3 Things to know about the Power Probe HD 1080p

foreign there are three types of texts that use a Power Probe they either love it hate it or they're afraid of it those that love it say it makes their job easier and those that hate it well they've probably used it incorrectly and they may have caused damage those that are afraid of it probably started using it but they really didn't understand it and they may have caused damage well just like any tool there's a right way and a wrong way to use any tool the Power Probe is no different it can be used wrong too so unless you use it properly you can easily cause damage so unless you want this to happen learn how to use it properly this video is about the right way to use the Power Probe this video is not a user spaniel you will get one of those with your tool and it is not a product review it is my actual experience using the tool properly and what I've learned about it if you are a tech who loves the Power Probe you already know how to use it the right way and that's why you love it but if you either hate it or are afraid of it the reason is that you simply don't understand it learn how to use it properly what is it and how to use it properly [Music] first let me make a simple comparison these are both apples right but they are different types of apples well these are both weapons right now you may not have thought about the Power Probe as a weapon and both of these can cause damage you know the gun can be a weapon it can cause damage and the Power Probe can be a weapon it can cause damage just as easily now this is not a political video but every year Viewpoint is it's yours I just want to make this comparison guns don't kill people misuse of guns kill people power probes don't cause damage but misuse of power probes can easily cause damage now here's my point if you pull the trigger the bullet will go where it is aimed and that could easily cause damage if you pull the trigger on the Power Probe the current will go where it is aimed and that could easily cause damage so don't point it and pull the trigger at something that you don't want damaged where's the trigger it's the toggle switch now let me explain the basic parts of the tool this is the probe or the tip and it has two purposes the first purpose is a sensor it detects what is present when it touches something and the second purpose is a cinder in sins power or ground when it touches something now as a sensor it senses two things polarity and voltage the polarities are reported by the colored lights power or ground and an audible tone and that tone is different for each Pole now in other words which side of the battery or which side of the circuit you are on the power side or the ground side of course as long as you have continuity and as you can see the voltage is reported on the digital display and just like any sensor what it senses is an input to the tool from anywhere it touches in a circuit now the second purpose is an output as an output it basically acts like a jumper wire it brings either power or ground directly to the tip and then on to whatever is touching it it does that when you activate the trigger the trigger is a simple two position rocker switch and like a gun when you pull the trigger you send the bullet on the Power Probe when you pull the trigger toggle the switch up or down you send live power or live ground to the tip if the tip is touching anything it now has what is being sent to it as long as there is continuity now it's important to know when you push the trigger the tip is no longer a sensor it is now an activator and it is activating the circuit remember if you pull the trigger on the gun you send a live bullet if you pulled the trigger on that Power Probe you send live power or live ground other than the sensor has an Energizer the Power Probe is also a digital multimeter just like a dvom in fact it is actually a dvlm it reports the voltage reading now the big difference is that you only have one decimal point with a traditional dvom you do have more control of the display and it should be used for your more Advanced Diagnostics but for troubleshooting Diagnostics the single decimal on the Power Probe works just fine another Advantage is your circuit voltage checks are quickly performed with just a single probe connection unlike using the dvlm's two meter leads this button turns the sound on or off my advice leave it on the sound will catch your attention quicker than the display and the likes and this will confirm its connection you may not always be able to see the tip and you may not be able to see that it is touching something or what it is touching but you can hear it even when you can't see it now let's talk about the most important part of this video there are three things that you need to know if you want to use the tool properly the digital reading both the lights red and green and an audible tone [Music] let me repeat that you need all three learn to use all three they are there for a reason if you don't have all three you do have trouble somewhere and it's evidence that you can't ignore now this should be your alert your warning that you have a problem don't ignore the signs or the lack of them what do they mean well let's look at what they are telling you the digital reading this is what you are already used to using it is the numeric voltage reading it tells you the voltage amount that is being sensed but your eyes must focus on it foreign the lights are polarity indicators they tell you which side of the circuit you are sensing remember all circuits have two sides a power side or a ground side now these lights are strong visual indicators the audible tone Works hand in hand with the lights it is an intention getter when it sounds it confirms a signal and when it doesn't sound it also confirms that there is no signal and that's why it's important now since the Power Probe is connected to the battery you can apply battery power or battery ground directly to the tip of the tool you can energize and activate components to verify their correct operation now this is real Dynamic component testing and the only true way to test an active component now this next point is very important as you might expect many electrical problems are checked with the key on engine off right now if the key is on some circuits are live that means current is probably flowing somewhere the flowing current is Flowing from the battery and since the engine is off the alternator is not actively recharging the battery since the alternator is not actively recharging the battery the battery state of charge is going down now a fully charged good battery should hold that charge while you're testing but what if the battery is older weaker and doesn't hold its charge very well it may have enough of a charge to actually start the car but it could drain pretty fast as you continue all your circuit testing now the Power Probe is always connected to the vehicle's battery so the tool maintains a permanent connection to the source power and the source ground using the Power Probe all of your voltage checks are referenced back to the source battery and they account for every connection and possible voltage drop or energy loss between the source and the probe tip now the key word here is referenced or better said as compared any reading on the display is compared to the source voltage so even if the battery voltage doesn't remain constant what the tip reads will always be compared or referenced to the source voltage so even if the battery voltage doesn't remain constant what the tip reads will always be compared or referenced to the source voltage why is this important because it gives you an automatic and an instant voltage drop even without even trying to get one if the voltage measured at the tip is a half a volt lower or even higher than the source battery voltage the red LED light will not light up and no speaker tone will be sound this will instantly alert you that there is a voltage drop or an energy loss because it takes energy to power the light and the tone so stop right there think observe Where You Are what's happening and then proceed to find out why and if you touch the tip to any contact point that is not a good power or a good ground you will know this instantly because the lights will not light up and the tone won't sound because the tone circuit runs parallel to the bulb circuit you will however get a digital display of the voltage reading and this will tell you how much of an energy loss you have remember the automatic voltage drop now this greatly simplifies and speeds up your testing since the Power Probe is red and green lights and speaker tones provide a quick indication if there is excessive voltage drops or circuit resistance now some of you have heard that it is easy to damage a circuit and you're right if you use the tool wrong you can easily cause damage the tool itself is protected by an internal circuit breaker and that will automatically reset so the tool is protected if we make a mistake now wouldn't it be nice if our brains had an internal circuit breaker that would automatically reset if we make a mistake now that means circuit safety depends upon you think before you pull the trigger use the diagram be sure to understand it before you toggle the trigger or push the rocker switch when you push the rocker switch you will send power or ground to the tip and just like a bullet will travel to wherever it is pointed when the trigger is pulled current will travel or ground will be provided to wherever the tip is pointed so I repeat circuit safety depends upon you now what about continuity testing continuity testing is probably the most often forgot about or ignored type of testing over the Power Probe it is very simple when you connect the Power Probe to a battery like this little tail wire right here is actually a direct extension of the battery ground picture it like this this is how it effectively works so to test a bulb attach that ground clip to one side of the bulb and then when you contact the tip to the positive terminal of the bulb and you press the trigger forward you will send power to the tip and you will activate the bulb Beyond bulbs you can easily activate fuel pumps magnetic clutches starter solenoids cooling fans blower motors and injectors all the same way now in conclusion the Power Probe is a great tool it will save you time and money and like most things the tool is just that a tool you are the one who needs to know how to use it properly [Music]

Channel: realfixesrealfast

Views: 81,666

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Id: uP3CaRJVGmI

Length: 14min 12sec (852 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 10 2022