Become an Electrical Auto Technician
Your car operates using a complex series of electrical circuits to function properly. Car’s today can have over 25 computers and operate on a large data bus network. With modern navigation technology, your car might even have more memory stored in it than your computer does. This is what makes driving modern cars today so simple and fun. Cars are also safer than they’ve ever been before. The one major downside to this, is that most people are afraid to work on electrical problems on their cars.
This is absolutely an irrational fear. There is no reason to be afraid of working on your car when it is experiencing electrical problems. The reason for this fear, is that many people do not understand how electricity works and they do not know how to go about diagnosing electrical problems. With a basic understanding of how terms like volts, amps, and ohms, you have much of the necessary knowledge to understand what is going on with your car. (By the way a great school to learn auto electrical repair is Midlands Technical College.)
Another great thing to know is how various electrical components operate. Your car uses a wide variety of capacitors, motors, solenoids, diodes, and transducers. These words may sound strange to you. Understanding how each of these components operate, will help you out so much as you go about diagnosing your own vehicle. Once you understand electrical components and how electricity works, there is a simple diagnostic process to find the problem and repair it.
Man’s Best Friend
When it comes to working on electrical systems, your multi-meter will be your new best friend. This is the most useful tool you can have when it comes to diagnosing electrical faults. This tool is capable of doing so much. You can buy one online or at any auto store for anywhere from $5-$200. There is a huge market for these and you can get them with all sorts of different features, some are fused, and some have nice displays. This is one tool you will always want to have on hand. It is a lifesaver when it comes to diagnosing your car’s electrical problems. For those of you who don’t know how to use a multi-meter, here is a helpful video that explains the basics of using one.
This is not the only tool you will ever need but it is by far the most used tool. You may find it helpful to buy things like a test light or a fused circuit breaker. Once you have the proper tools, you are ready to start working on your car. With a basic understanding of electricity, fixing your car’s problems becomes very easy.
Remember that your car is built up of a large amount of circuits. When a circuit is closed (when the circuit is active/switch on), there should be electricity flowing through it. If there isn’t or if there is but the circuit’s load isn’t working like it should, then you have found a problem. By thinking about it, it becomes obvious that there are only three possible problems that could be causing your cars electronics to misbehave. They are a short circuit, open circuit, and excessive resistance. No matter what you are experiencing, only one of those things can be the culprit. Now you just have to discover which one it is and where the problem is taking place so that you can fix it.
Open Circuit
One of the simplest problems to diagnose is an open circuit. An open circuit means that the flow of electrons is interrupted somewhere in the circuit. This could be something like a broken wire. The wire breaking stops the electrons from flowing through the circuit as they are unable to continue through the wire. Another example of an open circuit is a worn-out component. A good example is a light bulb. When the light bulb burns out, the filaments inside wear out and eventually wear out until the circuit is open.
The best way to go about making sure that an open circuit is your problem, is to test with your multi-meter. Switch it to volts and measure the voltage at various locations in a given circuit. If you have the proper voltage at the battery and throughout the circuit but then lose it at one point, then you know you have an open. You also then know where the open is. Simply testing the voltage at different spots will tell you a lot about the circuit and help you find the problem.
Short Circuit
Another common problem is a short circuit. This means that the flow of electricity is flowing somewhere where it shouldn’t. This could be to a variety of places. It could be another circuit, straight to ground, or back to its own circuit in another place. This often happens as a wire rubs against something. Over time the insulation around the wire wears out and then the metal inside becomes exposed. As it then touches something, electricity can flow to something else.
Short circuits are diagnosed in a very similar way. Use your multi-meter to measure the voltage at various places. This is how you will know when there is no longer the proper voltage present in a circuit where it should be. Using this method, you can narrow down the problem.
Excessive Resistance
Excessive resistance is exactly what it sounds like. There is too much resistance in the circuit so that the proper voltage isn’t able to arrive to the load. This is diagnosed in exactly the same way. Measure the voltage throughout the circuit. You should have 12 volts throughout the circuit all the way to the load. If you don’t, narrow down and find the excessive resistance.
You Can Do It
Armed with a multi-meter, you can fix the electrical problems your car might have. Just remember that there are only three possible problems you could have. This is exactly how the most skilled mechanics diagnose and repair electrical systems. There is no need to be afraid of working on your car when it has electrical problems. You can do it!
If you happen to live in or around Mountain View California, and would prefer to have an expert auto electrical mechanic repair your vehicle, A-1 Auto Tech, Inc. are the best of the best.