Wiring harness is used in all products such as car, truck, TV, refrigerator, computer, server, aerospace, aviation, medical device, heavy machine, the power sector, and domestic appliances.
A wiring harness is also known as a cable harness, wiring bundle, or wiring harness kit.
What is a wiring harness?
A wiring harness set of different cables bunched or assembled with the help of electrical conduit, cable ties, connectors, and housing is used for different applications in products such as power supply, data transmission, or signal transmission.
Wiring harness applications:
Wiring harness mainly used to supply or receive,
a. Power
b. Data Transmission
c. Signal (analog or digital signal)
Wiring harness types:
Today we talk about industry 4.0, cloud computing, smart gadget, and smart products. Each wiring harness type is designed based on its primary application, such as a power cable cannot be used for data transmission whereas; a data cable cannot be used for electric power supply.
Power Cables
Data Transmission Cables / Signal Cables
Electrical cables
Let’s understand each type of wiring harness types
Power Cable:
Power Cables: Power cables are mainly used to transmit power from the power generation source to the power grid to the substation or transformer.
Power cables are mainly classified as
A. Low Tension Cable: Suitable upto 1KV voltage level
B. High Tension Cable: Upto 11KV voltage level
C. Super Tension Cable: 22 to 35 kV Voltage level
D. Extra High Tension Cable: 33Kv to 66Kv
Power cables are further classified based on special-purpose usage. These special-purpose cables are also known as extra high-tension cables
a. Oil filled
b. Gas-filled
As power cables are used for high voltage transmission hence following sub-type of power cable construction also need to be considered,
a. Conductor: Copper / Aluminum
b. Type of Insulation: XLPE / PVC
c. Voltage rating
d. With earthing / without earthing
- Electrical Cables: Electrical cables are classified into the following types,
a. Shielded cables
b. Twisted pair cables
c. Coaxial cables
d. Fibre optics cable
Data Transmission Cables / Signal Cables
Data Transmission Cables / Signal Cables: Computer cables are further classified into per following types,
- VGA cable
- Ethernet cable
- HDMI cable
- USB cable
- DVI cable
Further cable selection or design depends on the following application parameters or requirements.
- Application – Power transmission or signal transmission
- Environmental Condition
- Flexibility
- Torsional Resistance
- Bend Radius
- Color coding and labeling
- Insulation & Shielding
- Type of Connector
- Dielectric strength
- Ohmic resistance
- Cable routing
- Soldering
In addition, following SAE standards helps you to understand more details and technical requirements of different wiring harness/cable.
- J2183 60 V and 600 V Single Core Cables
- J2863 Automotive Trailer Tow Connector
- J156 Fusible Links
- J1678 Low Voltage Ultra Thin Wall Primary Cable
- J2031 High Tension Ignition Cable
- J1654 High Voltage Primary Cable
- J2840 High Voltage Shielded Primary Cable
- J2032 Ignition Cable Assemblies
- J2501 Round, Screened and Unscreened, 60 V and 600 V Multicore Sheathed Cables
- J163 Low Tension Wiring and Cable Terminals and Splice Clips
- J1127 Low Voltage Battery Cable
- J1128 Low Voltage Primary Cable
We hope, this blog post helped you to understand an overview of cable, cable application, and technical requirements!