What is the difference between intermittent and continuous duty cycle on a solenoid?

[TOBASH]

What is the difference between intermittent and continuous duty cycle on a solenoid?

How does this apply to a starter?

How does this apply to the glow plug solenoid?

How does this apply to a PCB [EDIT - Protective Control Box] in general?

Thanks!

T

 

[M37M35]

A continuous duty solenoid can run, well, continuously.

An intermittent duty solenoid can only run for a short time before the coils inside that activate it burn up.

A starter or glow plug solenoid is intermittent duty because it only runs for a short time and has time to cool off before being used again.
Not sure what you mean by PCB, but if it's something that has to run the whole time the vehicle is running, then it needs to be continuous duty.
You can use a continuous duty solenoid in place of an intermittent duty solenoid, but not the other way around.

 

[simp5782]

In a PCB one continuous duty solenoid is providing power to the gauges. Fuel solenoids, ect. The intermittent solenoid in the box is a starter solenoid. This also as a setup where the alternators charge thru them so that anytime the alternator is putting out voltage the intermittent solenoid will not engage to keep it from spinning the starter while the engine is running on some PCB boxes

 

[papakb]

The starter solenoids they use in the PCBs are intermittant duty and that's all they need to be since the timing circuitry only powers the glow plugs up for about 10 seconds each cycle.