An aluminum alloy wire composed of an aluminum alloy, wherein the aluminum alloy contains more than or equal to 0.03 mass % and less than or equal to 1.5 mass % of Mg, more than or equal to 0.02 mass % and less than or equal to 2.0 mass % of Si, and a remainder of Al and an inevitable impurity, Mg/Si being more than or equal to 0.5 and less than or equal to 3.5 in mass ratio, and the aluminum alloy wire has a dynamic friction coefficient of less than or equal to 0.8.

An aluminum base wire includes a core wire made of pure aluminum or an aluminum alloy and a coating layer provided on an outer periphery of the core wire. The coating layer includes a first layer provided on the outer periphery of the core wire, a second layer provided on an outer periphery of the first layer, and a third layer provided on an outer periphery of the second layer. The first layer is composed of at least one metal selected from the group consisting of nickel, a nickel alloy, copper, and a copper alloy, the second layer is composed of metals that include zinc and tin, the third layer is composed of at least one metal selected from the group consisting of tin and tin alloys that contain substantially no zinc, and a zinc content in the second layer is 15 atomic % or more and 60 atomic % or less.

An aluminum base wire includes a core wire made of pure aluminum or an aluminum alloy and a coating layer provided on an outer periphery of the core wire. The coating layer includes a first layer provided on the outer periphery of the core wire, a second layer provided on an outer periphery of the first layer, and a third layer provided on an outer periphery of the second layer. The first layer is composed of at least one metal selected from the group consisting of nickel, a nickel alloy, copper, and a copper alloy, the second layer is composed of metals that include zinc and tin, the third layer is composed of at least one metal selected from the group consisting of tin and tin alloys that contain substantially no zinc, and a zinc content in the second layer is 15 atomic % or more and 60 atomic % or less.

A wire comprising a silver-based wire core having a double-layer coating comprised of an inner layer of palladium or nickel and an adjacent outer layer of gold, wherein the wire exhibits at least one of the intrinsic properties A1) to A3): A1) the average grain size of the crystal grains in the wire core, measured in longitudinal direction, is in the range of from 0.7 to 1.1 μm; A2) the fraction of twin boundaries, measured in longitudinal direction of the wire, is in the range of from 5 to 40%; and, A3) 20 to 70% of the crystal grains of the wire core are oriented in <100> direction, and 3 to 40% of the crystal grains of the wire core are oriented in <111> direction, each % with respect to the total number of crystal grains with orientation parallel to the drawing direction of the wire.

A wire comprising a silver-based wire core having a double-layer coating comprised of an inner layer of palladium or nickel and an adjacent outer layer of gold, wherein the wire exhibits at least one of the intrinsic properties A1) to A3): A1) the average grain size of the crystal grains in the wire core, measured in longitudinal direction, is in the range of from 0.7 to 1.1 μm; A2) the fraction of twin boundaries, measured in longitudinal direction of the wire, is in the range of from 5 to 40%; and, A3) 20 to 70% of the crystal grains of the wire core are oriented in <100> direction, and 3 to 40% of the crystal grains of the wire core are oriented in <111> direction, each % with respect to the total number of crystal grains with orientation parallel to the drawing direction of the wire.

An inexpensive sheet material of a copper alloy has excellent bending workability and excellent stress corrosion cracking resistance while maintaining high strength. The sheet material is produced by a method including melting and casting raw materials of a copper alloy which has a chemical composition having 17 to 32 wt. % of zinc, 0.1 to 4.5 wt. % of tin, 0.01 to 2.0 wt. % of silicon, 0.01 to 5.0 wt. % of nickel, and the balance being copper and unavoidable impurities; hot-rolling the cast copper alloy at 900° C. to 400° C.; cooling the hot-rolled copper alloy at 1 to 15° C./min. from 400° C. to 300° C.; cold-rolling the cooled copper alloy; recrystallization-annealing the cold-rolled copper alloy at 300 to 800° C.; and then, ageing-annealing the recrystallization-annealed copper alloy at 300 to 600° C.

An amorphous thin metal film can comprise a combination of three metals or metalloids including: 5 at % to 90 at % of a metalloid selected from the group of carbon, silicon, and boron; 5 at % to 90 at % of a first metal selected from the group of titanium, vanadium, chromium, iron, cobalt, nickel, zirconium, niobium, molybdenum, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, hafnium, tantalum, tungsten, osmium, iridium, and platinum; and 1 at % to 90 at % of cerium. The three elements may account for at least 50 at % of the amorphous thin metal film.

An amorphous thin metal film can comprise a combination of three metals or metalloids including: 5 at % to 90 at % of a metalloid selected from the group of carbon, silicon, and boron; 5 at % to 90 at % of a first metal selected from the group of titanium, vanadium, chromium, iron, cobalt, nickel, zirconium, niobium, molybdenum, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, hafnium, tantalum, tungsten, osmium, iridium, and platinum; and 1 at % to 90 at % of cerium. The three elements may account for at least 50 at % of the amorphous thin metal film.

A wire harness, including: a first wire including a first core wire and a second wire including a second core wire, the first core wire and the second core wire being joined together, wherein the first core wire includes a first flat surface extending along an entire length of the first core wire in a length direction, the second core wire includes a second flat surface extending along an entire length of the second core wire in a length direction, and the first flat surface and the second flat surface are overlapped and joined.

A fault detection system for a vehicle is shown. The system includes an electrical control unit configured to control one or more electrical systems on the vehicle, a power source, and a wire harness. The wire harness includes a plurality of wires, the plurality of wires including (i) a first wire electrically coupled to the electrical control unit and one or more sensors and (ii) a second wire electrically coupled to the power source and at least one of the one or more electrical systems. The second wire is enclosed within a protective covering. The electrical control unit is configured to monitor a resistance or conductance of the second wire via the one or more sensors and detect a wire conductivity fault in the second wire.