General information. Electrical equipment and electrical systems

10.1.1 Electrical equipment

It is very difficult to imagine a car without electrical equipment. And, in case if we talk about a car with a gasoline engine, it, in principle, will not work without an electrical component. In case if we talk about the diesel internal combustion engine (with a high pressure fuel pump, in the chapter "Engine" you can refresh the memory) it will work, but the process of starting it manually will be unforgettable for the driver. Without electrical equipment you will not be able to drive at night or, for example, in the rain. You will not be able to listen to your favorite music and to turn on the dashboard camera (unless, of course, it is not on batteries). Roughly speaking, all those small and big benefits in the car, such as instrument panel illumination, lighting, seat heaters and more will not be available to the driver and passengers for more or less comfortable movement inside the vehicle.

Electrical equipment was introduced into the car arrangement in order to ensure the operation of the engine (in case if it runs on gasoline/gas), external lighting in the dark, interior lighting, normal visibility in the rain and a number of important and not very important functions.

Everything that generates an electric current is called a power source, everything that absorbs current is called a consumer.

Note
Almost all of us after experiments with the battery and the light bulb in the childhood know that there must be two wires (roughly speaking "+" and "-"), through which the electric current will be transmitted from the battery to the lamp. Wise automotive engineers, clearly noticing that the car body is metal, decided to save on the negative wire, shifting its function to the entire car body. That is why each consumer is connected to the power supply with one pin, and the other - to the car body, also called "mass".

Battery pack and a generator are the main power sources.

Note
The generator works only when the engine is running. The lack of electricity generated by the generator is compensated by the battery pack, but in certain cases (more on this below).

Note
Fuses that are combined in one and more blocks are installed on any car for preventing damage and failure of consumers. The location, name and rating (current it can withstand) of the fuse is specified in your car's maintenance manual.