Automotive standards for electrical connector locking/retaining forces

[davidVz]

Hello,

Does anyone know of automotive standards (ASTM/SAE/etc) that address an appropriate/minimum electrical connector locking or retaining force? I have a problem of a connector (12V DC, approx 500 ma, ~22 AWG) detaching very easily and if there is an industry-wide standard for retainment forces I would like to target it with an engineering change.

Thank you,

Dave

 

[dgallup]

The only "standard" connectors I'm aware of are the USCAR ones. You can find the specs here:

http://www.uscar.org/guest/teams/10/Electrical-Wiring-Component-Applications-Partnership

They really only define materials and geometry, I've not come across retention specs but I've not looked recently. Most other connectors are proprietary and you have to contact the company that originally designed it. Some others like the infamous "Mini Timer" have been around a long time and everybody uses it and has their own idea about what the correct dimensions are but there is no standard. I have a file folder of different drawings of that connector. None of them are the same. The differences are small but they could have a large difference in retention force.

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[bradrs]

I've seen what you are describing with the variants on the Mini Timers. Even the USCAR connectors have variations between manufacturers that result in some connectors not mating at all, and others mating, but with enough movement after locked that the electrical connection is still intermittent. A company I was working for found this out the hard way when making injector intercept harnesses.

But to answer the OP question, I never saw an industry standard for that, but I primarily work with aftermarket and a little OEM. The good connector companies would specify this value in their documentation for the connector series. You might want to examine what forces are causing it to detach and if those would cause problems long term on the wire/terminal. It may be a case of needing to secure the harness or your device a bit better.

I always tried to spec connectors that were 1) already used by an OEM in a similar application, and 2) were something widely available that mechanics could get if they had a small electrical problem. So on a GM, where there are tons of Delphi connectors, I'd try to use a Delphi GT series or something like that.