Re: need a sticky/link on how to use a basic volt meter
like i said jd i still use a 11 dollar wiggy most days. i realy wish that the cheap wallyworld meters were simple and only had volts/ohms/amps as thats all that is needs and to be honest you could realy get away with just the volts for what most people will need. theres nothing worse then reading in ohms then noticing that its auto configured to meg ohms and you are reading your own body resistance. on a boat under 10ohm is closed over 500 ohms its open so close is good enoght. i have no wish to explain how to test every component and most boat parts are cheap enoght that its a good or bad reading. im sure we could take a tach to bits and trouble shoot it down to component level but im not going there on my own boat so theres no way im going to try explaining that when its cheaper to test then replace. testing a diode on a light switch is possible but thats about as advanced as i want to go. i personally dont care to much about the numbers on the meter while working on lights and stuff and i realy dont pay much attention past the decimal point so it wouldnt bother me to use a test light if i had one and with solid state relays being so cheap i might have to buy one as a modern volt meter will give a false reading.
the questions we need to ask is what tests can a normal person with no experiance do to assist is working out why the basic systems on the boat do not work. dons guide to testing the fuse panel will help alot of people. my amp test will help a few people. ive asked don to help me make another on finding a short circuit using a bulb in place of a fuse, thats the same test every 4x4 place uses for finding temp shorts due to wire rub etc, i dont expect that people will know the ans but i expect that we can ask them to carry out a test and give us the results so we can help them back on to the water.
i know this could open a can of worms.....i got this reading why.......urr why are you testing that in the first place kinda deal but its better than have you checked....then check this...then check this when using a meter or light would give a better idea. if im helping a poster that can not give me a reading i tend to put .....proberly or maybe in my ans as i can only go on what they see i would rather ans on what reading they have as electric has to follow rules where a poster can be a little fluid with what happened and how we got to the point where the smoke came out.
(Glenn, I agree with the wiggy on 120, 240, 480, etc. Nothing like it.) A light is pretty limiting, especially on a boat. The wet environment produces lots of conditions that are neither go nor no-go, but somewhere in between - i.e., leakage, high-resistance short, etc. An amateur will simply die on his check list when the light is "half-lit". ("Oh great, what do I do now?")
I think your idea for the sticky is a good one and well worthwhile. I guess it's even more work than first thought, hey?
How about assigning topics to some of us? Break it down into sub-topics and see how many of us volunteer to take one or another. I'm willing and I'll bet Bruce is too. There may be others as well.
Then we can collect it all, edit to format, and turn it over to Don for illustration.
Thoughts?
