PowerProbe: How To Use It Correctly! Demo By PowerProbe To Show You How To Use It The Right Way!

all right guys so today we got another awesome video from you this question's been asked a ton of times is how do i use a power probe i'm scared i'm going to burn something up i'm a little worried that i'm going to apply circuit power to the ground side or ground to the power side is it safe i don't want to burn up a pcm or whatever so what better way to explain this than the people that actually make the tool so they're here today they're going to walk you through some tips and tricks and how to use your power probe correctly and even the guys that know a lot about a power probe may learn something today so you guys stick around [Music] [Applause] [Music] so it seems no matter where i go i hear somebody scared of using a power probe i've even been to some shops where they say power probes aren't allowed um and there you can certainly do damage with the power probe if you're applying power or ground in the wrong place but as a master technician myself who's been using these tools for over 20 years in the real world i've never damaged anything and i'll tell you how number one when using any of these tools just the testing advantage of this tool before you even start applying power and ground is huge the fact that i'm connected directly on the vehicle's source battery it's going to keep my readings accurate wherever i'm taking measurements throughout the car and it's looking for voltage drops from the source battery wherever i am in the car that's huge in itself and i haven't even started applying power and ground yet but let's show you how that works in a real world situation here we've got a lamp circuit obviously these two bulbs are not as bright as they should be so we've got some problems in this circuit now checking with the power probe i might check for power whoops turn the speaker on check for power but let's check it up at the lamp uh-oh see right away no light no tone alerts me that there's more than half a volt a voltage drop in the circuit and sure enough i'm down to eight and a half volts here compared to down here 12 volts so let's start backing through the circuit we're still at eight and a half here so i know if i'm good here i've got voltage drop here we have a wiring issue in between we've got a loose connector we've got a corroded wire something like that going on we'll repair that and the lights got a little brighter okay we're good we're back to 12 volts now but they're still not as bright as they should be let's find out what's going on on the ground side uh-oh same thing if the ground was good i should get a green light and no more than half a volt on the ground side [Music] up here we're showing 4.4 volts that's not good now here's a situation where i might use a rocker switch to apply ground and see how the circuit responds [Music] sure enough my lights got brighter that verifies there's nothing wrong on this side of the circuit it's all on the ground side of the circuit so just like we did on the positive side okay if i'm good here but not good here we've got a wiring issue a connector issue something going on in between we'll repair that now i've got my full brightness now i got my good grounds now you saw the way i applied ground there that's fine when you know the circuit you're working in i've heard those nightmare stories myself i'm going to give you one example i heard just recently late model mercedes came in for an ac complaint hotshot guy technician thought he'd go out there and see if the didn't see the compressor engaging so he thought he would manually engage it by applying power to it with his power probe makes sense this is a new late model mercedes though he did not bother looking in the book in the service manual to see how this system works it is not an on off clutch engagement it is a pwm controlled variable displacement compressor so number one fault he wasn't going to be able to on off that thing anyway by applying power number two he did not disconnect it from the circuit before he applied power to it and so that power he did apply went back to the pwn module controlling it and friday he replaced the compressor thinking it was bad because of course the it didn't engage and still didn't work and had fried a module that's a really bad example but that just shows just goes to show you how you should know what you're working on before you go applying power and ground know the system look up the schematic do not apply a powering ground where you don't know where it's going that you could risk some damage but like i told you i've been using these tools for over 20 years working on the latest state-of-the-art stuff and i've never fried a module yet so just be careful before you pull that switch before you pull that trigger because you could do some damage know what you're working on all right guys so hopefully this answers some of the ways that you can use a power probe to help you diagnose a problem in the wiring whether it be on the ground side which most of the time it is as we all know or the power side um it's important to know what you're working on uh just be careful when you're using them they're a very valuable tool that can can gain you a lot of help in your diagnostic process especially when contesting you know testing modules such as power window regulators and stuff like that they're they're pretty much foolproof on that anyway guys hopefully that helped y'all out answered a couple of questions that you guys have been asking in some of the videos how does it work and how is it going to help you in your job so like always thanks for watching if you like the video hit that thumbs up you can always check on any of the powerpro stuff that you see on their website they've got a lot of videos and useful information that can walk you through helping you decide different tests that you want to use on a vehicle and they've got some amazing videos and literature to talk you through all the functions and features that they have thanks for watching thumbs up if you're not subscribed click that button you guys have a great week and we will catch y'all next time [Music]

Channel: Koon Trucking

Views: 37,046

Keywords: powerprobe, power probe, koon trucking, maestro, power probe 3, powerprobe 3, powerprobe 4, powerprobe ez, how to use, what is the difference, which one to buy, how to select the correct powerprobe, how to use a powerprobe, power probe tests, power probe functions, power probe features, how to safely use a power probe, which one is right for you, power probe models explained, mechanic, tool, tools, electrical diagnostic, diagnostic work, electrical troubleshooting

Id: OR499Qc_Mqo

Length: 6min 54sec (414 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 27 2022