Re: [DML] Re: Capacitors, and "Ground Bus"

["Martin Gutkowski" <martin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

DC current flows the other way -- from negative to positive. 

>> True, but of no relevance in this discussion. In fact it's of no relevance in just about everything but the most detailed mathematical
models.


Wild fluctuations in current, picked up in a DeLorean in such places as the dash volt gauge jumping with the turn signals, or the tachometer jumping when the windshield wipers activate, or the headlights changing intensity when the A/C compressor clutch engages, are caused by inadequate ground wiring. 

>> NO, they *MAY* be caused by inadequate grounding between *TWO* or more circuits where the *potential* of the ground is pulled up by the *current* in one of the circuits with repect to the other. The wiring can only be responsible for adding resistance to the circuit being switched and cannot electrically affect the circuit connected to it by the ground alone. Trust me on this Bill.

Every time a circuit is closed on a DeLorean, you get a surge of current not seen in metal bodied cars. 

>> Complete nonsense. Plugging my phone charger in my DeLorean is the same as plugging it into my Citroen. In fact, car manufacturers generally transport the grounds back to a small number common points (this is why it's called a "bus"). Low current switched ground items like warning lights and door ajar switches being the exception.  

That is why metal bodied cars don't need capacitors on every single electrical switch, but DeLoreans do. 

>> No, you are wrong, and repeating it won't make you less so.

Every owner who has installed a ground bus has reported immediate improvement of current fluctuation as exampled above, with no other changes to the electrical system whatsoever.

>> Did they clean the original ground points first? Did they check for corroded connectors? We may never know what the initial problems were but of one thing you can be pretty certain - when it left the factory, the car did not have those problems.

My favorite example of inadequate DeLorean grounding: the fuel pump (via the inertia switch), the windshield wiper motor, the instrument cluster, the turn signals, and a few other goodies, all share *ONE* single 12
gauge ground wire to the rear bulkhead bolt. The fuel pump and the windshield wiper motor alone should each have a unique 12 gauge ground wire! 

>> 1: You were claiming a couple of days ago that these inadequate grounds could cause the fuses to melt. You will doubtless ignore this point now.
>> 2: As I write this I am unable to access Dmctalk.org however I have looked up the resistance (derived from resistivity) of 12 gauge stranded wire and it is 0.0052 Ohm/m. over a 3m piece of wire at a massive 50A, more than half the stock alternator output, that accounts for a voltage drop of 0.78V (this is ohm's law at work Bill). This is well within the tolerance of the alternator output and the specs of the components running from it. Voltage drops are more likely to occur at interconnects and are therefore unrelated specifically to grounding.

Martin

Sent from my BlackBerry®

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