Jerry McDonald wrote:
>
> I'm taking a class on electrical troubleshooting for work. The instructor
> asks which direction does electricity flow pos to neg or neg to pos? In my
> ignorance I pipe up with "both". I say I believe both due to the fact my
> TR4 has positive ground and other cars have negative ground. Therefore
> electricity must flow in either direction. My instructor is taken off guard
> by this, and throws out a "top of his head" explanation. If I understood
> correctly he surmised that in fact the current flowed backwards and
> essentially the whole car was "live". I'm not buying it. What is the real
> nature of a positive ground system?
Of course memory is still the second thing to go, but here goes with
some information related to but not directly answering your question.
And, no I am not a politician, just an ordinary engineer. Ford had
positive ground until 1956. My father purchased a new 1956 ford when I
was seventeen. Being terribly interested in all things automotive, I
investigated everything I could at the time, buying and reading Motor
Trend, Car Life, Hot Rod, Road & Track, and Popular Mechanics each
month. The two explanations for the change at that time, No
"Alternators" yet, were that Negative ground would result in less
corrosion at the battery terminals, and the spark plugs would last
longer. There were no esoteric reason bandied about in the Auto Press
at that time. My personal experience indicates that the only problem
with Positive ground are the dearth of radios and alternators available.
Cheers, Don J. Howard
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