Implementing stowed wire

A Routing Electrical design may require an extra wire in the harness. This type of wire does not make a physical connection, but does run from one connector to another. A wire that does not connect at one or both ends is termed a stowed wire. This section describes how to include a stowed wire in a harness design.

Connector qualification

Any connector used as the termination point of a stowed wire must contain a multi port to which the harness path is to attach. This is a typical set up for an electrical connector. The multi port may have terminal ports or virtual ports, or both, defined for it.

Assign a virtual port to the multi port using Qualify Part. The name of the virtual port may be anything as long as it is not the Pin ID of a real connection point. Possible examples are: NO_CONNECT, NC, and NOT_ATTACHED. Do this for all connector components you want to use as stowed wire termination locations (possibly ALL connectors in the part library).

Connection List (.hrn) content

For each stowed wire in the design there must be an entry in the Connection Navigator, just as there must be an entry for all other wires. For a stowed wire, however, the Pin ID box contains the name of the virtual port as defined for each connector. For example, the Pin ID box for a stowed wire would contain the string NO_CONNECT.

Assume the Connection List import format is:

Connection List File Format = Minimal
Type = comma_delimited
unique_id, string
from_comp, string
from_conn, string
from_port, string
to_comp, string
to_conn, string
to_port, string
od, real

Then an entry in the Connection List for a stowed wire not connected at either end could be:

SW1, DEVICE_1, CONN_A, NO_CONNECT, DEVICE_2, CONN_B, NO_CONNECT

If the wire connects at one end but not the other, the entry could be:

SW1, DEVICE_1, CONN_A, PIN_1, DEVICE_2, CONN_B, NO_CONNECT

Routing the stowed wire

A stowed wire routes the same way other wires route. Using either Auto Route or Manual Route, the wire is routed from connector to connector provided a path is defined between the multi ports of the two connectors and those connectors have been assigned. The cut length is determined using the default multiplier and offset, or those assigned specifically to the stowed wire.

Formboard

Stowed wires will carry to the formboard model. The designation of the virtual port name, such as NO_CONNECT, informs the harness builder that this wire is not to be connected. Otherwise, you can add a special note to the formboard drawing to alert the builder NOT to connect the stowed wire.

Related topics

• Routing Electrical best practices introduction
• Color bleed-through in shaded harness displays
• Multi-conductor cable configuration
• Understanding bundle diameter calculation
• Calculating bundle weights
• Cable diameter value used in bundle diameter calculation
• Path creation for backshell attachment
• Defining splices