Electrical bench testing equipment

[Joseph U.]

Does anyone know of a piece of equipment that one can use to bench test electrical parts for an old car. What I would like to do is find a transformer that i can use to convert AC to 6 or 12 volts DC with variable Amp so that I can bench test parts currently off the car without running jumpers from the battery to whatever I want to test.
Seems like it would be easy but I have not found it yet. Maybe I just don't know where to look.
thanks,
Joe

[Wayne W.]

Re: Electrical bench testing equipment

Battery chargers.

[Jeffrey S.]

Re: Electrical bench testing equipment

What about a small plating rectifier like the Caswell 3 amp unit. I use it for plating but also for energizing electrical parts to test. It gives a true 12v DC and adjustable to 3 amps. Just a thought.
Jeff

[Dick W.]

Re: Electrical bench testing equipment

Battery chargers.

Newer chargers will not power up without a battery attached

[Joe R.]

Re: Electrical bench testing equipment

Joe,

The piece of lab equipment you're looking for is called a power supply. The first thing you need to decide is what is the maximum amount of current that it needs to deliver. Maybe you could just look at your fuse block to determine what the maximum load is. I would suspect the headlights, maybe 30 amps or so. You can buy new power supplies from electronics supply houses like Mouser, Digi-Key, Allied Electronics or Newark. Or you could try looking on eBay. Is there an electronics salvage store near you? There is a place in St. Louis called Gateway Electronics. I haven't been in there for a long time, but the last time I was there they had 12 Vdc power supplies at fairly reasonable prices.

Good luck,
Joe

[Joseph U.]

Re: Electrical bench testing equipment

I don't think a battery charger will work and it is somewhat uncontrollable. I don't want to cause a problem with the test. I will have to look into the Caswell unit. Somehow this seems like it should be easy but it isn't. How do you all "bench test" motors etc?
Joe

[Joseph U.]

Re: Electrical bench testing equipment

Thanks Joe,
That is just what I needed to know. Just did a brief Google Search and found many options including Radio Shack, Amazon and e-bay.
Now I just have to choose.
Thanks again,
Joe

[Wayne W.]

Re: Electrical bench testing equipment

Yea, what a crock. What do they think I need the damn thing for anyway, to charge up a live battery? No, idiot, I want to charge a DEAD one.

[Joseph U.]

Re: Electrical bench testing equipment

Any idea how many Amps i will need or the range that I might need? I am dealing with C1 thru C2 and (hopefully at some time in the future C3) corvettes.
Joe

[Wayne W.]

Re: Electrical bench testing equipment

Y'all try to find a power supply that will power up a starter. Better get the wallet out.

A regulated power supply of about 10 amp capacity is adequate for most everything except stuff like a starter. I am not sure why you would want a variable amp power supply. The voltage needs to be steady. The device itself pulls the amperage. If the power supply is not capable of handling that amperage your test will be meaningless.

A good bench power supply is a battery and a small charger to keep it up. That's exactly what you have in your car.

[Paul J.]

Re: Electrical bench testing equipment

Thanks Joe,
That is just what I needed to know. Just did a brief Google Search and found many options including Radio Shack, Amazon and e-bay.
Now I just have to choose.
Thanks again,
Joe

They're called AC/DC Power Converters. Grainger and some others have them too.

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/search.shtml?gclid=CMGlzZrkrrYCFdFT4AoddWEA5Q&searchQuery=Converter+Ac+To+Dc&op=search&Ntt=Converter+Ac+To+Dc&N=0&GlobalSearch=true&sst=subset&cm_mmc=PPC:%20Google%20Main%204-_-Electrical>Power%20Supplies-_-AC%20to%20DC%20Converter>Converter%20Ac%20To%20Dc>Broad-_-Converter%20Ac%20To%20Dc&ef_id=UMtycwAAFWCobipz:20130403151105:s

[Jack H.]

Re: Electrical bench testing equipment

I don't think a battery charger will work and it is somewhat uncontrollable. I don't want to cause a problem with the test. I will have to look into the Caswell unit. Somehow this seems like it should be easy but it isn't. How do you all "bench test" motors etc?
Joe

I have a small radio shack power supply for light duty stuff. When I need to do something heavy duty (Wayne's starter scenario) I use a car battery. Never could justify buying a fancy heavy duty power supply. Hope that helps.

[Joseph U.]

Re: Electrical bench testing equipment

As usual I am confused.
Most of these converters list 13.8 Volts - my system is 12 volts. What damage will I cause?
Seems like you can buy one for less than $100. A battery and trickle charger will cost me at least that much.
Maybe I am making too much of all of this (as usual).
Joe

[Gary C.]

Re: Electrical bench testing equipment

Joe,

Using a battery is your best option. Battery is a smooth 12v DC source. When it runs down, recharge it.

For most applications except for a starter, a garden tractor battery could be used. If there's a need for a lot of use at one sitting, then a car battery which has more storage capacity would be required.

JMTCW,

Gary
....

[Jeffrey S.]

Re: Electrical bench testing equipment

Newer chargers will not power up without a battery attached

It is also my understanding that a battery charger only delivers 1/2 of AC, not a true DC. That's why if true DC is needed it should be hooked up to a battery.
Jeff