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Series Circuits

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Series circuits are commonly used in on-board computer sensor and actuator circuits. A series circuit has several unique characteristics:
  • There is only one path for electric current.
  • The amount of electric current is the same at all points in the circuit.
  • The source voltage will be dropped across all of the electrical loads in the circuit.  The 6 ohm resistor is considered an electrical load, so is a light bulb, electric motor, relay winding, solenoid winding, etc.  There can be more than one load in a series circuit.
  • An open anywhere in a series circuit will stop the current and shut off the circuit.
  • The total circuit resistance is the sum (add them together) of all the resistive loads in the circuit.  For example:
    • in the series circuit shown below there is only one 6 ohm resistance, so the total circuit resistance is 6 ohms. 

  • If there were two six ohm resistors in the series circuit, the total circuit resistance is 6 ohms + 6 ohms = 12 ohms.

  • If there were three six ohm resistors in the series circuit, the total circuit resistance is 6 ohms + 6 ohms + 6 ohms = 18 ohms.
  • If there were four six ohm resistors in the series circuit, the total circuit resistance is 6 ohms + 6 ohms + 6 ohms + 6 ohms = 24 ohms.

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright 2008, by the Contributing Authors. Cite/attribute Resource. jfrank. (2008, February 12). Series Circuits. Retrieved November 22, 2009, from WSU Web site: http://ocw.weber.edu/automotive-technology/ausv-1320-automotive-electronics/3-basic-circuit-theory/series-circuits. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Creative Commons License