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Re:To Power the Future, Carmakers Flip on 48-Volt Systems by Gibbon1 on Sunday February 11, 2018 @02:21PM (#16354240)
The switched loads I was thinking of are lights and motors. So 48V headlights, 48v blower motors, 48v door solenoids, etc. All these draw a fair amount of power and thus a lot of current at 12V.

It's not a total win especially for mechanical switches and relays which tend to be rated by their ability to interrupt power. And you do need higher voltage transistors.

Re:To Power the Future, Carmakers Flip on 48-Volt Systems by mschuster91 on Sunday February 11, 2018 @03:30PM (#16354619)
Hmm. Definitely an interesting idea. Downside: manage to e.g. swap a 12V and 48V line and while an 48V component shouldn't be damaged by 12V, a 12V component which does not have a voltage regulator in front will get fried. It's nasty enough with a truck with dual voltage and trailers - a 24V trailer will at least be recognizable as the lights will simply have a dimmer light but a 12V trailer on a 24V truck means hours of swapping every goddamn tiny light bulb. Add a 3rd voltage into the mess and the potential for chaos multiplies...