TESTING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DETECTING A CONTACT DEFICIENCY OF AN ELECTRICALLY CONDUCTIVE CONNECTION

The invention pertains to a testing apparatus and a method for detecting a contact deficiency of an electrically conductive connection according to the preambles of claims 1, 2 and 23. The invention makes it possible to subject prefabricated electric cable connections that need to be produced in a very precise and quality-responsive fashion, for example, in aircraft, to a prophylactics test. The testing apparatus comprises a measuring chamber, in which several system elements of the connection that are connected in an electrically conductive fashion are positioned, a heat radiator that is supplied with energy and the transferred thermal radiation of which is emitted into the measuring chamber and directed toward the region of the system elements that, after having been heated, generate a thermal field of the insulated and the metallic system components of these connected system elements, a thermal (image) acquisition unit for optically capturing the generated thermal field and for realizing a signal conversion into a thermal image of the connected system elements, and a thermal (image) reproduction unit for the visual reproduction of the converted thermal image, wherein the thermal (image) acquisition unit and the thermal (image) reproduction unit are connected with respect to information technology. Existing contact deficiencies of an electrically conductive connection can be detected with a method that comprises several steps and utilizes this testing apparatus.