Comments on: How much electric current does a truck really use?

By: Build a spot welder from a battery charger » imsolidstate

Build a spot welder from a battery charger » imsolidstate — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:53:42 +0000

[...] also added an Allegro hall effect current sensor that I had lying around from my alternator current sense project. It’s overkill, but it measures the amount of peak current being delivered and displays it on [...]

By: imsolidstate

imsolidstate — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 02:16:50 +0000

I’m not sure if placement (I’m assuming physical, not electrical) would have any effect, I didn’t check for that. I did use a ground plane though, so that should rule out any inductive coupling.
The datasheet has a table that shows what the output will be based on the current through the device and temperature. I assumed the device was calibrated to within the tolerances listed in the datasheet, and it was good enough for my application.

By: Stuart Galt

Stuart Galt — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:42:29 +0000

Great little design. Nice one!!!

A couple of questions – how sensitive is the design/sensor to proximity to the alternator. If you moved it slightly, do your measurements get distorted signifantly?

Also, did you have to calibrate the sensor at all against any known currents, or does the Altera look after all that for you?

By: Measuring alternator current with a Hall Effect Sensor - Vancouver Tickets Olympics Syndicate Hosting Obama - Syndicate Brokers Van BC

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 23:25:29 +0000

[...] from imsolidstate built this circuit to answer the age old question, how much electric current does a truck really use? Actually, he was having trouble with the alternator (electricity generator) on his vehicle, and [...]

By: Chris

Chris — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 16:05:18 +0000

> Why bother to wire trailer brake wiring with wire
> that has an ampacity of 100 Amps or so if it only
> uses a few amps? There must be more to the story.

It’s the voltage drop across that length of wire. Lower gauge (Thicker wire) has less of a voltage drop.

By: Measuring alternator current with a Hall Effect Sensor « blog canpazari

Measuring alternator current with a Hall Effect Sensor « blog canpazari — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:58:12 +0000

By: Electronics-Lab.com Blog » Blog Archive » Measuring alternator current with a Hall Effect Sensor

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 08:21:51 +0000

[...] from imsolidstate build an current sensor to measure the current the vehicle is using and comming from alternator. [...]

By: Measuring alternator current with a Hall Effect Sensor | Products & Tech News

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 07:42:05 +0000

By: Measuring alternator current with a Hall Effect Sensor

Measuring alternator current with a Hall Effect Sensor — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 04:11:43 +0000

By: Measuring alternator current with a Hall Effect Sensor » Developages - Development and Technology Blog

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:07:30 +0000

[...] from imsolidstate built this circuit to answer the age old question, how much electric current does a truck really us … Actually, he was having trouble with the alternator (electricity [...]