I know it works, but never understood how: Batt/Alt/Start

[jmeckel]

Originally Posted by Roadster62

Read all the posts and haven't learned a thing, other than add one new electrical term that even Google doesn't have a defination for, so Rowdy what is PFM? I've always wondered if the electricaly gifted that understand the invisable are also more knowledgeable in thing religious? Bob

It may help you to think of the circuit as supply and return, in the case of an A supply is the neg. post ( via the wires) and return is the positive post ( via the car frame). In the case of an A the supply is a negative voltage when referenced to the frame of the car (return). The starter is of course bolted to the return side and a switch in the supply side allows you to control the current flow at will (think of it as a valve in a water pipe). The generator is bolted to return side and is wired to the supply side the cutout is just a switch in the supply side that connects the generator to the battery automatically when the generator is generating a voltage that is higher than the battery so that current can flow from the generator to the battery.

For now do not try to understand the electrical theory of electron flow, magnetic flux.... Etc... This type of theory is beyond simple posts here.