TE Connectivity Driving Weight Out of Vehicle Connectors

When it comes to taking weight out of a vehicle no detail is too small, including the electric wiring harness that snakes it way through every car and truck and typically tips the scales at up to 50 lbs. (23 kg).

Steve Merkt, president-Transportation Solutions, TE Connectivity, says auto makers increasingly are looking to aluminum, rather than copper, wiring to drive down vehicle mass to help meet looming federal fuel-economy regulations.

Until now, cost has kept the auto industry from employing the lighter metal, but technological innovation is making the switch possible, Merkt says.

One of the main hurdles to the strategic use of aluminum throughout the wiring harness is the galvanic corrosion that occurs when the metal is paired with copper. Aluminum oxidants first have to be removed and the metal must be sealed before it is joined with the copper and sealed again.

But TE Connectivity has developed a way to circumvent the cost-prohibitive procedure.

“During the manufacturing of a (wiring) harness, we treat aluminum the same as copper,” Merkt tells WardsAuto. “We built into our system a series of physical properties that enable us to deal with corrosion and oxidation in one step, so the economics for aluminum wiring have changed dramatically.”

Displacing copper with aluminum can shave 10%-15% in weight from a typical wiring harness. The weight savings would be even higher if not for the larger conductors that are required to make up for aluminum’s lower conductivity.

The aluminum treatment process has been validated and is ready for production. Merkt says a number of auto makers are interested in the wiring technology, but declines to reveal TE Connectivity’s customers.

“In a couple years, 1%-2% of vehicles will have it, but over the next 10 years there will be widespread use,” he predicts. “Every OEM has a different strategy; some are much more aggressive and looking at across-the-board implementation.”

Expect aluminum wiring to appear first in European vehicles, Merkt says.

TE Connectivity also is expanding its electrified-vehicle business. Those models, especially those with high-voltage connectors, such as all-electric vehicles, pose unique challenges, Merkt says.

“You have traditional connectors, such as infotainment and safety systems and windows, but the distribution of high voltage is entirely different,” he says. “We don’t take existing technology and start from scratch. You have to beef it up.”

The supplier has leveraged its experience with high-power transmission lines to make its electrified-vehicle products more cost effective and compact.

Safety also is a key consideration, Merkt says, noting all high-power connectors have to be insulated with a specialized polymer and other materials.

“If a crash sensor goes off, we make the connector systems that will turn off the flow of power,” he says. “You have to make sure you have sensor technology and cable assemblies that are robust enough and have circuit protection and relay technology to determine if that flow of electricity should occur or not.”

While TE Connectivity’s electrified-vehicle business is growing, the EV market overall hasn’t taken off as quickly as some projected.

“We’re happy with the acceleration we’ve seen, and our market share and pace of growth is solid,” he says. “It differs by region. Asia has the most traction, but in Europe it’s not nearly as much, and in the U.S. it’s in-between.”

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