Automotive electronics

The term automotive electronics covers all the electronics installed in a motor vehicle. Electronic devices include control units such as the instrument cluster for displaying data such as speed or revolutions per minute, driver assistance systems, alarm systems, airbags, navigation devices or anti-lock braking systems. The importance of automotive electronics shows its development to date: the software and electronic devices and systems used today to provide the driver with a lot of important information about the vehicle itself (e.g. tank level indicator, information about oil changes or maintenance) and mainly for the protection and safety of the occupants and other road users (e.g. through adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, seat occupancy detection). But the development of automotive electronics is far from over. On the contrary - the improvement of electronic components in the vehicle continues to progress. Above all, e-mobility, networking and autonomous driving are advances that are becoming increasingly important today and in the coming years.

Since the electrical components in a motor vehicle must always work reliably, their demands are correspondingly high. Tests to examine robustness, reliability, vibration and shock resistance or different temperatures are therefore unavoidable.

Which test procedures are relevant for automotive electronics?

Test procedures for automotive electronics are intended to ensure that the electronic components do not impair the operation of the vehicle. EMC tests are necessary, for example, to ensure the electromagnetic compatibility of the devices (cf. ECE-R10). Environmental tests are also essential: temperature and humidity tests, vibration tests, corrosion tests or fatigue and endurance tests, in particular, provide information about the behaviour of the automotive electronics under various environmental factors. After all, the motor vehicle is exposed to these and must run perfectly in heat, cold, humidity and wetness, shocks and vibrations. With the increasing digitalisation and networking of the built-in systems, testing the functional safety (cf. ISO 26262) of automotive electronics is also becoming much more critical. In most cases, the tests are carried out directly at the manufacturer’s premises, as many of the tests require a significant test chamber. However, importers or dealers also arrange for the necessary testing procedures of the automotive electronics before the vehicle is available for sale.