Testing Guidelines
Testing Cables with a Twist
Use the following practices to help when testing twisted pairs.
Many of the products that use the cables and harnesses don’t sit still. They are moved around, plugged in, unplugged, shaken, and the cables and harnesses are put through a ride. Are the pins going to hold? Are the wires going stay intact? Is there a way to know beforehand?
Cirris testers can’t predict the future, but they can perform an intermittents test. This test continuously runs low voltage tests to give the operator a chance to move the cable around. What does this accomplish? Perhaps a pin or wire is loose. Moving the cable will give the tester a chance to find the open and alert the operator to the problem.
Testing for intermittent errors can be a challenge because the problem isn’t always present. Perhaps a test failed because of a short. The operator wiggles the cable around enough and the problem goes away. Problem solved? That depends. Would you want to be the person riding in the airplane or driving the car or having a medical procedure performed when the error comes back and the cable fails? The operator performs a test to look for intermittent errors and the result is a short…it’s fine…short...fine…short. Get the picture? Now you have a clear idea of what the problem is and how to solve it.
To learn more about intermittents and how to set up an intermittent test, check out the article in the Cirris Learning Center, “Testing for Intermittents in Cable and harness Assemblies.”
Further Reading: