[Pinched wire - hydrogen fuel cell]

Let's say a hydrogen fuel cell has an output of 200 amps at 24 volts. This output is supposed to be isolated from the chassis. Somewhere in the fc is a pinched wire. Measuring from the positive output to chassis thru a 2.5k ohm resister displays 10ma. What is the current rating of the actual short?

by mu34tant
March 30, 2019

ground of 24v battery is connected to chassis.

by wangwg88
April 01, 2019

yes, the test lead has a 2.5kohm resistor in series with the probe. the vmm reads 10ma. what is the actual short current?

by mu34tant
April 01, 2019

24v/2.5k=10ma, so all short current goes through your 2.5k resistor. if you don't connect resistor on, there is no short current.

by wangwg88
April 01, 2019

not true, there is always short current because there is a short

by mu34tant
April 03, 2019

you need to prove that there is a short. otherwise, no short.

by wangwg88
April 03, 2019

no. the short is always there. sometimes the resistor (load) is not present. what I am trying to figure is the maximum current draw across the pinched wire contacting the frame. some short draw more current than others. some draw 1 ma across the test resistor. how can i figure the max current the short will handle from my test?

by mu34tant
April 04, 2019

No Answers

No answers yet. Contribute your answer below!


Your Answer

You must log in or create an account (free!) to answer a question.

Log in Create an account


Go Ad-Free. Activate your CircuitLab membership. No more ads. Save unlimited circuits. Run unlimited simulations.

Search Questions & Answers


Ask a Question

Anyone can ask a question.

Did you already search (see above) to see if a similar question has already been answered? If you can't find the answer, you may ask a question.


About This Site

CircuitLab's Q&A site is a FREE questions and answers forum for electronics and electrical engineering students, hobbyists, and professionals.

We encourage you to use our built-in schematic & simulation software to add more detail to your questions and answers.

Acceptable Questions:

  • Concept or theory questions
  • Practical engineering questions
  • “Homework” questions
  • Software/hardware intersection
  • Best practices
  • Design choices & component selection
  • Troubleshooting

Unacceptable Questions:

  • Non-English language content
  • Non-question discussion
  • Non-electronics questions
  • Vendor-specific topics
  • Pure software questions
  • CircuitLab software support

Please respect that there are both seasoned experts and total newbies here: please be nice, be constructive, and be specific!

About CircuitLab

CircuitLab is an in-browser schematic capture and circuit simulation software tool to help you rapidly design and analyze analog and digital electronics systems.