TMC info on replacing J560 seven-way connector

The American Trucking Associations’ Technology & Maintenance Council is hosting a webinar on replacing the J560 Connector (seven-pin connector) standards on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at 12 p.m. ET. The webinar will be hosted on Microsoft Teams, and any fleet maintenance professional can attend for free.

“While this robust, tried-and-true 12-volt connector is utilized ubiquitously throughout the North American market, the power and data demands of each generation of technology advancement have pushed the limits of what can be done with this connection,” TMC Executive Director Robert Braswell wrote in 2023. “Multi-voltage requirements, solar installations, electric drive and regenerative braking axles, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and automated driving systems’ (ADS) —and the host of sensors, emitters, and cameras that support them — mean the need for a new connector standard is increasingly necessary and urgent.”

The webinar is meant to help the fleet maintenance segment get up to speed on possible replacements for J560. In the webinar, TMC will look to answer several questions to help fleets spec and work with the organization while developing and finalizing a standardized J560 replacement. Otherwise, TMC warned that if a standard is reached from current possibilities, there may not be a standard for the first time in over 60 years.

Some of the questions to be addressed include:

Do you understand the need for a Next Generation Tractor-Trailer Connector?
How important to you is the effect this new connector will have on acquisition and maintenance costs?
Do you feel as a fleet this should be offered as an option?
Would understanding more about how this new connector will make your fleet safer and more efficient be of importance to you?
What is the likelihood you will invite more fleets to this webinar to help make this industry decision?

For those joining on the computer, Microsoft Teams app, or a room device, click here. The Meeting ID is 213 569 252 208 1 and the passcode is me9zk7ZJ.

For those dialing in by phone, the U.S. toll-free number is (888) 304-9471,,356806006#. The phone conference ID is 356 806 006#.