Greg and Dave, and all the others following this thread,

I apologize to Dave for implying his application of V=IR was not the whole story, and to Greg for possibly misleading him. After reading what I wrote and spending a minute to run some calculations for the circuits and system, I have to admit Dave's response is correct. The power drawn is equal to the amperes raised to the second power times the resistance, and in that relationship it is apparent that lower resistance draws more power. Sorry about the misleading dissertation on the circuit with corroded terminals or connections.

I will be more careful not to confuse power, or load, and resistance when I try to offer explanations in the future.

Jim

__________________
Own:
1986 Euro 190E 2.3-16 (291,000 miles),
1998 E300D TurboDiesel, 231,000 miles -purchased with 45,000,
1988 300E 5-speed 252,000 miles,
1983 240D 4-speed, purchased w/136,000, now with 222,000 miles.
2009 ML320CDI Bluetec, 89,000 miles

Owned:
1971 220D (250,000 miles plus, sold to father-in-law),
1975 240D (245,000 miles - died of body rot),
1991 350SD (176,560 miles, weakest Benz I have owned),
1999 C230 Sport (45,400 miles),
1982 240D (321,000 miles, put to sleep)