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The sealing of electrical splices in heavy equipment has become an important element in increasing the life and reliability of both on and off-the-road vehicles. Adhesive lined heat shrink tubing is an effective protective and sealing method for these splices; it protects splices from the mechanical, electrical, chemical and temperature environments that exist in heavy equipment operation. In addition, the tubing meets the production requirements of reproducible installation at production rates and low installed cost. This paper will focus on one heat shrink tubing system which was designed for the sealing of vehicular electrical splices. It will discuss the design requirements, manufacturing methods and installation techniques and mechanisms for this heat shrink tubing system.

The sealing of automotive splices through the use of heat-shrinkable tubing has been shown to be an effective means to provide protection from the electrical, mechanical, chemical, and temperature environments that an electrical splice is exposed to in automotive applications. The product must not only meet these requirements, but also must be able to be installed reproducibly at production rates. In order to meet these requirements, a splice sealing system was developed which consists of: A properly designed adhesive lined heat shrinkable tube which can withstand the electrical, mechanical, chemical, and thermal environments which are present in automotive applications. A methodology to select the proper size of tubing to seal a wide range of splice configurations, wire types, and wire gauge sizes. An installation method which will ensure that the product can be installed at production rates in a reliable manner.