Electrical for beginners

[paulb]

I just did a forum search for everythig electrical. Holy hot wire batman... so much stuff,
But help. For the absolute beginner on D-90 electrical, what do you all recommend as reading to start to get to speed on this topic? I want to ultimately understand the electrical system so to know what i am doing to rewire the external lights, add spots, fix the cig. lighter, etc.

I know this is simple to many, but not to me. Its pissing me off I can amputate a leg from the knee (the silly things one picks up in life but I used to hang with some Doc.s w/out bourner types) but can not do the basics on my wheels. I just need something to read to start to get a grip on how it all works. Should I be :angry or :( when all I want is :cool:

[JimC]

Its so very simple, all you really need is an electrical circuit diagram. After spending a while studying the diagram and comparing it to your vehicle (it may have been a bit modified at this point), it will all make sense. I dont have a diagram for 94, and the one in the shop manual sux. Call George at RDS and see if he'll sell you one of the nice laminated ones.

[DJ Menasco]

I just did a forum search for everythig electrical. Holy hot wire batman... so much stuff,
But help. For the absolute beginner on D-90 electrical, what do you all recommend as reading to start to get to speed on this topic? I want to ultimately understand the electrical system so to know what i am doing to rewire the external lights, add spots, fix the cig. lighter, etc.

I know this is simple to many, but not to me. Its pissing me off I can amputate a leg from the knee (the silly things one picks up in life but I used to hang with some Doc.s w/out bourner types) but can not do the basics on my wheels. I just need something to read to start to get a grip on how it all works. Should I be :angry or :( when all I want is :cool:


Paul

I wouldn’t start with an electrical diagram until after you learn the basics of electricity. Then you’ll be able to tackle electrical issues like the one’s mentioned above. I’ve attached a pdf. that I think will help you out. It’s basic, but will start you off in the proper direction.

Personally I think once you have a good grasp of this information then you need to educate yourself with the tools and the materials required to construct proper electrical connections, e.g. You'll know what types of shrink wrap, adhesive or non-adhesive, works best; You'll know when you should I crimp, solder, and/or use shrink wrap…and so on. You can find most of these answers either here on the BBS or visit other websites such as Wrangler NWPP (http://www.wranglernw.com/).

Hope this helps you out.

DJ

[paulb]

Tx.
Studies start tomorrow...

[Mike Hippert]

OK I think that PDF goes into a little more detail then anyone will need to know about when working on a Rover.

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What you need to know about the electrical itself is not much, what is more important is what you need to know about what wire size to use, when to use a relay, and like DJ said when to use a crimp or shrink tubing.

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As far as what to know about electrical:

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You have voltage, current, power, and resistance. And they are all related to water, Voltage (measured in Volts DC) is like the speed of flowing water mph, current (measured in Amps) is the amount of water flowing like gallons per minute, and resistance (measured in ohms) is just like it says resistance to the flow of water. And power (measured in watts) is the Voltage * the power, or it is just like the power of the water.

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And the math there are a few equations you need to know

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V=IR or voltage = current * resistance

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And Power = Voltage * Current

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From those 2 equations you will be able to figure out almost any of your problems.

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So let’s say you have a light bulb (or headlamp) that is rated at 50 watts, you want to figure out what size wire to use, so you put what you know into your equation,

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50 watts = 12 volts * Current, so you solve it and find the bulb has a resistance of

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4.16 ohms

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You apply what you now know into the other equation

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12volts=I*4.16ohms, you solve this and find that you will have a current of about 2.88 amps. And by looking at the table below you will see that you would only need an 18 awg wire.

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Things to remember, when hooking lights you have to take into account each light, so if you have 2 50 watt lights then you will be drawing about 6 amps not 3 and will have to use at least 18 awg wire. For safety I try and use a larger size wire then needed to be safe.

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For a table of wire size vs current or power go to

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http://www.rbeelectronics.com/wtable.htm (http://www.rbeelectronics.com/wtable.htm)

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A good source of info is

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http://www.the12volt.com/ (http://www.the12volt.com/)

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Any questions ask away!

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[paulb]

Thanks. I like the water image and as California has just started rainy season - we have had 1.5 inches the past weekend with more tonight, Truck is outside as garage overflowing so we will see what I get done prior to Thursday when the sun should return.