🔌 Test methods for automotive cables (ISO 19642-2)

Automotive and technical cleanliness ISO 19642-2

Overview

WHAT PART 2 IS IN THIS SERIES — AND WHY IT DOES NOT APPEAR ON ITS OWN. The abstract on the ISO card (reading of 22.09.2026): "This document defines test methods for electrical cables in road vehicles, which are used in other parts of the ISO 19642 series" — the document specifies test methods for electrical cables in road vehicles, USED IN THE OTHER PARTS OF THE SERIES. This is visible in the accreditation scopes: part 2 appears 84 times, and each of the other parts 31–43 times, always ALONGSIDE it. PART 2 SAYS HOW TO TEST; THE OTHER PARTS SAY WHAT THE RESULT SHOULD BE for a given type of cable (part 3 — cables with a copper conductor, part 4 — with an aluminium conductor, further parts — further types). A citation of part 2 alone therefore contains no requirement, and a citation of another part without it contains no method.

A STANDARD WITHOUT A POLISH IMPLEMENTATION — AND WHAT FOLLOWS FROM THIS FOR THE NOTATION. A search of the PKN catalogue for the string "19642" returns no PN standard (reading of 22.09.2026). Laboratories therefore cite the document directly as "ISO 19642-2", and in the scope database only ONE entry from this family has the PN prefix at all. This is the reverse of the situation with PN-EN 71-1 (safety of toys), where the document exists in both forms and a laboratory can choose the wrong one.

A MONTH THAT IS NOT IN THE DESIGNATION — AND YET IS TRUE. In accreditation scopes the same standard appears as "ISO 19642-2:2023" (28 entries) and as "ISO 19642-2:2023-08" (21 entries). ISO designates editions BY THE YEAR ALONE — there is no form with a month in the number. But the ISO card gives "Publication date: 2023-08", so the month is TRUE: the laboratory added the true date to the ISO number according to the convention used in PN standards (where the month is part of the designation). NOT ONE OF THESE NOTATIONS IS FACTUALLY WRONG, and a search for one will not find the other. The same applies to the second edition: "ISO 19642-2:2019-01" — the card gives the publication date 2019-01.

A WITHDRAWN EDITION CITED DELIBERATELY, ALONGSIDE THE CURRENT ONE. ISO 19642-2:2019 (edition 1, 58 pages) has the status "Withdrawn" (stage 95.99) on the ISO card. Nevertheless, it appears in 26 scope entries — and in ALL these entries it stands TOGETHER with the 2023 edition. This is not a backlog: one laboratory maintains accreditation for both editions at once. In the automotive industry this is understandable, because customers' specifications indicate specific editions of documents, and a product tested for a programme from several years ago must be tested according to the edition that the programme indicated.

A STANDARD ALREADY SENT FOR REVISION — SIX DAYS BEFORE THIS READING. The ISO card gives the status "Published", but stage 90.92 "International Standard to be revised", and in the list of stages the date 2026-09-16. The 2023 edition remains current; it is already known, however, that a next one will be produced. This is a number and a state that will change without our involvement — we give the date of the stage so that the reader knows how old our reading is.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We did not have the text of the standard (88 pages, ISO/TC 22/SC 32 "Electrical and electronic components and general system aspects", ICS 43.040.10). WE DO NOT GIVE: any test method from this document, test conditions, specimen dimensions, temperatures, numbers of cycles or criteria. Nor have we established how edition 2 differs from edition 1 — and the difference is what everyone asks who sees both editions in one scope (58 pages versus 88 is the only thing we know about it, and the number of pages alone settles nothing).

Method principle

The document collects test methods for automotive cables and makes them available to the other parts of the series: dimensional, electrical, mechanical, ageing and environmental resistance tests. It sets no requirements itself — the limit values are in the parts concerning individual types of cables. We do not quote the content of the methods, because we did not have the text of the standard.

Applications

• Testing of cables of a vehicle's electrical installation according to the car manufacturer's specification
• Reading an accreditation scope in which each entry indicates clauses of part 2 and clauses of the specific part
• Establishing which edition of the standard an older cable test report concerns
• Recognising that a citation of part 2 alone contains no requirement, and a citation of another part without it — no method

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

ISO 19642-2:2023

Title (PL)

Pojazdy drogowe — Przewody samochodowe — Część 2: Metody badań

Title (EN)

Road vehicles — Automotive cables — Part 2: Test methods

Step-by-step procedure

1. Establishing which part of the series sets the requirement

   Part 2 gives only methods. The requirements are in the part concerning the type of cable tested. An order indicating only part 2 does not specify what the test result should be.

2. Establishing the edition

   ISO 19642-2:2023 is current; the 2019 edition is withdrawn (ISO card, reading of 22.09.2026). The edition on which the test is based must be established before the test and stated in the report.

3. Indicating the clauses of both documents

   In accreditation scopes the entries take the form "ISO 19642-2:2023 (p. 5.5.6; 6.5.6)" [p. = clause] — the clauses of the method and the clauses of the requirement are given separately. The report should do the same.

4. Performing the test

   We do not quote the conditions, specimen dimensions, temperatures and numbers of cycles — they are the content of the standard. In ageing tests, the exposure time is part of the method and cannot be shortened on request.

5. Recording the result with the edition, part and clauses stated

   Without the edition and clause numbers, the recipient will not distinguish a test according to the 2019 edition from a test according to the 2023 edition.

Required equipment and apparatus

Reagents, media and consumables

Health and safety (OHS)

• Ageing tests are carried out at elevated temperature — risk of burns when removing specimens
• Thermal decomposition products of polymer insulation are irritant; heating chambers with fume extraction
• Electrical tests of cables are carried out at voltages that may pose a risk of electric shock

Frequently asked questions