1. Automotive Electrical Terms To Know

2. Capacitance - The property of a capacitor or condenser that permits it to receive and retain an electrical charge.

3. Circuit – A source, resistance, and path to carry a flow from the source to the resistance and back to the source. An example is an electrical circuit. The wires (path) allow electricity from the batter (source) to flow to a headlamp (resistance) and back to the battery.

4. Conductor – Any material that can form a path for electrical current.

5. Voltage - the rate at which energy is drawn from a source that produces a flow of electricity in a circuit;

6. Ohms – Unit of measurement for resistance to the flow of electric current in a given unit or circuit.

7. Current – The movement of free electrons in a conductor

8. Resistance - The measure of opposition to electrical flow in a circuit.

9. Electromagnetism - The physics of the electromagnetic field: a field which exerts a force on particles that possess the property of electric

10. Electromotive force (EMF) - voltage: the rate at which energy is drawn from a source that produces a flow of electricity in a circuit; expressed in volts

11. Induction – The imparting of electricity to an object by magnetic fields.

12. Insulator - a material such as glass or porcelain with negligible electrical or thermal conductivity

13. Ohm’s law – Formula for computing unknown voltage, resistance, or current in a circuit by using two known factors to find the unknown value.

14. Amperage - the strength of an electrical current measured in amperes

15. Parallel circuit – An electrical circuit that has two or more resistance units wired so that current can flow through them at the same time.

16. Potential Energy - the mechanical energy that a body has by virtue of its position; stored energy

17. Semiconductors - A substance, such as silicon, that acts as a conductor or insulator, depending on its operating condition and application.

18. Series Circuit – A circuit with only one path for current to flow.

19. Series Parallel circuit – A circuit in which a series and parallel circuits are combined.

20. Valence ring - The outermost orbital ring of electrons in an atom.

21. Voltage drop – A lowering of circuit due to excessive lengths of wire, undersize wire, or through a resistance.