circuit components
In the event that we at JuJuDeals post some helpful guides on fixing or troubleshooting your 12 volt system, it would be ideal if you, you know, could tell what we were talking about. To that effect, here’s a quick rundown of the different pieces that go into an electrical circuit, and the symbols used to represent them when describing one or mapping it out. (Note: not everything listed will have a visual depiction on our chart)
- Cell, Battery, Generator, Alternator, or AC Plug: any of these can be the source or power for your circuit.
- Conductor: A solid, unbroken wire for the electrical charge to follow. Sometimes called a “line,” and is represented by one.
- Junction: Where conductors meet and mingle. The dot at the intersection represents a drop of solder, or some other method of joining the two conductors.
- No-Junction: This is when two conductors cross paths without touching.
- Resistor: Often accompanied by a letter “R” nearby. The resistor slows or limits some of the electrical power that is fed through the line.
- Switch: Often accompanied by a letter “S” nearby. Think of it like a lightswitch. It represents something that completes the circuit when you want it on, and breaks the circuit when you want it off.
- Fuse: Often accompanied by a letter “F” nearby. This is a safety feature, often a piece of low-melting-point wire that will destroy itself if too much energy attempts to pass through it. This keeps your circuit board from frying itself.
- Circuit Breaker: Another kind of auto-safety feature. This kind acts like a switch that will magnetically or thermally shut itself off rather than melt. This way, it can be reset just by flicking the switch as opposed to completely replacing it.
- Coil: A length of wire that has been repeatedly wound. They are often used in gasoline ignition systems or as part of another system, such as a relay or a transformer.
- Transformer: This consists of two coils; a primary and a secondary. They share an iron core and are coupled magnetically. Transformers can perform many duties based upon their configuration (how much power is fed through which side, how tightly the coils are wound and on which side, etc.), but we’ll get into that later.
- Ground : A connection to the actual ground, or if you’re on a boat, to the seawater. It is generally used as a method of bleeding off excess power.
- Transducer: A device that turns one type of energy into another. A toaster turns electrical energy into thermal (heat) energy. A light bulb turns electrical energy into light. A buzz-kill turns fun party energy into boredom. You get the idea.
- Inverter: A device that changes a car/boat/semi/RV’s 12 volt DC power into 120 volt AC power. The conversion rate is not perfectly efficient, so depending on the quality of your inverter, you may lose a little or a lot. The AC power it creates is not exactly the same as regular AC power, so some devices (like a refrigerator or an air conditioner) won’t work when using it.
There you go! You’ve made your first step into the world of electrical engineering. Keep up at this pace and you’ll have your own giant attack robot in no time!
March 18th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
[...] you, it’s so obvious all over your face. Psssh, you’re too easy sometimes. By the way, this previous post may be useful to you if you come upon any words or phrases that you don’t recognize or know [...]