Currently in school to become an automotive technician, and my goal is to get into a Porsche dealership. Anyway, turning wrench is easy. It’s easy to take an engine out of the car when you have the fundamentals. What I’m seeing nowadays is that technicians aren’t paid for their wrenching skills, they are paid for their knowledge and troubleshooting. I absolutely sucked at electrical at first, I stayed in class an extra hour because I couldn’t understand the circuits, and in my school we built them, wiring the headlights, taillights, hazard lights, turn signals, anything lights in a car we wired. I just couldn’t figure out the difference between parallel and series circuits and the different resistors we needed. After many more hours out of class, I decided I’d just mess with my car, follow the diagrams and just study until I got the hang of it. Finally, it clicked and it all made sense, and when it made sense, diagnosing became a breeze. Definitely a great skill to have.
I used to hate doing electrical work, until I watched a friend go through my rear lighting wiring...and figure out why my rear lights weren't functioning properly. It was meticulous...unwrapping tape...testing...removing useless stuff that others left behind...and learning to crimp wiring properly. When he did it, I realized I could do it also. Was just a matter of focussing on the problem at hand.
Agree completely. Just another learning curve....which is standard if you're gonna take on any automotive project...lol. I'm sure you're doing almost perpetual learning, even after many years at it.
I was raised by a mechanic who was highly skilled and also done most of my own work yet know little about electrical. I’m convinced that 99% of mechanics do not know advanced electrical such as finding a short. Someone skilled will find it quickly. In Houston I only know of one that’s at a Buick dealership and they say he’s a rockstar. If the young mechanics would learn all electrical they would be worth $150k a year easily because nobody knows how to do it. Great video bud!
In my experience when I was a young apprentice who had a background in electronics(my grandfather being an electrical engineer and my step dad being a 25+ year electrician) the part where mechanics not knowing anything about electrical is 100% true
I generally use both a multimeter...or a test light. The thing that gets in the way sometimes is how short the leads are....especially if I'm working on the tranny wiring or something else in the middle or back of the truck. I end up clipping together some clip extensions. Wiring is definitely a challenge, especially when dealing with stuff that goes through larger bundles of wiring by the ecm or relay box under the hood. I'm definitely no expert at all on wiring, but with persistence I usually figure things out. I recently had a no crank no start on my truck, after it was off the road for a year and a half....after I got engine rebuilt and rebuilt the tranny myself. At first, it would crank with a screwdriver over the solenoid terminals...but then I got nothing. Ended up finding a break of the solenoid signal wire at the starter.....and also had a new neutral safety switch that was faulty. That neutral safety switch was a real block...because I couldn't believe it would be faulty...lol.
It's a shame I had to waste my time watching the three videos above yours in the RU-vid search results. Great, simple and straight to the point. Helped me answer my question. Thank you sir 🙏
Electrical is frustrating, i have a fair bit of experience but it doesn't hurt to get other wrench pullers opinion because ego doesn't get anything done
Gday from Aussie land Pete,,,, great vids as always,,, being a diesel fiitter myself, 12v and 24v electrical wiring and fault finding is part of our jobs, so for people like you and myself it comes naturally, I have Snap Ons equivelant to the power probe, wasn't cheap might i add haha,, makes your job lots easier in fault finding,,,,,,, but for those who thinks its a big birds nest, your vids help alot, having said that, please bring on more of the AC Cobra build mate
Good vid for the beginner. A power probe, or similar item is a god sent. I have the $300 Fluke meter...BUT. I always go to my $5 Harbor Freight tester. Just the simple pointy tip with the incandescent bulb. Never get the LED tester. You can judge the current by the brightness of the incandescent. Can’t do that with the LED.
is there one of these to help urgent electrical professor electrician electric technician my case : ( when i connect the multimeter red to red the + / and black probs ) . gives reading as continuity important notes : 1 - NO BATTERY 2 - multimeter ON Diode mode " continuity" - is that normal - ?!?!?!
Hi, you sound like you like wiring , so i have a 1992 Dodge van w/318 I have a crank but no start. I grounded out the fuel pump relay and now don't have spark or fuel. Change the relay's and then found a fusible link bad , peeled the insulation back and just twisted the wires together temporarily now I have power to the relay but won't prime fuel. I can jumper the wires without relay and fuel pump runs. Still had no spark at coil, found 30 amp fuse in the fuse block fried changed that and still no spark. Has new key cylinder lock and ignition module. What to do next trying to find if any other fusible links are fried but seem to be ok. Can you help me with a schematic and how to proceed?
Great video, on another note I feel weird texting you out of the blue do you have any info on common issues with 351 Cleveland's. I've been inside and out of chevys but I just recently got a 351c for an 89 mustang gt project of my own. Not as familiar with ford's but this mustang has always been a dream of mine, 408 stroker, stock appearing fuel injection, and a tremic 6 speed the works.
I was very excited to learn. I approached my mastee mechanic. He said i dint get paid to pay u. Plus ur going to take my work. I have never asked to learn something n het reply with such an insecure answer. But here iam.
Awesome Video I've always be nervous about messing electrical part or wire etc.etc. I'm ordering the light tester from your link & gonna start doing all electrical in my Nova. Your explanation gave me the courage to give it a shot. Also keep this easy to follow Videos coming👍💯 Thanks Pete's Garage Yazmin Venice Beach CA ⛱ ⛱
Good afternoon sir hope your day is going good! I have an INNOVA 3300 and i want to set it on DC10A and using the red and black lead probe the starter relay pin 30 & 87 to crank the vehicle while im diagnosing it under the hood cause i dont have a helper to crank the vehicle for me, is it possible to do that with the INNOVA 3300 sir?
hi i have a 2009 ford fiesta 1.6 tdci,i was driving it last week with no problems,then out of the blue a cog light came on which i have been told is the pcm light,the car died and wouldnt start for around 5 mins,eventually got it running and got it home,a friend plugged it in and a p0698 code came up,he said it was throttle pedal,so replaced that also put a new fuel filter after a day or 2 same thing happend,it wouldnt start so i put a forscan on it turned the pcm light off and it started,after 2 hours cut out again so i unplugged egr and it run fine for 2 days then the light came on again even with the egr unplugged,it has no problem starting but once that pcm light comes on the car will not start until i plug forscan into it and clear the p0698 code,is there anyone out there who can help it says sensor reference voltage c circuit low additional fault symptom circuit voltage below threshold......thanks in advance,jon
Pete, thanks for the video. i ordered the tester just now. automotive wiring from mid 70's on back i've been pretty good at, except installing relays to added-on accessories. any chance you could do a tutorial on relays in the future ?
Guys please help me out. As a student, I’m wondering would it be beneficial to study mechanical with electrical, or just electrical but more in depth working as auto electrician? Would auto electrician need to work on mechanical side at all? Would having know mechanical side help getting me the first auto electrician job?
My horn quit working. I checked the fuse. It was OK. I looked at the wire connections to the horn unit and it was OK, not corroded. The horn doesn't work with the keyfob double lock nor from the steering wheel. What should be my next step, please. Thanks
I need to tell you your videos have opened a new world to me I've been so timid about electrical. Thank you for making it extremely easy to listen too and take notes while understanding what you are saying. Thank you
