Electrical connection Info (Plating)

[Hammerfall]

Hi,
Im new here so Hi to all here!

I have some thecnical questions on automotive interconnect.

Here's my questions:

1- What plating on connectors should i use for the best under the hood application.
I need my connectors to withstand hi temp, great temp variation, reliability,... it'd for low signal level (12V signals and maybe also 5V signals.
Im working on a electric car so it's a mix of typical automotive designs but with some new feature like 500V batterie, high voltage signals... etc.

2- Is there some place where i could find some plating interface table to tell me what can happen if i use some gold plated contact with tin plated contact (Will it corrode, make a battery effect (voltage drop), oxydate faster, ... etc...

 

[Ron07663]

Designing reliable electrical interconnects for underhood applications is a complex and specialized field. I would suggest that without the expertise in this field, you should plan on buying the connectors from qualified vendors rather than designing them.

The following sites have some basic information about contact material, plating and automotive specific requirements:

http://www.copper.org/applications/industrial/DesignGuide/homepage.html

http://ewcap.uscarteams.org/RequestInfo.htm

Also, the web sites of automotive connector suppliers should also be of some help.

 

[Hammerfall]

Thanks RON

i also have another question, Im currently looking for lesson or course to gather more info on wiring system, crimping, harness design, well anything cabling in automotive industry.

i work at a place we mix high tech and automotive and we must comply to all the automotive specs but we usually must surpass them because we are working with higher volateg and current.
(High power battery--- around 450V delivering sometime around 200Amps)

i know that cabling knowledge it's like a "niche" ... you dont learn that at school you must go in specific class or course (usually given by companies or professionnal group)

 

[Fabrico]

You may be working on odd things but there is little chance the electrical needs are all that unique. Perhaps you need to look toward military and commercial aircraft, mobile refrigeration and communication, railroad, and/or generator wiring.

 

[VaBeachZ]

SAE & ASTM are some of the standards used in both military & commerical. Alot of the mil specs & MIL STD's are being changed over to SAE & ASTM, MIL-SPEC-12345 is now SAE-AMS-12345.

Contacts are gold plated being as gold is the next-to-perfect conductor and offers less corrosion with the least amount of voltage loss through the connection. And yes, buy ready made connectors, it'll be alot cheaper.

Remember, 97% of the current traveling on a conductoris on the skin, or surface. So, with this in mind, the more the strands, the more current capacity. Check a 4/0 cable compared to THHM 8 AWG.