In a global economy we see many of the same cars on the roads of Europe, America. But due to different standards for automotive connectors and components, the electronic packaging inside them may be different.

The global automotive market is not limited by national borders, national pride or even tariffs. On the streets of countries such as Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom, you will see multinational hybrids from Audi, Ford, Toyota, Volkswagen, Honda, Volvo, and even some Bentleys, Peugeots, and Teslas in some places. However, due to country-specific standards and regulations, the components inside these vehicles may vary from one market to another, even within the same model. Connector companies doing business with European and U.S. automakers must either offer two sets of products to meet the specific needs of those countries or offer connectors designed to meet all applicable standards for automotive connectors across markets.

(Once you consider the Asian automotive market, other standards come into play.) First, the two most important standards that every product must meet are UL (U.S.) and VDE (Germany/European) certifications. The UL and VDE (Verband der Elektrotechnik) organizations certify electronic products used in automotive and other applications through rigorous testing protocols. These certifications demonstrate that products meet a strict set of safety, reliability and environmental sustainability guidelines. They must also comply with two automotive standards, USCAR in the United States and LV214 in Europe. Published by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in 2008, USCAR 2 covers performance testing at all stages of development, production and field analysis of electrical terminals, connectors and parts that make up electrical connection systems for high-voltage (60~600V) road vehicle applications.

LV214 is an automotive standard developed by representatives of German car manufacturers Audi AG, BMW AG, Daimler AG, Porsche AG and Volkswagen AG. It is state-of-the-art for almost all Tier 1 to Tier X suppliers. The LV214 standard is technically still in draft form, but connector companies including Lumberg, JAE, Schleuniger, TE Connectivity already offer products that meet the goals of the standard. The LV214 addresses the crimp force monitor's ability to identify terminals. In automotive wiring harnesses, compatible terminals must have certain crimp force characteristics so that the monitor can detect error patterns and monitor the quality of the crimp terminal to ensure sufficient pressure is applied to the crimp.

The United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR) standards cover multiple automotive areas, including safety, wiring, electronics and energy storage. Another important automotive consideration is low-voltage differential signaling (LVDS), which addresses high-performance data transmission applications in global markets. This type of data signaling uses two wires to transmit high-speed signals. So, are USCAR or LV214 certified connectors better? Neither is necessarily better. The tests for these two criteria are more or less identical, but the intensity of their expression in individual test groups differs. For example, in USCAR, the hydrolysis test suite is more stringent and comprehensive than in LV214, which may result in a different plastic material being used for the connector housing, or some other difference.

Another difference: U.S. automakers use press-fit technology, but European cars are moving away from this method. Many connector manufacturers don't even make crimp terminals. Instead, some connector manufacturers prefer to use insulation displacement contact technology (IDC). LV 214 is targeted at virtual housings for connectors in which crimp terminals are placed individually. However, the IDC technology and the terminal base form a unit. Therefore, some test groups that cater to enclosures or individual crimp terminals cannot be tested due to the design of the system.

"As the automotive industry rapidly moves to integrate new technologies, from vehicle lighting to LED conversion, to autonomous driving and safety systems, updates to these standards will have a decisive impact on vehicle design. The transition to electric vehicles will also replace electronic systems Many mechanical components and systems, which are subject to more standards and regulations, as each element is subject to country-specific and sometimes component-specific guidelines. In other words, for a small, interconnected world, most A simple solution could be a standard for all worlds.