Quote:
Originally Posted by syzygy
I know this might be a bit obvious, but with it being a diode, there is probably another (potential) source of electricity somewhere else in the circuit on the other side of it and they don't want it to back feed through. I have absolutely no idea of what it might be, though. What does it show on the electrical diagram?
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My understanding is that diodes are commonly used to prevent the voltage spikes that happen when a relay is de-energized (the current needs to go somewhere) from arcing across one's switch contacts. One can have 300V+ spikes from a 12V relay which can potentially wear out one's switch contacts over time.
http://www.aeroelectric.com/articles/spikecatcher.pdf