About OEM wiring harness from this guide. Whenever you need a wiring harness, the commonest way is to create one from scratch. However, the OEM wiring harness is a better alternative if you want a quick fix.
Today, we will examine the features of such a harness in detail, how to design it, and its applications. We will also provide the testing procedure for your OEM wire harness.
What is an OEM Wire Harness?
You always need a dependable wiring harness because an automobile’s cables are exposed to harsh environments. An OEM wire harness is essential to shield the wires from these conditions. Since it is from the original equipment manufacturer, you expect such a harness to be top quality.
Such a harness is often of better quality than the custom wire harness you can create with cloth tape.
Design Process for an OEM wire Harness
A bunch of wiring harnesses.
How do manufacturers design an OEM wire harness to ensure it perfectly suits its application environment? Ideally, they follow three primary considerations to ensure the end product is perfect:
Space Requirements
Electrical cables facilitate current flow from one point in the circuit to the other. However, in most cases, the cables have to pass through very tight spaces. So, the ideal wire harness should easily wind around these tight areas.
OEM wiring harness makers know this and ensure the harnesses are flexible enough. Their design must also fit perfectly where the auto manufacturer will use the harnesses.
Wire Technical Requirements
Manufacturers must understand what the cables beneath the harness primarily carry. This is important because different cables require different harnesses depending on their technical use.
Some carry signals, while others carry electric current. There are also those transmitting data. Each of these wires has a unique make-up, and most importantly, the harness manufacturer must meet its needs.
The wire harness is the outermost cover, essentially a sheath that adds a layer of protection to these wires. Hence, the manufacturer must ensure their quality is up to par to prevent interruptions and leaks.
Environment Considerations
Hot car Engine.
The manufacturer must also consider the environment when designing the cable. For instance, they must make a waterproof wiring harness to ensure the wires/cables are safe from rain.
Moreover, as earlier highlighted, your car’s engine chamber has moving parts and gets hot. The OEM wiring harness should also offer protection against these factors. Otherwise, you risk having recurrent electrical issues.
However, the OEM wiring harness maker runs the components through multiple tests to ascertain these aspects.
Converting the Wire Harness Design to Reality
A Wire Harness.
After design, the next step is to confirm whether the model can work under different environmental conditions via simulations.
In this step, the manufacturer creates a schematic, which prepares the model for posting on a pinboard.
The pin board is a diagram that indicates where each harness will be used on the auto system. Next, the engineers test if each part of the harness will fit the various conditions of their actual use scenario.
Also, at this point, the OEM manufacturers deduce if they will need supporting components such as straps and ties. The final step is the actual production. This process is complete when all the testing and everything works well.
Note that this process involves automation. However, there is also significant manual input, especially in the parts that involve delicate processes.
Testing of the OEM Wire Harness
A Wiring Harness.
Note that an OEM manufacturer always keeps testing the component throughout production. It is a critical process as it helps fix all the probable issues arising during the component’s use.
In this step, there is also a test board for the board’s electrical features. Note that this board is similar to the final platform of use. Also noteworthy is that the OEM tests a few of the wire harness prototypes before initiating mass production.
Wrap Up
When you buy an OEM wiring harness, it will likely be of great quality. Remember that it has undergone several tests. That’s all for now but always connect with us for more information on auto wiring.
