The Penny Drops

[Marc Swanson]

> > > >"Y'oughta get your alternator looked at," sez Tommy.  "Car
> > > >oughta run if you take the battery OUT once it starts."
> > >
> > > Wrong.
>
> I don't know the intricacies of the charging system, but why is this?

The battery is a big fat capacitor.  Many charging systems rely somewhat
on the battery to smooth out the voltage for the devices connected to
the system.  Plus some of the engine electronics may not work at all at
anything other than a narrow band of say 10-13 volts.  Go outside of
that even for an instant and it may shut down.  Driving a car without a
battery is just a really bad idea in general as it can damage the
electronics for this reason, especially in newer cars.


Later


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Marc Swanson, Software Engineer
Sonitrol Communications Corp.
Hartford, CT

Email: mswanson at sonitrol.net
Phone: (860) 616-7036
Pager: (860) 948-6713
 Cell: (603) 512-1267
  Fax: (860) 616-7589
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