Re: What to do, what to do...

[Brad Sheridan <brads@mindspring.com>]

> 1.	When I turn on my parking lights, my voltmeter registers a 1 volt
> drop.  Then maybe another half  volt when the headlights go on.  I'm
> assuming that there is some unwanted resistance in the parking light
> circuit and my first suspects are the light switch and the fuseblock.  For
> either, should the resistance be basically zero?  And for the fuseblock, I
> guess that I have to take all the harnesses off and find the right pins to
> check?  If anyone can point out the most likely culprit, mucho thanx.  Btw,
> my headlights are relayed.
 
  For us to help you, you'll need to give a few more specifics. First, where
are you measuring the voltage? At the battery? alternator? elsewhere?

  Just for clarity, are you having some specific problem due to the drop, or
are you just noticing what appears to be a big drop?

  I doubt your problem will be an unwanted resistance. A higher resistance
in the circuit would decrease the current flow. Lowering the current flow
would mean less drain on the charging system or battery. While I don't know
off the top of my head how much voltage should drop at the battery and
alternator with parking lights or headlights, I know there'll be some drop.
And if you're measuring voltage at someplace other than the battery or
alternator, then the results you're getting make sense. This is because when
you hit the parking lights, you're powering the parking lights,tail lights,
and dash lights, at the least. When you hit the headlights, you're powering
all the above, plus you're sending 12V to the relays to turn them on. These
relays have an internal resistor to step down the current on the signal
side. This means the extra amount of current drawn by the light switch will
be small when you switch on the headlights. If you're measuring the voltage
drop at the light switch, I wouldn't sweat it. There will be a voltage drop
when you draw enough power to power the parking lights, dash lights, and
signal for the relays through such a tiny wire.
 
Brad

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