[AT] Tractor lighting puzzler--slightly amazing!

[charlie hill]

Doug,  your explaination below goes back to a point I tried to make a few 
days ago (not necessarily tractor related.  well maybe with some new hi tech 
tractors).   On boats it is a good idea to fuse the grounds on electronic 
gear so that a stray current does not try to use the internals of the 
electronics for a ground path. The fuse won't stop it but it will blow with 
a large current (say from a bad starter ground) and save the electronics 
from frying.

Charlie
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Wilkens" <jwilkens at eoni.com>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Monday, November 08, 2004 4:00 AM
Subject: Re: [AT] Tractor lighting puzzler--slightly amazing!


> Doug, your detailed explanation got through to me after reading the second 
> part of your paragraph about six times!   I feel like an almost complete 
> person again!   Thanks!!  Think I'll file this away hard copy in case my 
> memory does what it usually does lately.      John
>
>
>
> At 10:55 PM 11/07/2004, you wrote:
>>At 05:57 PM 11/7/04 -0800, you wrote:
>> >Trying to understand Doug.  Would that explain why both poorly grounded
>> >lights with separate circuits from the switch turned on dim when only 
>> >one
>> >circuit was switched on at the switch??   IE:  One light working OK (as
>> >switched) on the good fender but both lights dim at the same time on the
>> >bad fender.    John
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>It would be easier if I could draw a picture on this email. The rt and 
>>left
>>lights from each fender are most likely bussed together at the switch for
>>high and low beam. The switch is only controlling the positive side. Let's
>>say the electrons left the switch on the low beam post feeding 2 wires. 
>>The
>>electrons going to the good fender went through the bulb and easily found
>>their way back to the battery through the good ground. The light lights
>>bright. The electrons going to the bad fender got through the bulb and
>>didn't have an easy path back to the battery so they had to find another
>>route. They found their way through the grd of the high beam and went out
>>through the positive side back through the high side buss at the switch 
>>and
>>out to the good fender where it went through high beam lamp filament to
>>ground and back to the battery. If you had looked close the off filament 
>>on
>>the good side was probably glowing too. The lights were dim because the
>>voltage was feeding 3 lamps instead of 1. In the simple series circuit 
>>like
>>this the amount of current available to each bulb would have been equal so
>>they werre operating on 1/3 capacity. Clear as mud????
>>
>>
>>
>>            Doug Tallman
>>            dtallman at accnorwalk.com
>>            VGTCOA Ohio Regional Director
>>                Greenwich, OH USA
>>
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>
>
>                    In the wide-open spaces of NE Oregon
>
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