10 Amp Versus 20 Amp Voltage Reducer

Jimp123

New Member
Hey all.
I blew my 10amp 48v to 12v reducer which came with my light kit. I bought a 20amp 48v to 12v reducer as a replacement because I thought I might be adding more items in the future and thought it would help to take care of the extra power needs. Was this thought process correct , or did I need to stick with the original 10amp unit?
 

Patrick L

Cartaholic
Well, were you pulling more than 10 amps ? If so, then the 20 amp unit is probably needed. The lights must not be LEDs. I'm not sure why you're worried, the bigger reducer should be fine. I'm usually of the opinion that the more bigger the more better.
 

ProfessorGT

New Member
Jimp you are correct, a higher capacity DC to DC converter will handle more loads, whereas if the smaller 10 amp unit had too much current being pulled through it it would have given up the ghost. The shame of it is, had the circuit been properly protected (proper size fuse) the fuse would have popped before taking out the converter. All electrical circuits are designed around the load. Specifically the wattage rating of the load, based upon how much work the load will need to perform. It all starts there, and then the wiring, switches, protection devices, etc., are sized to carry enough current for the load to do its work. Unfortunately with no fuse protection in line with the converter, it wound up being the fuse. You can easily measure the current draw of the components you want to run, and then add fuse(s) to protect the replacement converter. I'd add 10% to the measured total draw and set that as my fuse rating, of course being sure my total draw is less than the max current rating of the converter, otherwise you'll need to step up to one that handles more.
 

PRGeno

New Member
The question I would have is why did it blow, especially if the reducer came with the light kit. That would indicate it was drawing more than it should have, unless you added more things drawing from the 12v source. Otherwise there is a short or some other reason the light kit was drawing more than designed.

More capacity would be fine, as long as you know why you went over the capacity of the previous reducer. And ProfessorGT is spot on with his advice that it should be protected with a fuse (meaning your new one).
 

Jimp123

New Member
Thanks all. The problem went away, after I redid the wiring from the batteries added a higher amperage converter. I think the ground wire was the issue? I have added a rear third brake light, strip lighting under the the cart, and a light bar at the top of the cart. All LED, but utilizing the 10amp unit, before I had issues. Might have contributed to the problem as well. I know I can test with meter, but I think the problem is fixed with the larger amp converter.
 
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