Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - February 2024 - 8

TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS
Battery disconnect switches,
power relays and e-stops help
extend the life of connectors
by eliminating the need to
disconnect, remove and
reconnect them.
Jon Harman, Global Vice President, Sales and
Customer Care, TE Connectivity.
parts, can severely injure workers if not
turned off before they are accessed.
As a result, off-highway vehicles must
have switches and relays that open and
close the electrical circuits that power
their advanced systems. When multiple
technicians work on a vehicle simultaneously,
it is important to have safeguards
that prevent one from reactivating
a high-power electrical system,
which could harm the other workers.
Sourcing the right switches
and relays
Mechanical and electrical engineers at
OEMs want to source robust, high-performance
switches and relays for the
heavy equipment they develop - and
for good reason. Switches and relays
must perform repeatedly to enable safe
operations and maintenance.
With battery disconnect switches,
operators manually turn handles to disconnect
batteries, which takes less than
a second as the handle rotates from
one position to another. They can also
lock and remove handles for added
safety. This is much easier than physically
removing battery cables, a timeconsuming
process that can be challenging
when batteries are placed under
other equipment.
Power relays enable workers to depower
operations remotely in milliseconds.
Utilizing power relays offers the
8 February 2024
ability to remotely control power switching
without the expense of running
heavy-gauge power cables that carry
hundreds of amps (4/0 AWG or 120 mm2
minimum, up to around 500 MCM or 240
mm2
) all over the vehicles. Eliminating a
long run of such cable saves cost and
weight, reduces complexity of wiring
harness, reduces potential failure points
and simplifies maintenance of the vehicle.
These benefits can more than pay
for the cost of a power relay.
Large equipment such as pavers or
aggregate crushers may have multiple
emergency-stop switches (e-stops) located
so that operators do not have to
run around vehicles to power off systems
in case of emergency. The e-stops
connect to relays, enabling remote
powering down of systems.
Sourcing components, such as battery
disconnect switches, power relays
and e-stops specifically designed and
developed for the industrial and commercial
transportation market, ensures
they can resist punishing operating conditions,
shock, vibration and extreme
temperatures, as they are used day after
day and year after year. In addition,
they help extend the life of connectors
by eliminating the need to disconnect,
remove and reconnect them.
Through selling factory-direct, via a
centralized distribution organization, or
individual distributors, component
" Utilizing power relays
offers the ability to
remotely control power
switching without the
expense of running heavy
cables all over the vehicles. "
manufacturers can provide OEMs with
greater flexibility in purchasing solutions.
As a result of this direct engagement,
customers can provide input
about requirements and influence product
design, and experience shorter lead
times and faster service delivery.
Component manufacturers also can
work with standards committees to
shape the industry's future by developing
next-generation products that offer
enhanced functionality and performance
while evolving legacy products
to meet new standards.
High-quality switches and relays put
operators and technicians in control of
when they start and stop systems. With
these solutions, vehicle owners protect
workers from electrical shock, injury
due to moving parts, damage to the
machine and more, while also maintaining
a high level of productivity.
Jon Harman, Global Vice President, Sales
and Customer Care, TE Connectivity, wrote
this article for TOHE. He previously led TE's
Global Product Management and Pricing
organization within the Industrial and
Commercial Transportation vertical.
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
BOTH IMAGES: TE CONNECTIVITY
Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - February 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - February 2024
