Electrical contact and connectors in automotive systems

Presents a review of electrical contact phenomena applied to connectors, and associated with the special conditions of automotive systems. Electrical contacts are often the weakest link in an electrical system in terms of long term reliability. The reliability of the contact interface is affected by a complex interaction of environmental effects, materials and circuit factors. The systems used in automotive systems are particularly susceptible to the environmental factors, such as temperature fluctuations, vibration and corrosion. With the increasing complexity of automotive electronics the careful design of connectors and other contacts must be considered as an important matter. This paper considers recent trends in connector design, and presents a novel method of assessing connector reliability using a nonlinear contact resistance probe.<>