"Fred Cisin (XenoSoft)" wrote:
> > That's an understatement; voltage can fluctuate
> > between 8 and 15V as different subsystems in the car
> > are turned on; then there are spikes in excess of 100V
> > induced by different systems; and then, if your battery
> > contacts are less than perfect you can have 30VAC, rectified
> > (or not, if the rectifiers fail in a particularly nasty
> > mode!) from the alternator.
>
> Yes, but that AC (sometimes quite a bit higher than 30V (220v?)) is THREE
> PHASE! What kind of computer were you planning to run?
No, my point is that the 12V system in a car is already nasty
stuff and that there are failure modes in parts of the car's
electrical system, such as the battery terminals or alternator
rectifiers, that can lead to _much_ nastier behavior.
> Adding major mass of batteries can sink much of the variation.
Again, until the terminals corrode.
> Power CAN be cleaned up.
> Grumpy Ol' Fred cisin_at_xenosoft.com
Exactly. In a car, it _HAS_ to be cleaned up if you want
to power electronic devices.
--
Carlos Murillo-Sanchez email: cem14_at_cornell.edu
428 Phillips Hall, Electrical Engineering Department
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853
Received on Thu Oct 12 2000 - 13:16:22 BST