×
INTELLIGENT WORK FORUMS
FOR ENGINEERING PROFESSIONALS

Log In

Come Join Us!

Are you an
Engineering professional?
Join Eng-Tips Forums!
  • Talk With Other Members
  • Be Notified Of Responses
    To Your Posts
  • Keyword Search
  • One-Click Access To Your
    Favorite Forums
  • Automated Signatures
    On Your Posts
  • Best Of All, It's Free!
  • Students Click Here

*Eng-Tips's functionality depends on members receiving e-mail. By joining you are opting in to receive e-mail.

Posting Guidelines

Promoting, selling, recruiting, coursework and thesis posting is forbidden.

Students Click Here

Jobs

Testing Electrical Connections

Testing Electrical Connections

Testing Electrical Connections

(OP)
Can someone help me with some guidance.

Is there a good way to test the integrity of a crimped electrical connection?  

Is there equipment that can do this on a completed assembly scale?  

RE: Testing Electrical Connections

Like everything there are many different aspects.  Test for what?  Come quickly to mind.

Pull tests are very telling.  If it unplugs easily you have problems.  If the wire comes out of the terminal you have problems.

Generally if the mechanical tests are passed the electrical are redundant.

Keith Cress
Flamin Systems, Inc.- http://www.flaminsystems.com

RE: Testing Electrical Connections

Electrical tests may be redundant unless someone does not strip the wire(s) first. Yes, I have seen this occur first-hand.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It's the questions that drive us"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RE: Testing Electrical Connections

Weak crimps will show up as a higher resistance. There are bond testers from Rod-L and Hypatia that place a high current through the connection for a timed period and report the resistance.  These are commonly used to test the ground connection from the chassis through the power cord. This may provide some useful information on a critical application.

RE: Testing Electrical Connections

You need a microhmeter, sometimes called a DLRO or Ductor. AVO and AMEC make the best ones.

RE: Testing Electrical Connections

(OP)
Thank you all.  Your help is appreciated.  I will look into the equipment suggested.

RE: Testing Electrical Connections

Quote:

AVO and AMEC make the best ones.

Wow, that's a brave statement. Megger, T&R and Cropico will all be pleased to know that...

----------------------------------
  
If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!

RE: Testing Electrical Connections

"on a completed assembly scale"

Companies like Amp/Tyco have crimping tools with built-in ratchets so the crimps are always identical.  If you use the right wire and the right tool, the crimps were identical.  Likewise the Amp/Tyco automated bench tools used machined die sets for the same consistency.  For quality assembly work, this is the way to do it.  

RE: Testing Electrical Connections

"Wow, that's a brave statement. Megger, T&R and Cropico will all be pleased to know that..."

AVO and Megger are the same company, never heard of those other ones. Let me rephrase. For people in the power system testing industry AVO (Megger) and AEMC are the most popular choices. Hows that?

Red Flag This Post

Please let us know here why this post is inappropriate. Reasons such as off-topic, duplicates, flames, illegal, vulgar, or students posting their homework.

Red Flag Submitted

Thank you for helping keep Eng-Tips Forums free from inappropriate posts.
The Eng-Tips staff will check this out and take appropriate action.

Reply To This Thread

Posting in the Eng-Tips forums is a member-only feature.

Click Here to join Eng-Tips and talk with other members!


Resources