The basic property of car connectors can be divided into three categories: mechanical property, electrical property and environmental property.
1. Mechanical property
As far as connection function is concerned, the insertion and withdrawal force is an important mechanical property. The insertion and withdrawal force is divided into insertion force and withdrawal force (withdrawal force is also called separation force), with two different requirements. There are provisions for the maximum insertion force and the minimum separation force in the relevant standards, which indicates that, from the point view of use, the insertion force is small (Thus there are low insertion force LIF and no insertion force ZIF). However, if the separation force is too small, it will affect the reliability of contact.
Another important mechanical property is the mechanical life, actually a kind of durability index, of car connectors. Taking one insertion and one withdrawal as a cycle, it is based on whether the car connector can normally complete its connecting function (such as contact resistance value) after that specified cycle.
The insertion and withdrawal force and mechanical life of car connectors are related to the structure of contact parts, coating quality of contact parts and dimension precision of contact parts arrangement.
2. Electrical property
The main electrical properties of car connectors include contact resistance, insulation resistance and dielectric strength.
1) Contact resistance
High quality car connectors should have low and stable contact resistance. Car connectors have contact resistances ranging from a few to tens of milliohms.
2) Insulation resistance
Measures of insulation performance between contacts and between contacts and housing of car connectors range in the order of hundreds to thousands of terabytes.
3) Dielectric strength
It refers to the ability to withstand rated test voltage between contacts or between contacts and housing of car connectors.
3. Environmental property
Common environmental properties include temperature resistance, humidity resistance and salt spray resistance.
1) Temperature resistance
At present, the highest operating temperature of car connectors is 200℃ (except for a few special high temperature connectors), and the lowest temperature is -65℃.
2) Humidity resistance
Moisture intrusion can affect insulation and corrode metal parts.
3) Salt spray resistance
When the car connector works in the environment containing moisture and salt, its metal structure and contact surface treatment layer may produce electrochemical corrosion, affecting the physical and electrical properties of the car connector. In order to evaluate the ability of the car connector to withstand this environment, a salt spray test has prescribed. The car connector is suspended in a temperature-controlled test chamber and ejected with compressed air at a specified concentration of sodium chloride solution to form a salt mist atmosphere with an exposure time by the product specification of at least 48 hours.
