CHAPTER 3: TESTING OF CONTINUITY IN SWITCHES AND LOAD

3.1 Loads and Switches Types of Loads Resistive Load (heaters and incandescent lights): The voltage and current peaks coincide and are therefore in phase and the power factor is in unity.

Fig. 3.1. Resistive Load Inductive Load (Motors and transformers): An inductive load is an electrical device that is made of wound or coiled wire. With an inductive load the current waveform is lagging behind the voltage waveform, therefore, the voltage peaks and current peaks are not in phase. The amount of phase delay is given by the cosine of the angle (cos) between the vectors representing voltage and current.

Fig. 3.2. Inductive load Capacitive Load (Capacitors, wiring, cable) :The capacitive load has a current waveform which is leading the voltage waveform, therefore the voltage peaks and current peaks are not in phase. The amount of phase delay is given by the cosine of the angle between the vectors representing voltage and current.

Fig. 3.3. Various Types of Switches

Capacitive Load

Switches are mechanical devices with two or more leads (or terminals) that are internally connected to metal contacts which can be opened or closed by the person operating the switch.

Basic Concepts of Electronics and Electrical When the switch is in the On position, the contacts are brought together to complete the circuit so that current can flow. When the contacts are together, the switch is closed. When the contacts are apart, the switch is open and current cannot flow. Slide switch: A slide switch has a knob that you can slide back and forth to open or close the contacts. Toggle switch: A toggle switch has a lever that you flip up or down to open or close the contacts. Common household light switches are examples of toggle switches. Rotary switch: A rotary switch has a knob that you turn to open and close the contacts. The switch in the base of many table top lamps is an example of a rotary switch. Rocker switch: A rocker switch has a seesaw action. You press one side of the switch down to close the contacts, and press the other side down to open the contacts. Knife switch: A knife switch is the kind of switch Igor throws in a Frankenstein movie to reanimate the creature. In a knife switch, the contacts are exposed for everyone to see. Pushbutton switch: A pushbutton switch is a switch that has a knob that you push to open or close the contacts. In some pushbutton switches, you push the switch once to open the contacts and then push again to close the contacts. In other words, each time you push the switch, the contacts alternate between opened and closed. Symbolic Representation Of Switches In Electrical Circuits

3.2

Fig. 3.4. Symbolic representations of switches Basic Servicing and Repair Techniques

Continuity For testing the continuity in a circuit first turn the knob of the multimeter to buzzer, then connect the one probe at the one end, and the other probe on the other end of the point where you want to test the continuity, if there is any breakage in the circuit then the multimeter wont give a beep sound, if the circuit is intact it will give a beep sound. Measure Voltage To measure voltage on an electronic circuit, you don't have to insert the meter into the circuit. Instead, all you have to do is touch the leads of the multimeter to any two points in the circuit. When you do, the multimeter displays the voltage that exists between those two points.

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Basic Concepts of Electronics and Electrical For example, you can insert a voltmeter into the LED circuit(LED basically act as load) so that you can measure voltage. In this case, the voltage is measured across the battery. It should read in the vicinity of 8.3 V. 9 V batteries rarely provide a full 9 V.

Fig. 3.5.

LED circuit to measure voltage

To measure voltages in the LED circuit, spin the multimeter dial to a range whose maximum is at least 10 V. Now just touch the leads to different spots in the circuit. To measure the voltage across the entire circuit, touch the black lead to the LED lead that's inserted into the negative bus strip, and touch the red lead to the resistor lead that's inserted into the positive bus strip. Here's an interesting exercise. Write down the following three voltage measurements: Across the battery: Connect the red meter lead to the resistor lead that's inserted into the positive strip and the black meter lead to the LED lead that's inserted into the negative strip. Across the resistor: Connect the red meter lead to the resistor lead that's inserted into the positive strip and the black meter lead to the other resistor lead. Across the LED: Connect the black meter lead to the LED lead that's inserted into the negative end and the red meter lead to the other LED lead. Measure Current Electric current is measured in amperes, but actually in most electronics work, you'll measure current in milliamps, or mA. To measure current, you must connect the two leads of the ammeter in the circuit so that the current flows through the ammeter. In other words, the ammeter must become a part of the circuit itself.The only way to measure the current flowing through a simple circuit is to insert ammeter into the circuit. Here, the ammeter is inserted into the circuit between the LED and the resistor.

Fig. 3.6.

LED circuit to measure current

Note that it doesn't matter where in this circuit you insert the ammeter. You'll get the same current reading whether you insert the ammeter between the LED and the resistor, between the resistor and the battery, or between the LED and the battery.To measure the current in the LED circuit, follow these steps: NIELIT, Chandigarh Centre
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Basic Concepts of Electronics and Electrical Set the multimeter's range selector to a DC milliamp range of at least 20 mA. This circuit uses direct current (DC), so one need to make sure the multimeter is set to a DC current range. Touch the black lead from the multimeter to the LED lead that connects to the terminal strip. Touch the red lead from the multimeter to the resistor lead that connects to the terminal strip. The LED should light up, as the ammeter is now a part of the circuit, and current can flow. Read the number on the multimeter display. It should read between 12 and 13 mA. (The exact reading will depend on the exact resistance value of the resistor. Resistor values aren't exact, so even though you're using a 470 resistor in this circuit, the actual resistance of the resistor may be anywhere from 420 to 520 .There are two places in this circuit that you should not connect the ammeter. First, don't connect the ammeter directly across the two battery terminals. This effectively shorts out the battery. It will get real hot, real fast. Second, don't connect one lead of the ammeter to the positive battery terminal and the other directly to the LED lead.

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Basic Concepts of Electronics and Electrical

PRACTICAL COMPETENCIES
3.1 AIM: Study of Different Switches And Their Ratings Study Of Different Switches

Fig. 3.7. Tact Switch

Different types of switches

Fig. 3.8. Electronics specification and abbreviation Expansion British of mains abbreviatio wiring n name

TACT switch

American electrical wiring name

Description

Symbol

SPST

Single pole, single throw

Oneway

Two-way

A simple on-off switch: The two terminals are either connected together or disconnected from each other. An example is a light switch.

SPDT

Single pole, double throw

Twoway

A simple changeover switch: Three-way C (COM, Common) is connected to L1 or to L2.

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Basic Concepts of Electronics and Electrical Equivalent to two SPST switches Double pole controlled by a single mechanism

DPST

Double pole, Double single throw pole

DPDT Double pole, double throw .

Equivalent to two SPDT switches controlled by a single mechanism

Switch Ratings The power rating of a device is a guideline set by the manufacturer as a maximum power to be used with that device. This limit is usually set somewhat lower than the level where the device will be damaged, to allow a margin of safety. The table shown below shows rating of different switches: Unloaded Rating of Level Switch
Nominal VA Amperes Amperes (resistive) at (resistive) 240 VAC 120 VAC 360 100 60 30 25 15 1.50 0.40 0.40 0.14 3.00 1.00 0.50 0.28 0.28 0.12

Madison Calculation

Amperes Amperes Amperes (resistive) at 12 at (resistive) at 120 (resistive) at VDC VDC 24 VDC 0.75 0.40 0.20 0.07 100VDC/0.10 3.00 1.00 0.50 0.28 0.28 0.30 3.00 2.00 0.70 0 56 0.28 0.30

Above ratings are for resistive loads only. Maximum voltage ratings: SPST Switches 240 VAC; SPDT Switches 120 VAC 3.2 AIM: USE OF MULTIMETER IN TESTING SWITCHES APPARATUS: Multimeter, Switch PROCEDURE 1. In-circuit testing we requires the use of multi-meter tester.

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Basic Concepts of Electronics and Electrical 2. Again for safety reasons turn off the circuit before removing the switch from the box. This will aid in the testing processing and help avoid the possibility of shorting the test leads against the side of the junction box. 3. Remember that the multi-meter will need to be set to the continuity knob before using this tester. 4. Use the tester to check each terminal of the switch with one lead while touching the other lead to the neutral or ground wire. 5. If on touching, beep sound comes, it means switch is working properly. Otherwise switch needs to be replaced.

Fig. 3.9.

Multi-meter tester

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