Date:         Mon, 26 Aug 2002 12:45:08 -0400
Reply-To:     David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject:      Re: Indicator light (fridge propane)
Comments: To: KimBrennan@AOL.COM
In-Reply-To:  <18d.d1b099a.2a9ba3b0@aol.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

At 11:30 AM 8/26/2002, Kim Brennan wrote:
>Anyway, I was experimenting with a few things and threw the fridge over to
>battery mode (engine running)...and the indicator light turned on. Couldn't
>miss it. However, I didn't expect it to be on when in battery mode (and the
>circuit diagram doesn't indicate that it should be on either.) Interesting.
>Have to investigate this more fully.

Not to cut short your voyage of discovery -- but the light triggers when
its input lead goes very slightly *negative* to its ground reference.  The
ground reference point is on the LED panel, and when the fridge runs in DC
mode the current causes the "ground" to shift slightly positive, enough to
trigger the light.  It's a matter of maybe a few millivolts or tens of
millivolts, I forget precisely.

david

--
David Beierl - Providence, RI
  http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
'84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
'85 GL "Poor Relation"