Duty Cycle

The Duty Cycle of a square wave is the ratio of ON time to OFF time for one cycle.

Duty cycle is expressed in %.

Vehicle systems use both fixed duty cycle signals and variable duty cycle signals.

Fig 1: Identifying Duty Cycle (1 Of 2)

Courtesy of BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, INC.

Fig 2: Identifying Duty Cycle (2 Of 2)

Courtesy of BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, INC.

Time

1 second = 1000 milliseconds (ms).

1/2 second = 500 milliseconds.

1/4 second = 250 milliseconds.

1/10 second = 100 milliseconds.

1/100 second = 10 milliseconds.

1/1000 second = 1 milliseconds.