At 09:20 PM 3/6/2011, Larry Alofs wrote: >A while back I connected a starter to a car battery so that I could >measure the current in that solenoid circuit. It seems to me that it >was around 37 amps. That is an awful lot thru a 1/4 inch push-on >connector as well as the ignition switch. If the crimp of that >connector to the wire is a little corroded, the resistance will >produce a lot of heat. If anyone else has measured this current, I >would welcome confirmation or refutation. I just checked my permanently rigged jumper that hangs near the alternator B+ on my '89 A/T - using a Sears Clamp-on DC ammeter I got six and change which makes sense to me. 40 amps through my jumper would heat it up very quickly - I'm pretty sure I'd notice both the hot vinyl and the significant arc when I disconnected. 40 amps sounds more like a possible range for a free-running starter? That would be about 500 watts, or 2/3 of a horsepower. Yours, David |
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