Intermittent Or Poor Connections

Most intermittent conditions are caused by faulty electrical connections or wiring. Inspect for the following items:

• Wiring broken inside the insulation
• Poor connection between the male and female terminal at a connector--Refer to Testing for Proper Terminal Contact for the specific procedure.
• Poor terminal to wire connection--Some conditions which fall under this description are poor crimps, poor solder joints, crimping over the wire insulation rather than the wire itself and corrosion in the wire to terminal contact area, etc.
• Wire insulation which is rubbed through--This causes an intermittent short as the bare area touches other wiring or parts of the vehicle.

It is important to test terminal contact at component and any in-line connectors before replacing a suspect component. Mating terminals must be inspected to ensure good terminal contact. A poor connection between male and female terminal at a connector may be the result of contamination or deformation. Contamination may be caused by connector halves being improperly connected. A missing or damaged connector seal, damage to connector itself, or exposing terminals to moisture and dirt can also cause contamination. Contamination, usually in underhood or underbody connectors, leads to terminal corrosion, causing an open circuit or intermittently open circuit. Deformation is caused by probing mating side of a connector terminal without proper adapter, improperly joining connector halves, or repeatedly separating and joining connector halves. Deformation, usually to female terminal contact tang, can result in poor terminal contact causing an open or intermittently open circuit.