week 9 starters continued

This week we focused on our 2nd starters, I didn't know heavy duty starters are completely the same except in size.

In this photo you can see a smaller armature from the smaller starter. We removed it to test it for negative ground and open circuit on the housing and for a visual inspect and understanding.

This week was pretty short and easy we spent a lot of time drawing a schematic on the circuit flow of the starts which is getting easier for me.

Week 8 Starters No Load Test

This week we focused on the starting portion of diesel equipment. More specifically heavy duty starters.
                                                           

In this photo you can see how we hooked up positive and negative cables to start a no load test on our personal starters. Connecting the bolt with a cable to the starter solenoid opposite of the grounding strap which turned over the starter so we could run our tests.

In this photo we're testing for voltage drop at the starter to troubleshoot a problem.

This week I had an especially hard time understanding the flow and function of the components inside the starters. What'll happen if you run a 12v starter on a 24v system in a truck?

week 7 Alternators

This week we focused on alternators and regulators. The parts are used on all vehicles that have electric recharging systems in them. An alternator runs off an accessory belt ran off the engine which then creates AC electricity and then is rectified inside the alternator by 6 diodes and regulated (turned on/off) by the regulator.

In this photo you can see a double Y stator screw on the outside (4 screw), a regulator (bottom right) and the diodes.

We are testing a different regulator in this photo. If the light doesn't even come on or if it doesn't shut off after a over voltage then the regulator is bad.

This week I never thought I'd have a reason to open a alternator or ever actually learn how to test a voltage regulator so I'm glad I was able to learn how to because I know from experience that they both go bad often. so being able to prove they're bad is a good practice. 

week 6 schematics, wiring.

                                       This week we started on electrical circuits. In electrical lighting circuits we learned how to check resistance within components, how to wire circuits to have working front, rear and marker likes with turn signals that were either integrated or non-integrated blinking.

In this photo Mick is introducing us to checking resistance (OLMS) in this electrical fan.

This photo we experiment checking continuity in wiring to wire the turn signal switch and then we have to use our drawn schematics to wire the est of the circuit.

This week was defintely the hardest week for me. We had to learn how to read schematics and draw them but, I had a lot of difficulty trying to wire up the lighting model we were working on.

Would your lights run brighter if you upgraded your alternator to a higher amperes (output) alternator or would that be dangerous to the circuits and wires?

Week 5 Batteries

Just published 11/2/2017 because i had accidently not actually published last sunday.
This week we Reflect on batteries. Batteries are the beginning of every circuit and where it all ends in our vehicles. I had an especially hard time understand how to operate the battery load tester because I didn't understand how it functioned. Now I know that it's completely safe as long as there's a good connection and you follow the guidelines.     
                                                    
In this photo Mich is show us the purpose and how to use battery testing equipment. I especially liked using the battery refractometer. the refractometer was difficult to use because you have to be careful when handling battery acid which is very corrosive.
              
In this picture we're going over the flow of electricity from the batteries, we also cover checking terminals for damage and loose connections and possible reason why a battery could be discharging. Does dielectric grease help as a conductor or does it just block and protect the terminals?