"Bernd D. Ratsch" <fasstdak@hotmail.com> wrote:
: Best tool for testing basic circuits (since they all use Power and Ground) -
: $1.00 Test Light. It finds bad fuses quick and tests for power (and ground
: - just reverse the lead). I used to use a DVOM...not anymore (unless
: required).
Yep, I was about to suggest a test light, but I figured a cheap ($5)
digital multimeter isn't much more money, but gives you a lot more
functionality (such as the ability to read actual voltage, resistance,
etc., not to mention AC voltage which can be helpful with an RV. Its
also nice for testing some of the low voltage stuff like the O2 sensor
signal which ranges from 0-1v) Also, although there aren't very many,
I have seen certain procedures in the FSM where they tell you to use a
multimeter instead of a test light because there is the potential for
damage with the test light. (Can't think of any off the top of my head
unfortunately, but I know they are in there.) :-) Anyway, my personal
preference would be a multimeter, but a simple test light beats the
heck out of scratching your head and guessing! :-)
BTW, in a pinch, pull a bulb out of your dome light or turn signal
or something and use some scrap wire to hook the bulb's contacts up to
the circuit you are trying to test. If its got power, the bulb will
light. Almost every vehicle has 12v bulbs all over it, the tricky part
will probably be coming up with a piece of wire, unless of course
you just cut out a piece of wire from a non-essential circuit and
replace it later. Probably not the easiest way to test a circut; you'd
need about 4 hands) ;-) but again, it sure beats nothing! :-)
--
-Jon-
.-- Jon Steiger ---- jon@dakota-truck.net or jon@jonsteiger.com --.
| 1970 Barracuda - 1990 Dakota 'vert - 1992 Ram 4x4 - 1996 Dakota |
| 1996 Intruder 1400 - 1996 Kolb FireFly - 2001 Ram QC 3500 CTD |
`------------------------------------ http://www.jonsteiger.com --'
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Wed Jun 01 2005 - 05:44:45 EDT