Chris Dillon has been shaping the field of automotive
connection systems for nearly two decades. After more than ten years at Molex
and over eight years at General Motors as Technical Specialist for connectors
and high-speed cables, he took on the role of EWCAP Manager at USCAR in 2024.
In this position, he is driving the alignment of connector and terminal
standards across OEMs and suppliers, working at the intersection of innovation,
collaboration, and standardization. With this background, Dillon shares his
perspective on the most pressing challenges the wire harness sector will face
in the coming years. We spoke with him ahead of the Automotive
Wire Harness & EDS Conference 2025, where he will be one of
the featured speakers.
ADT: We are in the midst of a dynamic and
disruptive decade for the automotive industry. From your perspective, what are
the biggest challenges the wire harness sector will face over the next five
years?
Dillon: The largest challenge facing our industry in
this regard will be bridging the infrastructural changes needed to transition
from the current predominant vehicle electrical architecture to emerging
transitional trends. Current 12V systems, wire harness designs, and their
related manual assembly processes do not provide optimal alignment with the
evolution in current electrical systems and architectures. As we move through this
transition, the technical requirements, design guidelines, and assembly
processes of electrical connection systems and their integration into wire
harness assemblies will be heavily impacted by factors such as automated wire
harness assembly aimed at variability and warranty reduction, automated harness
assembly in the vehicle to further reduce variability and labor costs, the
introduction of zonal architectures with localized electrical zones, increasing
technical and safety requirements as voltage potential rises, and the growing
demands for new safety features such as active and passive systems and
drive-by-wire.
Beyond these factors, what other developments do you see?
In addition, moving from 12V to 48V systems can
significantly reduce copper usage while allowing connector and wire harness
simplification. Most automotive manufacturers, however, lack the luxury of
starting with a clean slate where all new systems can be developed and
integrated into new vehicle platforms assembled in state-of-the-art automated
plants. As a result, necessary changes will be introduced incrementally through
updates to existing vehicle platforms and plant-level assembly processes. This
gradual, rather than sweeping implementation means that the realization of
benefits will follow a staged cadence.
How do you expect this transition to unfold in practice?
The transition will be costly and time-consuming to design,
develop, and implement. One of the initiatives that USCAR has been working on
is to support the development of public-private partnerships with local, state,
and federal government organizations to initiate a collaborative manufacturing
environment for an automotive smart manufacturing center. In this environment,
suppliers and OEMs can develop new processes and technologies to support North
American manufacturing. These broader collaborations could even be leveraged
across other industries, such as defense and aerospace, where new manufacturing
processes could be incubated in facilities designed to ensure efficient
development. This is one area that could help foster the transition to electric
systems.
At USCAR, you're in a unique position to align technical
requirements across OEMs and suppliers. What are some recent examples of how
EWCAP initiatives have helped streamline development, reduce duplication, or
improve reusability in connector and terminal system designs?
EWCAP (Electrical Wiring Component Application Partnership)
has been a working group of USCAR and has helped streamline the development
process for automotive connection systems over the last 30 years by constantly
improving connector technical requirements and specifications. EWCAP was
developed to foster a collaborative environment between the USCAR member
companies (Ford Gerneal Motors, and Stellantis) and the connector suppliers in
order to develop common innovative design solutions for interchangeable electrical
connection systems and terminals. To this end, EWCAP publishes common connector
interface drawings and releases shared technical design and validation
specifications. This approach enables a more efficient and competitive market
where connector suppliers can compete in ways that align with industry needs.
How exactly does that look in practice?
Multiple connector suppliers are able to develop harness
connectors and terminal systems that mate to common device interface
connectors, while working both collaboratively and independently to provide
interchangeable and innovative design solutions. They win business through
ingenuity, higher quality, improved performance, and competitive pricing, while
multiple device suppliers can reuse the same mating interface, thereby
increasing the total connector volumes needed. In addition, multiple automotive
manufacturers use the same devices, further raising volumes. This strategy has
resulted in significant benefits: higher connector volumes support the
viability of multiple suppliers manufacturing harness connectors for the same
interface, which avoids single sourcing.
What role does increased demand play here?
The increased demand makes it possible to use higher
cavitation tools and automated assembly equipment to manufacture that
connector, leading to higher-quality connectors at competitive prices. USCAR
also works closely with member companies to prepare for industry changes by
updating and aligning specifications. We address recurring warranty issues by
challenging technical requirements, making updates as needed, and vetting these
changes with connector suppliers. Connector design specifications are regularly
updated and released to meet new industry needs such as higher circuit density,
faster data communication, and higher power.
How do these updates typically work in practice?
USCAR-2 (Connector Validation) and USCAR-12 (Connector
Design Guidelines) are updated every three to four years, while USCAR-37 is
currently being revised to support 1000V systems and cable sizes up to 120 mm²,
compared to the original 35–50 mm² when it was released in 2008. A new
specification, USCAR-55, is being developed to define shield crimp requirements
as a supplement to USCAR-21 and USCAR-38, ensuring robust shielded terminal
designs for high-voltage and data communication systems. In 2024, USCAR-49 was
released for mini-coax connectors, supporting higher-speed data transmission at
lower cost compared to USCAR-17. Revision Letters are also published to address
urgent issues. For example, when
sealability problems in the field revealed weaknesses, we suggested adding a
bending process during pressure testing to expose flawed designs. By
understanding how harnesses are routed and updating validation testing
accordingly, such measures will reduce warranty claims in the future.
Your session at the Automotive Wire Harness & EDS
Conference 2025 highlights USCAR’s role in shaping industry-wide connector
standards. As EWCAP explores expansion into high-speed and high-voltage cable
assemblies, what do you see as the key priorities for specification development
– and how can cross-industry cooperation accelerate this effort?
Part of my role as the EWCAP Manager is to work with other
standards committees to align North American design requirements with the
international community. In this capacity I have assumed the role of USTAG for
ISO TG22 (Automotive), SC32 (Electrical Systems), and WG6 (Automotive
Connection Systems). This role provides me with access to ISO connector
standards that are comparable to USCAR specifications, as well as voting
responsibility to confirm or reject changes to ISO standards, which allows me
to support US initiatives. It also gives me insight into how and why
requirements differ in other regions, and this information can then be used
either to update USCAR specifications or to work with peers to align ISO
standards with ours.
What benefits does this kind of alignment bring to the
industry?
Such an alignment across multiple regions enables suppliers
to improve their connection systems, promoting reuse, driving performance up,
and pushing total costs down. To address higher voltage requirements and larger
cable assemblies, we are in the process of updating USCAR-37. Current electric
vehicles require voltages upwards of 1000V, while larger vehicles need to
travel longer distances between charging, which in turn requires larger
connection systems and thicker, stiffer cable assemblies. The updates to
USCAR-37 are being made to align with these larger connectors and cables, and
to ensure that design and validation requirements adequately address potential
safety issues related to higher voltages. Through ISO, these changes will also
be introduced internationally via ISO 20076, the equivalent to USCAR-37, and
feedback from that community will be used to further improve the specification.
How is the rise in in-vehicle communication changing the
requirements?
In-vehicle communication is growing significantly, leading
to a substantial increase in demand for high-speed connection systems and cable
assemblies. Although the connector suppliers define the systems and channel
requirements, cable assemblies are not always manufactured by the same
suppliers. Standards such as ISO-21111 define Ethernet channel requirements for
module-to-module communication, while USCAR-17 and USCAR-49 define coax and
mini-coax connection systems. Connector suppliers demonstrate capability by
testing their systems within specified limits, but Tier 1 cable assemblers must
also validate their own production processes. Existing specifications such as
USCAR-21 for terminal crimping and the developing USCAR-55 for shield crimping
can be adapted to ensure reliable production. While connector suppliers
validate their designs, cable assemblers must pass these requirements to
achieve production validation. Looking ahead, we will need to determine what
additional validation specifications are required for cable assembly suppliers.
These will need to be tailored to the communication protocol of the intended
cable usage, whether Ethernet, coax, or others, and may include requirements
such as signal integrity, dry circuit or insulation resistance, and cable pull
strength.
