I bought a (new, aftermarket replacement) starter relay for a vintage Vauxhall (GM/Opel) (which was mis-sold as a starter solenoid, but nevermind) with the intention of using it for another purpose, a heavy duty relay. But I find it uses 5 amps at 12 volts to power it! Clearly, dissipating 60W of heat in it won't take long to kill it and it's only intended to operate for a short period. The question is though, why does it use so much power? I've just bought a relay that takes 200A (so similar contacts) that's for continuous use, at half the price and will presumably not use that much power. Why is the first one so inefficient?
- posted
3 years ago