DC Electrical

Theory
 THREE
COMPONENTS OF A

DYNAMIC DIRECT

CURRENT CIRCUIT
 VOLTAGE
DIFFERENCE IN POTENTIAL OR
ELECTROMOTIVE FORCE THAT
CAUSES ELECTRONS TO MOVE
FROM ONE POINT TO ANOTHER
THE SYMBOL FOR VOLTAGE IS

"E"
UNIT OF MEASURE IS

"VOLT"
CURRENT

THE FLOW OF
ELECTRONS
THE SYMBOL FOR CURRENT IS

"I"
UNIT OF MEASURE IS

"AMPERE"
 RESISTANCE

THE OPPOSITION TO
CURRENT FLOW
THE SYMBOL FOR RESISTANCE

"R"
UNIT OF MEASURE IS

"OHM"
 Ohm’s Law
George S. Ohm (a German Physicist) in the early eighteen hundreds
discovered the basic relationship between Voltage, Current and Resistance.

E
I=
R
 OHM’S LAW

IN ANY CIRCUIT THE CURRENT

IS DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL
TO THE VOLTAGE AND IS
INVERSELY PROPORTIONAL
TO THE RESISTANCE.
Formulas of
Ohm’s Law E
I R
CURRENT
I=E/R

E E
I R I R
VOLTAGE RESISTANCE
E=IXR R=E/I
 THE CURRENT IS DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL
TO THE VOLTAGE APPLIED TO A CIRCUIT
OR
AS THE VOLTAGE INCREASES OR DECREASES
THE CURRENT WILL INCREASE OR DECREASE

CURRENT
CURRENT
INCREASE

VOLTAGE
INCREASE
 CURRENT VS. VOLTAGE
RESISTANCE CONSTANT AT 2000 OHMS

0.01

0.008
CURRENT

0.006

0.004

0.002

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
DC VOLTS
 THE CURRENT IS INVERSELY PROPORTIONAL
TO THE RESISTANCE IN A CIRCUIT
OR
AS THE RESISTANCE INCREASES THE CURRENT WILL
DECREASE
AND AS THE RESISTANCE DECREASES THE CURRENT
WILL INCREASE

DECREASES

t a nc e
Resis

ur r e nt
C INCREASES
FIXED
VOLTAGE
 CURRENT vs. RESISTANCE
VOLTAGE CONSTANT AT 12 VDC

0.014

0.012

0.01
CURRENT

0.008

0.006

0.004

0.002

0
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
RESISTANCE
 SERIES CIRCUIT
A CIRCUIT THAT HAS ONLY ONE PATH
FOR CURRENT TO FLOW
TYPICAL SERIES CIRCUIT
 FIRST LAW OF
SERIES CIRCUITS
INDIVIDUAL RESISTANCE IN
A SERIES CIRCUIT ADD UP TO
THE TOTAL CIRCUIT
RESISTANCE
 RESISTANCE IN A SERIES
CIRCUIT

RT = R1+ R2 + R3+ ......

Rn
 R1 = 6 Ohms

R2 = 3 Ohms RT = 18 Ohms

RESISTORS IN SERIES

R3 = 9 Ohms
The sum of all three resistors adds up to
the total circuit resistance
SECOND LAW OF
SERIES CIRCUITS
CURRENT HAS THE SAME
VALUE AT ANY POINT IN A
SERIES CIRCUIT
 THIRD LAW OF
SERIES CIRCUITS
THE INDIVIDUAL VOLTAGE DROPS
ACROSS RESISTANCE ADD UP TO THE
TOTAL SYSTEM VOLTAGE
Parallel Circuits
+
12 VDC
_
 Parallel Circuits
A circuit connected so that there is current in two or more
parallel branches. The branches are said to be in parallel when they
have common connections at each end and the same voltage across
the branches.
 First Law of
Parallel Circuits
THE TOTAL RESISTANCE IN A
PARALLEL CIRCUIT IS ALWAYS
EQUAL TO OR LESS THAN THE
SMALLEST RESISTOR IN THE
CIRCUIT:
 Parallel Circuit using
only two resistors
3 Ohms

+
6 Ohms
12 VDC
_

To find the resistance in a parallel circuit

when only two resistors are used:

R1 x R2 3X6 = 18
R= = 2 Ohms
or 3+6 9
R1 + R2
 2 Ohms
Parallel Circuits
with three or more +

resistors : 3 Ohms _

1 9 Ohms
= Total R
1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3

Step 1 Step 3 1
1
.9446
1/2 + 1/3 + 1/9

Step 2 Step 4 Total Resistance

1 1.0587 Ohms
.5000 + .3334 + .1112
2nd Law of Parallel
Circuits
The voltage across all branches of a parallel
circuit are the same as the source voltage !

FLUKE 77 MULTIMETER

12 vdc
0 10 20 30
RANGE HOLD

mV Ω
+

V
V

A
12 VDC
OFF A
_
5r4r

300
mA VΩ
!
600V CAT
1000V CAT
10A COM
FUSED
3rd Law of Parallel
Circuits The total current in a Parallel circuit,
is equal to the sum of the current
flowing in the individual branches !
FLUKE 77 MULTIMETER

0 10 20 30
RANGE HOLD

mV Ω
V +
V A
OFF
5r4r A
_
300
mA VΩ
!
600V CAT
1000V CAT
10A COM
FUSED
All electrical circuits , no matter
how complicated , can be
broken down into one of three
different types !

1. Series
2. Parallel
3. Series/Parallel
 COMPONENT DESCRIPTION
AND THEORY OF OPERATION

SOLENOID
OPERATION

Americas Training Grove Crane Electrical 3-16

 SOLENOID
CORE
COIL

SOLENOID OPERATION
CORE PLACEMENT

CORE WILL BE NO MOVEMENT CORE WILL BE

PULLED DOWN PULLED UP

Americas Training Grove Crane Electrical 3-17

 SOLENOID OPERATION

SINGLE
ACTING

DOUBLE ACTING

RELAY
OPERATION
AND CONSTRUCTION

Americas Training Grove Crane Electrical 3-18

 +

MOVEABLE
CORE -

+
NON-MOVABLE
CORE
-

RELAYS:
INSIDE A BOSCH 12V RELAY:

30 Spring

86
30

85
85 86
87A
87A
87 30
87A 87
87

30 = + OR COMMON 85
86
85 = - OR NEG. / GROUND
86 = + OR POSITIVE
K25
87 = N/O CONTACT
87A = N/C CONTACT

Americas Training Grove Crane Electrical 3-19

 Relay Protection

Arc Suppression
Diode

DIODE OPERATION
AND TESTING

Americas Training Grove Crane Electrical 3-20

 DIODE OPERATION:
AN ELECTRONIC DEVICE THAT WILL ALLOW
CURRENT TO FLOW IN ONLY ONE DIRECTION.

ANODE CATHODE

A Diode allows current to flow

The Diode will not allow
when a positive voltage is applied
current to flow if the positive
to the Anode ( Forward Bias)
voltage is applied to the
Cathode (Reverse Bias)

Diode Testing
+

ANODE CATHODE

1.) Turn off Power

2.) Isolate the diode from the circuit
3.) For best results , use a multimeter diode tester
4.) Place red lead on anode and the black lead on the cathode
5.) The multimeter should indicate between 500 mV to 800mV
6.) Reverse the leads, the multimeter should read overload (OL)
7.) If the meter shows infinity, the diode is open
8.) If the meter reads 400mV in both directions , the diode is shorted

Americas Training Grove Crane Electrical 3-21

 Diode usage
+

ANODE CATHODE

1.) Arc Suppression (Relay Coil)

2.) Voltage Blocking (Multiple circuit operation)
3.) Voltage Drop (24VDC to 12VDC)
4.) Voltage Rectification (AC to DC)

FLUKE 77 MULTIMETER
Multimeter
0

RANGE
10

HOLD
20 30

Basic Functions
Ω

and Proper testing

mV

V A
OFF
5r4r A
procedures
300
mA VΩ
!
600V CAT
1000V CAT
10A COM
FUSED

Americas Training Grove Crane Electrical 3-22

 OFF = No power in meter
V = AC Voltage
V = DC Voltage
mv = DC Milli Volts
Ω = Ohms or Resistance
= Diode or Continuity test
A = AC Amperage
A = DC Amperage

Resistance test
FLUKE 77 MULTIMETER

12.3 Ω
Resistance = Ω
0 10 20 30 Unit of measure = Ohms
RANGE HOLD

mV Ω
V

V A
red
OFF
5r4r A

300
mA VΩ
!
600V CAT
1000V CAT
10A COM
FUSED

black

Remove component to be tested from the circuit

Americas Training Grove Crane Electrical 3-23

 Diode test
FLUKE 77 MULTIMETER
Forward bias = .500 to .800 = Good
.601 Reverse bias = .OL = Good
0 10 20 30 Forward bias = .OL = Bad ( Open )
RANGE HOLD

mV Ω
Rev. or Fwd. bias = .000 =Bad (Shorted)
V

V A red
OFF
5r4r A

300
mA VΩ
!
600V CAT
1000V CAT
10A COM
FUSED
black

Remove component to be tested from the circuit

Continuity test
FLUKE 77 MULTIMETER

Meter reads .000 = Perfect continuity

.000 ( Alarm should sound )
0 10 20 30

RANGE HOLD

mV Ω
Meter reads .OL = Open circuit
V
red
V A

OFF
5r4r A
51A

300
mA VΩ
!
600V CAT
1000V CAT
10A COM
FUSED

black

Americas Training Grove Crane Electrical 3-24