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Basic Electricity Fundamentals

The document provides an overview of the basic fundamentals of electricity in automotive systems, including key concepts such as electrons, voltage, current, resistance, watts, and grounding. It explains the role of batteries, the importance of fuses to prevent short circuits, and the organization of wiring in vehicles. Additionally, it highlights the significance of understanding these principles for effective troubleshooting and circuit design in automotive applications.

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alekhinepaterno1979
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25 views15 pages

Basic Electricity Fundamentals

The document provides an overview of the basic fundamentals of electricity in automotive systems, including key concepts such as electrons, voltage, current, resistance, watts, and grounding. It explains the role of batteries, the importance of fuses to prevent short circuits, and the organization of wiring in vehicles. Additionally, it highlights the significance of understanding these principles for effective troubleshooting and circuit design in automotive applications.

Uploaded by

alekhinepaterno1979
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Basic fundamentals of

electricity in
Automotive
OBJECTIVES

• LEARN THE BASIC FUNDAMENTLAS OF ELECTRICITY IN


AUTOMOTIVE.
• KNOW THE DIFFERENT TERMS RELATED TO THE ELECTRICITY
OF AUTOMOTIVE.
Electron
• The basic unit of electricity. Think of these
little guys as "bullets", traveling down the
wire. It's the movement of electrons which
runs the devices which make our lives - and
our cars - so comfortable and convenient.
Voltage
• This is the force (or pressure, if you like) of
electricity in the wire. If you think of your garden
hose as the wire, the water pressure would be
equivalent to the voltage. Older cars run on six volt
systems and newer (most 1956 and later) utilize
twelve volt systems. All vehicles' manuals specify the
system voltage.
Current
• This is the movement of electrons in the wire,
expressed in a unit called the Amp. The
greater the rate of movement through the
wire, the greater the number of amps. Think of
this as the speed of the water coming out of
the garden hose. When you tighten the nozzle
the water shoots out further and faster.
Resistance
• This is a restriction to the movement of electrons
through the wire or circuit. The unit of resistance is
called the OHM and you can think of it as a kink in that
garden hose. The higher the resistance, the more
current must flow to overcome it. The more current
which flows through an area of high resistance, the
hotter the wire will become, ultimately failing.
Corrosion, loose terminals and too-small diameter
wires are three very, very common causes of
resistance.
Watts
• The unit of power in electricity and the product
of Amps x Volts. Why is this important? Because
designers of circuits need to know the amount of
current required for a given device (such as a fan,
horn, light, etc.) in order to figure out which diameter
wire to use.
• Example: a 50-watt brake light, operating on 12 volts,
will draw 4.1 amps (4.1 amps x 12 volts = 50 watts).
• The wire diameter must be large enough to carry the
current without heating up and melting off its
insulation.
Ground
• All electrical devices must be part of
a circuit. That is, electrons must flow
from the power source through the device
to a ground. In cars, the metal chassis is
the ground (that's why the battery's
negative lead is bolted to the engine or
frame) and the power source is the
positive lead on the battery.
• Without a ground there is only a POTENTIAL
circuit. No electrons will flow — and therefore
nothing will work — unless the circuit ends in a
ground.

• Note: Some cars and trucks utilized "positive


ground" electrical systems, where the positive lead
from the battery connects to the frame and the
negative lead goes to the electrical wiring harness.
This in no way makes it more difficult to wire or
troubleshoot; all that's required is to remember
that the system is the reverse of normal systems.
Battery:
A battery is an
electrochemical device
which converts
chemical energy into
electrical energy. Cars
use "lead-acid"
batteries
Short circuits and fuses
• If the wrong-sized wire is used, or if
a wire becomes broken or
disconnected, this can cause an
accidental short circuit which
bypasses the resistance of the
component. The current in the wire
may become dangerously high and
melt the wire or cause a fire.
• The size of the fuse wire is the
thinnest that can carry the normal
current of the circuit without
overheating, and it is rated in
amps.
• The sudden surge of high current in
a short circuit makes the fuse wire
melt, or 'blow', breaking the circuit.
There are many fuses, each protecting a small
group of components, so that one blown fuse
does not shut down the whole system. Many of
the fuses are grouped together in a fuse box,
but there may also be line fuses in the wiring.
Ancillary circuits

The starter motor has its own heavy cable, direct


from the battery. The ignition circuit furnishes the
high-tension impulses to the sparkplugs; and the
charging system includes the generator , which
recharges the battery. All the other circuits are
called ancillary (subsidiary) circuits.
Most are wired through the ignition switch , so
that they work only when the ignition is switched
on.
This prevents you accidentally leaving something
switched on which might cause the battery to go
flat.
Wires and printed
circuits

• A complex network of wires runs


through the car. To avoid confusion,
each wire is colour coded (but only
within the car: there is no national or
international system of colour-coding).
• Most car handbooks and service
manuals include a wiring
diagram which can be difficult to
follow.
• The colour-coding, however, is a
useful guide to tracing wiring
LINK TO WATCH!!!!

• https://youtu.be/hAjM9Gk63M4

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