The battery shall be grounded to the vehicle chassis/frame at one location only, as close to the batteries as possible. When using a chassis ground system, the chassis shall be grounded to the frame in multiple locations, evenly distributed throughout the vehicle to eliminate ground loops. No more than four ground ring/spade terminal connections shall be made per ground stud. Electronic equipment requiring an isolated ground to the battery (i.e., electronic ground) shall not be grounded through the chassis.
Low Voltage/Low Current Wiring and Terminals
All power and ground wiring shall conform to specification requirements of SAE Recommended Practice J1127, J1128 and J1292. Double insulation shall be maintained as close to the junction box, electrical compartment or terminals as possible. The requirement for double insulation shall be met by wrapping the harness with plastic electrical tape or by sheathing all wires and harnesses with non-conductive, rigid or flexible conduit.
Wiring shall be grouped, numbered and/or color-coded. Wiring harnesses shall not contain wires of different voltage classes unless all wires within the harness are insulated for the highest voltage present in the harness. Kinking, grounding at multiple points, stretching, and exceeding minimum bend radius shall be prevented.
Strain-relief fittings shall be provided at all points where wiring enters electrical compartments. Grommets or other protective material shall be installed at points where wiring penetrates metal structures outside of electrical enclosures. Wiring supports shall be protective and non-conductive at areas of wire contact and shall not be damaged by heat, water, solvents or chafing.
To the extent practicable, wiring shall not be located in environmentally exposed locations under the vehicle. Wiring and electrical equipment necessarily located under the vehicle shall be insulated from water, heat, corrosion and mechanical damage. Where feasible, front to rear electrical harnesses should be installed above the window line of the vehicle.
All wiring harnesses over 5 ft long and containing at least five wires shall include 10 percent (minimum one wire) excess wires for spares. This requirement for spare wires does not apply to data links and communication cables. Wiring harness length shall allow end terminals to be replaced twice without pulling, stretching or replacing the wire. Terminals shall be crimped to the wiring according to the connector manufacturer’s recommendations for techniques and tools. All cable connectors shall be locking type, keyed and sealed, unless enclosed in watertight cabinets or vehicle interior. Pins shall be removable, crimp contact type, of the correct size and rating for the wire being terminated. Unused pin positions shall be sealed with sealing plugs. Adjacent connectors shall either use different inserts or different insert orientations to prevent incorrect connections.
Terminals shall be crimped, corrosion-resistant and full ring type or interlocking lugs with insulating ferrules. When using pressure type screw terminal strips, only stranded wire shall be used. Insulation clearance shall ensure that wires have a minimum of “visible clearance” and a maximum of two times the conductor diameter or 1/16 in., whichever is less. When using shielded or coaxial cable, upon stripping of the insulation, the metallic braid shall be free from frayed strands that can penetrate the insulation of the inner wires.
Ultra-sonic and T-splices may be used with 7 AWG or smaller wire. When a T-splice is used, it shall meet these additional requirements:
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It shall include a mechanical clamp in addition to solder on the splice.
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The wire shall support no mechanical load in the area of the splice.
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The wire shall be supported to prevent flexing.
All splicing shall be staggered in the harness so that no two splices are positioned in the same location within the harness.
Wiring located in the engine compartment shall be routed away from high-heat sources or shielded and/or insulated from temperatures exceeding the wiring and connector operating requirements.
The instrument panel and wiring shall be easily accessible for service from the driver’s seat or top of the panel. The instrument panel shall be separately removable and replaceable without damaging the instrument panel or gauges. Wiring shall have sufficient length and be routed to permit service without stretching or chafing the wires.
Electrical Components
All electrical components, including switches, relays, flashers and circuit breakers, shall be heavy-duty designs with either a successful history of application in heavy-duty vehicles or design specifications for an equivalent environment.
All electric motors shall be heavy-duty brushless type where practical, and have a continuous duty rating of no less than 40,000 hours (except cranking motors, washer pumps and wiper motors). All electric motors shall be easily accessible for servicing.
All relays, controllers, flashers, circuit breakers and other electrical components shall be mounted in easily accessible electrical compartments. All compartments exposed to the outside environment shall be corrosion-resistant and sealed. The components and their functions in each electrical compartment shall be identified and their location permanently recorded on a drawing attached to the inside of the access panel or door. The drawing shall be protected from oil, grease, fuel and abrasion.
The front compartment shall be completely serviceable from the driver’s seat, vestibule or from the outside. “Rear start and run” controls shall be mounted in an accessible location in the engine compartment and shall be protected from the environment.
General Electronic Requirements
If an electronic component has an internal real-time clock, it shall provide its own battery backup to monitor time when battery power is disconnected, and/or it may be updated by a network component. If an electronic component has an hour meter, it shall record accumulated service time without relying on battery backup.
All electronic component Suppliers shall ensure that their equipment is self-protecting in the event of shorts in the cabling, and also in over-voltage (over 32V DC on a 24V DC nominal voltage rating with a maximum of 50V DC) and reverse polarity conditions. If an electronic component is required to interface with other components, it shall not require external pull-up and/or pull-down resistors. Where this is not possible, the use of a pull-up or pull-down resistor shall be limited as much as possible and easily accessible and labeled.
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