Gizmos put squeeze on 12-volt system
By: Drivers.com staff
Date: 2000-03-12
Computers, heated mirrors and seats, rear air conditioning blowers and global positioning systems are in danger of overwhelming the electrical system of today's cars, the experts say. Numerous presentations on the issue and its possible solution-the 42-volt electrical system-were made at the 2000 World Congress of The Society of Automotive Engineers, March 6-9 in Detroit.
Today's 14-volt car system (the voltage of a 12-volt car while running) is severely taxed by a modern automobile loaded with options and engineers have been working behind the scenes for the past decade to address the problem.
Not only will the new electrical system offers consumers more electrical power for their in-car gadgets, it will permit auto engineers to adopt many new electronic systems that improve fuel consumption and air quality. In 42-volt cars, for instance, air conditioning compressors may be electrically controlled rather than belt-driven.
Letting the engine actually run the car rather than moving belts improves efficiency. In addition, a 42-volt integrated starter/alternator provides nearly instantaneous starts and enhances driving performance and vehicle safety.
Making the transition won't be inexpensive since everything in the well-established 12-volt battery infrastructure, from light bulbs to fuses, must change. That's why many engineers, including Andreas Pechlaner and Dr. Alfons Graf of Infineon Technologies, agree that a complete changeover to 42 volts is unlikely in the near future.
Pechlaner and Graf presented their research, "42-V PowerNet Door Applications" at SAE's 2000 World Congress. Also at the congress, a team of researchers from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, The Australian Automobile Association and the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria presented a paper on a vehicle air quality monitoring system that may prevent drivers from nodding off at the wheel in the presence of carbon monoxide gas.
They say the system prevents unnecessary fatigue as well as accidental and suicidal carbon monoxide poisoning deaths.
When poor cabin air conditions exist, such as low oxygen or high carbon monoxide and dioxide levels, the system triggers an alarm to alert the occupants to lower the windows or allow fresh air to enter the cabin via the ventilation system. If warnings are ignored, the system automatically switches the ventilation system to fresh air.
In the case of an attempted suicide, the monitor analyzes carbon monoxide and oxygen concentrations and, if necessary, shuts down the engine and lowers electric windows.
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