General description of electrical equipment (Renault Espace I)

All electrical equipment in the vehicles described in this manual has a supply voltage of 12 V. The return circuit passes through the body to the negative terminal of the battery. The battery is located in the engine compartment.

To start the engine, a starter with forced engagement of the pinion is used. The starter switch is part of the ignition switch and excites the traction relay mounted on the starter.

The installed alternator has, depending on the equipment, different nominal power and can be made by either Paris-Rhone or Ducellier. Later Espace models only have alternators from Paris-Rhone. Due to the difference in engines, the alternator power on each model will also be different. Depending on the engine, alternators with an output current of 70 A, 90 A and 105 A are installed. Cars with air conditioning also have a higher-power alternator.

The generator is driven by a V-belt from the crankshaft.

The battery charge indicator light installed on the instrument panel provides an indication of the normal functioning of the electrical system.