The Waytek Blog

We recently discussed how cable ties can help you keep your automotive wiring organized by bundling wire or cabling together. Now let’s take it one step further and examine the use of clamps to keep wiring fastened down and secured, preventing movement, wear and damage.

If you’ve tried purchasing a new vehicle recently, you may have had to wait to get the one you wanted. Pandemic and supply chain factors have continued to put a strain on availability.

Organizations that use multiple vehicles are also feeling the strain. Some Waytek customers who manage fleets of police and emergency vehicles reported being able to receive less than half of the new vehicles they wanted this year, and even fewer in 2021.

Lack of new vehicles means increased usage and wear on the vehicles that remain in your fleet, and increased risk of down time for repairs. Now more than ever, it’s important to be aware of the common points of failure in vehicle electrical systems and to make sure you have the parts on hand to address them.

Ignition-protected electrical components have become a standard requirement in marine applications. Ignition protection is also becoming important in other applications, especially those in which electrical components are used in enclosed or high-temperature environments.

Modern transportation, agricultural, and construction vehicles come with an ever-increasing array of  computers, GPS systems, and other electronic features that require wiring for both power and signal. In response, the market has developed connectors known as “hybrids” that can handle both signal and current.

Police vehicles continue to evolve, utilizing a growing array of electrical equipment ranging from sirens, flashers, and spotlights to radio systems, computers, safety locking mechanisms, and more.

Police cars require more auxiliary electrical power, circuitry and wiring than typical passenger vehicles. To support the demand, police vehicles come with powerful alternators (delivering 225 amps or more) and heavy-duty auxiliary batteries.

Pull-behind trailers come in a variety of sizes, weight classes and features. Whether you’re using a lightweight trailer to haul a few personal items, or pulling a livestock trailer, a boat trailer, or camper, it’s important that the trailer has been wired correctly.

Some DC electromechanical switches are hard to come by in today’s environment of materials  shortages and shipping constraints. In contrast, solid-state switches and contactors can be easier to source and offer many advantages over traditional switches—often at the same price point.

Challenges in the automotive wire harness industry – including extended wait times for established, well-known components – are pushing the market towards new products and alternatives. Other challenges include weight and space constraints, environmental regulations, and system requirements that are growing more complex.

The use of cable ties is common in automotive electrical applications for bundling and securing wiring, cable, wire harness conductors, hoses, and more. Cable ties go by many different names including zip ties, nylon ties, and cable wraps, but they all refer to the same thing: fasteners that bundle wires and cables together to help keep them organized and protected from damage.

At Waytek we are committed to shipping over 99% of our customer orders on the same day.* As our  order volumes have grown, we’ve done significant work to increase our warehouse capacity and efficiency, enabling us to keep a growing amount of inventory in stock while continuing to ship products quickly. Here are four projects we undertook in 2021 to help us meet our shipping goals—all of them completed without interruptions to customer orders.