Electrical circuit

Student booklet

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Electrical circuit

Contents

In this module, we will explain what an electric

circuit is and what parallel/series circuits are.
We will begin with talking about what basic
components you can find in them. We will also
do some practical exercises that will help you
understand the difference between the two
types of circuits.

- INDEX -

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Series circuit
Parallel circuit
Components
Parallel circuit with two switches
Lab: Current in a series circuit
Lab: Current in a parallel circuit
Lab: Rear lamp unit
Sum up
Assessment

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

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An electrical circuit leads a current from a voltage source, through a number of components, and
then back to the voltage source.
There are two kinds of circuits, series circuit and parallel circuit.
_
In a series circuit all the electrical loads are connected in series after each other so there is only
one way for the current to flow.
When you close the switch the current can flow through both bulbs, lighting them.

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In a parallel circuit all components are connected to one another in parallel. This means that the
current can flow in several different paths instead of just one way.
_
When you close the switch the current can flow through both bulbs, lighting them.

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Voltage source
The voltage source supplies the circuit with voltage. Without the voltage source there would be no
current through the circuit. Batteries and generators are examples of voltage sources.
_
Electrical load
The electrical load transforms current into heat, light or movement. Examples of electrical loads
are heated rear windscreens (heat), bulbs (light) and motors (movement).
_
Power cable
The power cable conducts current to the various components in the circuit. It is made from a good
conductive material and has a protective sleeve.
_
Ground
The ground conducts current from the electrical load to the voltage source. In trucks there are
often several different components to the ground. The electrical load may be connected to the
truck frame by a cable. In turn the truck frame is connected to the voltage source by a different
cable. This completes the circuit.
_
Switch
The switch makes it possible to close and open the circuit.
_
Fuse
If, for some reason, current increases to a level greater than that for which the circuit is rated,
cables and components may overheat and be damaged. In the worst case overheating could
cause a fire. The fuse prevents this by opening the circuit first.

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We will now extend the parallel circuit by adding another switch.

_
When you close switch 1 the current can flow through bulb 1, lighting it.
_
When you close switch 2 the current can flow through bulb 2, lighting it.
_
When you close both switches the current can flow through both bulbs and light them.

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Lab: Current in a series circuit

Connect the bulbs somewhere on the lab bench. Use the components to create a closed circuit so
that current can flow from the positive terminal of the power supply to its negative terminal via the
bulbs.
1. Connect the components according to the picture.
2. Measure the current that runs through the light bulb: _______
3. Replace the jumpers with two more light bulbs so they are connected in series and notice how
the current changes as every bulb is mounted on the lab bench.
Note the Currents:
Circuit with two bulbs: _______
Circuit with three bulbs: _______

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Lab: Current in a parallel circuit

Connect the bulbs somewhere on the lab bench. Use the components to create a closed circuit so
that current can flow from the positive terminal of the power sypply to its negative terminal via the
bulbs.
1. Connect the components according to the picture.
2. Measure the current that runs through the light bulb: _______
3. Mount two more light bulbs and notice how the current changes as every bulb is mounted on the
lab bench.
Note the Currents:
Circuit with two bulbs: _______
Circuit with three bulbs: _______

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Lab: Rear lamp unit

Connect the component according to the picture.
Do the following measuring and note down the results:
1) Voltage measurement, single lamp.
_____________________________________________________
2) Voltage measurement, all lamps.
_____________________________________________________
3) Voltage measurement, acoustic reverse warning.
_____________________________________________________
4) Current measurement, single lamp.
_____________________________________________________
5) Current measurement, all lamps.
_____________________________________________________
Question: Let say we had an unwanted resistance in any of these circuits, what would be the
consequence?
_____________________________________________________

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Sum up
Lab: Current in a series circuit
In a series circuit, all the electrical loads are connected in series after each other so there is only
one way for the current to flow. Several electrical loads share the available voltage. That's why the
current will decrease as you add on more loads, like the light bulbs in this example.
The reason why the circuit not seem to follow Ohm's law is that the bulbs temperature affects its
resistance. If the bulbs are replaced against the ordinary resistors that we use in our elaborations,
you will see that the use of current will follow Ohm's law in a more predictable way.
Lab: Current in a parallel circuit
In a parallel circuit the current can flow several different ways. We could say that the circuit has
different branches. The current in each branch depends on how great the resistance is. The
current is greatest in the branch with the lowest resistance. The total current in the circuit is equal
to the sum of all currents flowing through the different branches. The voltage available in each
branch is the same as the supply voltage, in this case 12V.
Lab: Rear lamp unit
This is a good example where we have different circuits in a truck component. If we learn how to
measure both voltage and current on a loose component like this, we can use this knowledge in a
real fault-tracing situation. This is the objective with this exercise.

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Assessments questions
1. Which component drives the current through an electrical circuit?
2. Which component usually acts as ground in a truck?
3. Why does an electrical circuit need a fuse?
4. What component makes it possible to close and open a circuit?
5. Which components is an electrical load?
6. What are the circuits called where the current only has one way to go?

 Copyright 2006 Volvo Truck Corporation