Electrical connector for a safety restraint system and a testing method thereof

An electrical connector, comprising:

• a housing;
• a pair of electrical terminals arranged within the housing;
• a shunt adapted to selectively short-circuit the pair of electrical terminals, the shunt including two shunt arms each having a contact portion, one contact portion includes a cantilever protrusion protruding from the contact portion, the cantilever protrusion protrudes towards the other contact portion such that the cantilever protrusion is located between the two shunt arms;
• and
• a connector position assurance (CPA) device adapted to assure mating of the connector with a mating connector, the CPA device moveably arranged in the housing between an unlocked position wherein the shunt is placed in a short-circuiting position across the pair of electrical terminals, and a locked position wherein the CPA device lifts the shunt from the short-circuiting position.

A method of the testing of an electrical connector comprising the steps of:

• arranging a connector position assurance (CPA) device of the electrical connector in an unlocked position wherein two terminals of the connector are short-circuited;
• placing the connector on a testing counterpart adapted to measure an electrical signal between the two electrical terminals of the connector;
• actuating a testing pin of the testing counterpart to displace at least one contact portion of a shunt arm of a shunt of the connector such that the terminals are no longer short-circuited, the shunt includes two shunt arms each having a contact portion, the at least one contact portion includes a cantilever protrusion protruding from the at least one contact portion, the cantilever protrusion protrudes towards the other contact portion such that the cantilever protrusion is located between the two shunt arms;
• and
• measuring an electrical signal between the two electrical terminals.

An electrical connector for a safety restraint system of a motor vehicle configured to be mated along a mating direction with a mating electrical connector, comprising:

• a housing having a first end and a second end, the second end extending in the mating direction;
• two electrical terminals, each terminal traversing the housing from the first end to the second end;
• a shunt adapted to short-circuit the two terminals, the shunt comprising two shunt arms each having a contact portion and a linking portion, and a shunt bridge linking the linking portions of the shunt arms;
• and
• a connector position assurance (CPA) device adapted to assure mating of the connector with the mating connector, the CPA device is moveably arranged in the housing between an unlocked position and a locked position, in the locked position the CPA device lifting the shunt from a short-circuiting position, the shunt bridge is arranged in the housing in both the unlocked position and the locked position.