Automotive electrical charging system components and their functions
A charging system is a series of electronic components made to supply electric energy to all car electrical components such as the headlights, rear combination lights, windshield wipers, power windows, audio, air conditioner, etc. Furthermore, the vehicle charging system is also used to charge the battery.
Yes, automotive electrical charging systems have several functions, such as
- Provide the electric energy when the engine is off (with battery), so it can use to activate the car's electric components such as a starter motor to start the engine.
- Provide the electric energy (alternator) to all car electrical components when the engine is running, such as headlights, ECU, wiper, etc.
- Charging car battery
In this article, we want to give you information about automotive electrical charging system components and their function. See the automotive electrical charging system components and function below.
1. Battery
The first component of an automotive electrical charging system is the battery. The battery's main function is used to store electrical energy generated by the alternator and use the stored energy to activate another car's electrical components when needed.
Yes, when the engine is off, the battery function is an electrical source to entire car electric components mainly to support all the systems used to start the engine such as starter motor, Engine Control Management (ECM), ignition system, etc. After the engine is running and the alternator put in action, the battery function is switched to a storage place of electrical energy were generated from the alternator.
2. Fuses
The second automotive electrical charging system component is the fuse. The charging system used several fuses to its system. The first is that the battery's fuse to the car's electrical components was mostly stored in a fuse box. The second is the Alternator (ALT) fuse, which connects the battery to the alternator B terminal.
The function of the fuse is to provide overcurrent protection of an electrical circuit. It is made by a metal wire or strip that melts when too much current flows through it, stopping or interrupting the current.
3. Wiring harness of the charging system
The third automotive electrical charging system component is the wiring harness. It is composed of several wires and sockets were connecting all the vehicle charging system components. Started from the battery, fuses, ignition key, charging indicator lamp, alternator, and the last is connected to the ground.
4. Ignition key
The next automotive electrical charging system component is the ignition key. The ignition key works as a switch. They connected the electric power source (battery) to the rotor coil inside the alternator.
When the ignition key is in the "ON" position, the battery flows the electric current to the rotor coil so the starter coil can generate electric energy. If the ignition key is in the 'OFF' position, no electric current flows from the battery to the rotor coil. As a result, the starter coil will not generate any electric current even the engine crankshaft rotates.
Read also:5. Charging warning lights
Charging warning lights is an indicator light to indicate the present failure of the charging system. The charging warning light is located in the dashboard panel with other warning lights from many systems in the car.
The charging warning light works easily. When the engine is off, the charging warning light is normally ON. When the engine is running, the charging warning light will OFF immediately.
If the charging warning light works vice versa or is off when the engine is off or run, your car has a charging system failure.
6. Alternator and voltage regulator
The last automotive electrical charging system components are the alternator and voltage regulator. The old car charging system's use voltage regulators as a separate part, but nowadays, many cars use voltage regulators are built inside the alternator.
The alternator's function is to generate electrical energy as the engine rotates using an electromagnetic force. When the engine rotation is rising, the voltage generated is also increased. To protect the electrical components from a higher voltage, then the charging system uses the voltage regulator.
The voltage regulator function regulates the voltage input to a constant, fixed voltage at their output, irrespective of load current or input voltage changes. Yes, the voltage regulator in the alternator is managed the voltage output from the stator coil to always in a constant voltage level (common modern cars use 14.2v to 14.5v voltage level).
As a result, the car's electrical components are always at a safe voltage level as well as the battery can be charged at the same time.