Vehicle Electrical Systems Part 2

Forewords
Having got an over-view of a car’s basic electrical system last week, here’re some Do’s and Dont’s to keep them trouble free:

Do’s

• Keep a regular check on the electrolyte level in your battery. Top-up to ‘max’ level, as and when required, using ONLY pure/battery grade distilled water. Overfilling is to be avoided at all costs as the electrolyte/acid will spill over when the battery is getting charged and thus ruin its adjoining areas for good.
• Even the present day ‘maintenance free’ batteries require such attention ~ every 3-6 months and the ‘semi-sealed’ ones once a year or so. Keep its terminals free of sulphate’ deposits and lightly smeared with petroleum jelly.
• Likewise, it’s important to keep an eye on the Alternator drive belt tension since belts tend to loosen with age/mileage. A loose belt can lead to a flat battery after a while, for no fault of the Alternator.
• Switch-off headlamps at night in b2b traffic but leave the parking/tail lights on – wherever possible.
• This way, an OE Alternator can last ~ 50 kkm+ and well branded Batteries ~ 3-yrs before needing any service/attention. As and when needed, entrust the work ONLY to their Authorised Service Centres.

Dont’s

• On the present MPFi/CRDi cars, it’s NOT advisable to retro-fit any electrical accessories, such as music systems, fog/rally lamps, high wattage head lamps, remote/central locking, fancy lights/horns etc that are not ‘OE/Dealer Approved’. If at all, that too only by the Dealer and against a formal receipt. Otherwise, your OE Warranty and consequently the Insurance Cover stands to be annulled for having carried out ‘unauthorised’ modifications – not to mention utter loss of reliability of the vehicle.
• It’s commonly advised out of ignorance even in prominent Media that using ‘relays’ for retrofitting high wattage accessories will solve the problem. Nothing could be farther from truth as – a) this’d inevitably involve tampering with the OE Wiring Harness that’s a taboo for MPFi/CRDi’s and b) a relay is just a ‘passive’ switching device that can only increase the load switching ‘capability’ of the OE switches and therefore, the additional electrical load in terms of Amps/Watts has to come from the Battery and in turn the Alternator only.
• The present day cost-competitive ‘edge’ designs leave hardly any room for such overloading, including the OE wiring. In plain speak, it’s asking for trouble – relays or no relays.
• Some vitals of a car such as the Starter, Horns, Brake Tail Light Bulbs, are NOT ‘continuously’ rated - like a household Mixie - as their application doesn’t warrant so. Therefore, cranking a Starter repeatedly for more than 3-4 secs at a stretch can considerably shorten its life, along with that of the Battery. Ditto for Horns. They should be ‘tooted’ only in short bursts. Likewise, don’t rest your foot on the brake pedal when parked or waiting at traffic lights. Instead, shift to neutral and engage the parking brake fully BUT don’t forget to release it when taking off!