INTERMITTENTS & Poor Connections: Notes

Most intermittents are caused by faulty electrical connections or wiring, although occasionally a sticking relay or solenoid can be a problem. Some items to check are:

• Poor mating of connector halves, or terminals not fully seated in the connector body (backed out).
• Dirt or corrosion on the terminals. The terminals must be clean and free of any foreign material which could impede proper, terminal contact.
• Damaged connector body, exposing the terminals to moisture and dirt, as well as not maintaining proper terminal orientation with the component or mating connector.
• Improperly formed or damaged terminals. All connector terminals in problem circuits should be checked carefully to ensure good contact tension. Use a corresponding mating terminal to check for proper tension. Refer to CHECKING TERMINAL CONTACT  for the specific procedure.
• The J 35616-A Connector Test Adapter Kit must be used whenever a diagnostic procedure requests checking or probing a terminal. Using the adapter will ensure that no damage to the terminal will occur, as well as giving an idea of whether contact tension is sufficient. If contact tension seems incorrect, refer to CHECKING TERMINAL CONTACT  for specifics.
• Poor terminal-to-wire connection. Checking this requires removing the terminal from the connector body. Some conditions which fall under this description are poor crimps, poor solder joints, crimping over wire insulation rather than the wire itself, corrosion in the wire-to-terminal contact area, etc.
• Wire insulation which is rubbed through, causing an intermittent short as the bare area touches other wiring or parts of the vehicle.
• Wiring broken inside the insulation. This condition could cause a continuity check to show a good circuit, but if only 1 or 2 strands of a multi-strand type wire are intact, resistance could be far too high.