Weird 12V question for you electric gurus...
I'm hoping you guys will be able to troubleshoot this for me as I am totally baffled... Background: -In our former TV cabinet, we had a 12V outlet on the same plate as the coax jack. It didn't wor...
Forum Discussion
If the light (and other lights on the circuit)is on when making the measurement, I would bet the missing 6 cvolts is being lost in connections and wiring losses. It is indicative of a wiring problem.
Wire, fuses, connectors, etc. are not perfect conductors. They all have resistance. That resistance under load (the light(s) on) results in a voltage drop across the wiring, connectors and fuses. This drop reduces the voltage one would read across the load (the light in this case) to something below 12 volts.
Having said that, 6 colts is pretty low. I suspect you have a higher than typical reisitance somewhere in the circuit.
A trick I use to find these is an infrared temperature gun. Take the temp of various points in the circuit. The places it is warm/hot is where you high resistance point is.
Also I suspect if you turn nearby lights off (as they are most likely sharing the same feed wires), leaving the one you are measuring on, you will see the 6 volts increase. This is because you are reducing the current (and hence the voltage drop) thru the wiring, connectors, and fuses.
Wire, fuses, connectors, etc. are not perfect conductors. They all have resistance. That resistance under load (the light(s) on) results in a voltage drop across the wiring, connectors and fuses. This drop reduces the voltage one would read across the load (the light in this case) to something below 12 volts.
Having said that, 6 colts is pretty low. I suspect you have a higher than typical reisitance somewhere in the circuit.
A trick I use to find these is an infrared temperature gun. Take the temp of various points in the circuit. The places it is warm/hot is where you high resistance point is.
Also I suspect if you turn nearby lights off (as they are most likely sharing the same feed wires), leaving the one you are measuring on, you will see the 6 volts increase. This is because you are reducing the current (and hence the voltage drop) thru the wiring, connectors, and fuses.
