types of automotive harness connectors. Although the most common types are:
- Metri-pack Connectors
- AMP superseal connectors
- Anderson Connectors
- Weather pack connectors
Choosing the Right Automotive Harness Connectors
Choosing the right automotive harness connector is very important not only for the overall performance of your vehicle but also to modularize, improve manufacturability, downsizing and even field maintenance. There are several important factors which are needed to be taken into account:
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Current Rating: It is the most important factor for automotive harness connector among all the other due to many reasons. It is measured in amps per circuit. It is basically the measure of the amount of current that can be passed through. Then this current level is adjusted accordingly so that the temperature of the surrounding circuits remains in control.
- Connector size: Connector size has become an important issue because every day the size of the equipments are decreasing or in other words downsizing. Connector size can also be mentioned as circuit density which refers to the number of circuits an electric connector can hold per square inch.
- Wire size: Wire size is an important factor to be considered for automotive harness connectors for a number of reasons. This is important because in many cases the current which flows through the wire is very close to the maximum current limit. Also, in many cases, the mechanical strength of the wires needs to be high. In both these cases, thick wires should always be chosen.
- Agency approvals: It is very important that the automotive harness connectors you use are approved by specific agencies and experts by comparing them to other connectors. It is a very important factor which you should never forget.
- Strain reliefs: Strain relief is nothing but an extra layer of protection for the safety of the whole vehicle in question. What it basically does is, if any live wire due to overstress moves from its designated position, it prevents that live wire from touching any other wire or component to prevent any accidents.
- Material used: The material used to make an automotive harness connector is the last decision to be taken. Usually, nylon plastic is used due to its high tolerance to increase in temperature and other safety issues.
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| Automotive Harness Connectors |
Conclusion
As mentioned earlier the whole power supply to your vehicle is dependent on the wire harness and which cannot work without automotive harness connectors, as a result, it is very important to choose the correct connector. If you have reached till the end of this guide hopefully you have understood everything about connectors and how to buy the perfect connector for your vehicle.
