OHM'S LAW

SERIES AND PARALLEL

CONNECTIONS
 ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT REQUIREMENTS

• A complete Electrical Circuit is required in order to make electricity

practical. Electrons must flow from and return to the power source.
• There are three different circuit types, all require the same basic
components:
• 1. Power Source is needed to supply the flow of electrons
(electricity).
2. Protection Device prevents damage to the circuit in the event of
a short.
3. Load Device converts the electricity into work.
4. Control Device allows the user control to turn the circuit on or
off
5. Conductors provide an electrical path to and from the power
source.
• BASIC CIRCUIT CONSTRUCTION

1. Power Source (Battery, Alternator,

Generator, etc.)
2. Protection Device (Fuse, Fusible Link, or
Circuit Breaker)
3. Load Device (Lamp, Motor, Winding,
Resistor, etc.
4. Control (Switch, Relay, or Transistor)
5. Conductors (A Return Path, Wiring to
Ground)
 LOADS

The illustration below has a horn in place of the

lamp. Any device such as a lamp, horn, wiper
motor, or rear window defogger, that consumes
electricity is called a load. In an electrical circuit,
all loads are regarded as resistance. Loads use
up voltage and control the amount of current
flowing in a circuit. Loads with high resistance
cause less current to flow while those with
lower resistance allow high current rates to flow.
 WHAT IS OHM'S LAW ?
•
A simple relationship exists between voltage,
current, and resistance in electrical circuits.
Understanding this relationship is important
for fast, accurate electrical problem diagnosis
and repair.
 OHM'S LAW
• Ohm's Law says: The current in a circuit is directly
proportional to the applied voltage and inversely
proportional to the amount of resistance. This means that
if the voltage goes up, the current flow will go up, and
vice versa. Also, as the resistance goes up, the current
goes down, and vice versa. Ohm's Law can be put to good
use in electrical troubleshooting. But calculating precise
values for voltage, current, and resistance is not always
practical ... nor, really needed. A more practical, less time-
consuming use of Ohm's Law would be to simply apply
the concepts involved:
• SOURCE VOLTAGE is not affected by either
current or resistance. It is either too low,
normal, or too high. If it is too low, current will
be low. If it is normal, current will be high if
resistance is low, or current will be low if
resistance is high. If voltage is too high,
current will be high.
• CURRENT is affected by either voltage or
resistance. If the voltage is high or the
resistance is low, current will be high. If the
voltage is low or the resistance is high, current
will be low.
• RESISTANCE is not affected by either voltage
or current. It is either too low, okay, or too
high. If resistance is too low, current will be
high at any voltage. If resistance is too high,
current will be low if voltage is okay
 OHM'S LAW FORMULA
• When voltage is applied to an electrical circuit,
current flows in the circuit. The following special
relationship exists among the voltage, current
and resistance within the circuit: the size of the
current that flows in a circuit varies in proportion
to the voltage which is applied to the circuit, and
in inverse proportion to the resistance through
which it must pass. This relationship is called
Ohm's law, and can be expressed as follows:
• E=IR
• Voltage = Current x Resistance
• E Voltage applied to the circuit, in volts (V) I
Current flowing in the circuit, in amperes (A)
• R Resistance in the circuit, in ohms
•  
• In practical terms "V = I x R" which means
"Voltage = Current x Resistance".
• 1 volt will push one amp through 1 ohm of
resistance.
OHM'S LAW SYMBOL SHORTCUT
 APPLICATIONS OF OHM'S LAW
As an application of Ohm's law, any
voltage V, current I or resistance R in an
electrical circuit can be determined
without actually measuring it if the two
others values are known.

Current = Voltage / Resistance.

In the following circuit, assume that resistance R is 2 and voltage
V that is applied to it is 12 V. Then, current I flowing in the circuit
can be determined as follows:
This law can also be used to determine the
voltage V that is needed to permit current I to
pass through resistance R: V = I x R (Voltage=
Current x Resistance).

In the following circuit, assume that

resistance R is 4 ohms. The voltage V that is
necessary to permit a current I of 3 A to pass
through the resistance can be determined as
follows:
Still another application of the law can be used to determine the
resistance R when the voltage V which is applied to the circuit
and current I flowing in the circuit are already known

In the following circuit, assume that a voltage

V of 12 V is applied to the circuit and current I
of 4 A flows in it. Then, the resistance value R
of the resistance or load can be determined as
follows:
 TYPES OF CIRCUITS

• Individual electrical circuits normally combine one or

more resistance or load devices. The design of the
automotive electrical circuit will determine which
type of circuit is used. There are three basic types of
circuits:
• Series Circuit
• Parallel Circuit
• Series-Parallel Circuit
 SERIES CIRCUITS
• A series circuit is the simplest circuit. The
conductors, control and protection devices, loads,
and power source are connected with only one path
to ground for current flow. The resistance of each
device can be different. The same amount of
current will flow through each. The voltage across
each will be different. If the path is broken, no
current flows and no part of the circuit works.
Christmas tree lights are a good example; when one
light goes out the entire string stops working.
• A Series Circuit has only one path to ground, so
electrons must go through each component to
get back to ground. All loads are placed in series.
• Therefore:
• 1. An open in the circuit will disable the entire
circuit.
• 2. The voltage divides (shared) between the
loads.
• 3. The current flow is the same throughout the
circuit.
• 4. The resistance of each load can be different.
The value of current I is always the same at any
point in a series circuit.
The combined resistance RO in this circuit is equal to the sum of
individual resistance R1 and R2. In other words: The total
resistance(RO) is equal to the sum of all resistances (R1 + R2 + R3
+ .......)

Therefore, the strength of current (I) flowing in the circuit

can be found as follows:
Resistance R0 (a combination of resistances R1 and R2, which are
connected in series in the circuit as illustrated) and current I
flowing in this circuit can be determined as follows:
 VOLTAGE DROP
• A voltage drop is the amount of voltage or electrical
pressure that is used or given up as electrons pass
through a resistance (load). All voltage will be used
up in the circuit. The sum of the voltage drops will
equal source voltage. A voltage drop measurement
is done by measuring the voltage before entering
the load and the voltage as it leaves the load. The
difference between these two voltage readings is
the voltage drop.
 VOLTAGE DROP TOTAL
• When more than one load exists in a circuit,
the voltage divides and will be shared among
the loads. The sum of the voltage drops equal
source voltage. The higher the resistance the
higher the voltage drop. Depending on the
resistance, each load will have a different
voltage drop.
0V + 5V + 7V + 0V = 12V
 VOLTAGE DROP CALCULATION
• When current flows in a circuit, the presence of a
resistance in that circuit will cause the voltage to fall
or drop as it passes through the resistance. The
resultant difference in the voltage on each side of
the resistance is called a voltage drop. When
current (I) flows in the following circuit, voltage
drops V1 and V2 across resistances R1 and R2 can
be determined as follows from Ohm's law. (The
value of current I is the same for both R1 and R2
since they are connected in series.)
The sum of the voltage drops across all resistances is equal to the voltage of the
power source (VT):
 PARALLEL CIRCUIT

• A parallel circuit has more than one path for current flow. The
same voltage is applied across each branch. If the load
resistance in each branch is the same, the current in each
branch will be the same. If the load resistance in each branch
is different, the current in each branch will be different. If one
branch is broken, current will continue flowing to the other
branches. In parallel connection, two or more resistances (R1,
R2, etc.) are connected in a circuit as follows, with one end of
each resistance connected to the high (positive) side of the
circuit, and one end connected to the low (negative) side. Full
battery voltage is applied to all resistances within a circuit
having a parallel connection.
Resistance R0 (a combination of resistances R1 and R2)
in a parallel connection can be determined as follows:

From the above, the total current I flowing in this circuit can be
determined from Ohm's law as follows:
 The total current I is also equal to the sum of currents I1 and I2
flowing through individual resistances R1 and R2

Since battery voltage V is applied equally to all resistances, the

strength of currents I1 and I2 can be determined from Ohm's
law as follows:
• Resistance RO (a combination of resistances
R1 and R2, which are connected in parallel in
the circuit as shown below), the total current I
flowing in the circuit, and currents I1 and I2
flowing through resistances R1 and R2, can be
determined respectively as follows:
 SERIES PARALLEL CIRCUIT

• A series-parallel circuit has some components in series

and others in parallel. The power source and control or
protection devices are usually in series; the loads are
usually in parallel. The same current flows in the series
portion, different currents in the parallel portion. The
same voltage is applied to parallel devices, different
voltages to series devices. If the series portion is
broken, current stops flowing in the entire circuit. If a
parallel branch is broken, current continues flowing in
the series portion and the remaining branches.
• The combined resistance R02 in this series-
parallel connection can be determined in the
following order:
• a. Determine combined resistance R01, which
is a combination of resistances R2 and R3
connected in parallel.
• b. Then, determine resistance R02, which is a
combination of resistance R1 and combined
resistance R01 connected in series.
Total current I flowing in the circuit can be determined from
Ohm's law as follows:

The voltage applied to R2 and R3 can be found by the

following formula: