As shown in the battery circuit illustration, what would be the nominal output voltage of the battery bank if the batteries individually were 12 VDC lead-acid batteries? See illustration EL-0071.
• Trace the wiring carefully and decide if the batteries are in series, parallel, or a series‑parallel combination. • Remember that in series you ADD voltages, while in parallel the system voltage stays the same as one battery. • Identify which posts are the final positive and final negative outputs to the circuit and count how many 12‑volt sections are between them.
• Starting at the output negative terminal, follow the cables from battery to battery. Do they always go from a NEG post to a POS post, or from POS to POS/NEG to NEG? What does that tell you? • How many individual 12‑volt drops are you passing through as you go from the main negative to the main positive connection? Multiply that number by 12 to find the bank voltage. • If some batteries were in parallel, what would the connection pattern look like, and how would the number of free positive and negative posts change?
• Verify whether each jumper connects POS to NEG (series) or POS to POS / NEG to NEG (parallel). • Confirm there are only two free terminals feeding the circuit (one overall POS, one overall NEG). • Count the number of 12‑volt batteries effectively in series between those two free terminals before choosing the voltage.
No comments yet
Be the first to share your thoughts!