Automotive electronics power up

 

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[4] The proposed specification for a 42-V system voltage limits maximum voltage to 58 V, thanks to technical considerations of load dump suppression. That is, the system must be able to handle a voltage spike caused when a fully loaded alternator loses its load. Ironically, such a situation, inadvertently disconnecting a charging battery, for example, may never occur; yet the system must be able to deal with it.

IEEE Spectrum May 2000 Volume 37 Number 5