I think the video was good. When teaching new people, I usually describe it as a "difference" or "delta" in voltage. ie. at the B+ you have 12.6V and at B- you have 0V, the difference is 12.6V, that's why the meter says 12.6V. I use that same approach across resistors. Then later, after they get the "delta" approach, I bring up the "drop" across a resistor as opposed to starting with "drop". Either way, your video still gets the point across & I look forward to the next one.

Resistance on the negative side was extremely helpful

Basic concepts on how an electrical circuit works was explained and demonstrated well. “Load that circuit”when testing “Test both sides” Good explanation of the different types of resistance. Make more electrical tshooting videos😊

You are a GREAT teacher !!! 100% clear and easy to understand. Wow!

The best water analogy to me is to see voltage as pressure and current as flow. Other than that, it's a very good explanation of the concept.

That hill analogy is great. Thanks.

Not bad. Honestly, over the years I found out it doesn't matter how you explain it. One analogy will work for one person but not the next. Getting good hands on experience is the best and they'll finally have that "uh hah" moment after a while haha

Dude, your voltage drop adventures will get way easier when you dig out your LoadPro and use it. Also check out Dan Sullivan's videos regarding voltage drop and fundamental electrical testing. It really helped me grasp the concept, (much like your hill analogy). after that the LoadPro stayed connected to my meter 100% of the time. 10 years almost daily use, this method has never failed to find the 3 possible defects in a wire, open - short to ground- or high resistance. It sure saves time. Al H.

@swav100

4 ай бұрын

I was just going to ask him about the loadpro! That ivan guy was bashing it

@wentzelnel7723

4 ай бұрын

The loadpro works exactly like what Ford call a pin point test. I use a home made load of 9.5 amps on circuits with higher amp fuse rating. I use my load pro 1st it works 100% in all circuits but I did get caught a few times on high amp circuits where the loadpro did not efficiently load the circuit to flush out the resistance. I then run my leads down and do the pin point test. Basically run the 9.5amp load in parallel with the meter leads. It work just like the loadpro just with higher load. For those type circuits. In some cases even the incandescent test light works a charm. I like that method as I can see the volt drop in the meter and the light brightness 2 verifications the brain recognized a fault.

@BBS_Robski

4 ай бұрын

​@@wentzelnel7723it comes down to product & system knowledge, on a 12V circuit the loadpro puts approx 450mA load on the circuit, you wouldn't really test a high current circuit like starter/charging with that would you ? As for the YT hack/chump previously mentioned who bashes the tool I have to chuckle when he's falling over all the leads from his little cobbled up bulb holders & 1970's pocket calculator type multimeter & what's with them ill fitting sandals 🤦🏻‍♂️

@theroyaltyautoservice

4 ай бұрын

The LoadPro is very good. I feel it's important to understand what and why something is happening, in this case, the voltage drop. Once you have a good fundamental understanding then tools like the LoadPro are an excellent option. I might use it when we do the follow up. Thanks!!

@user-ve8mx3zi6k

4 ай бұрын

100% agree with needing to understand the fundamentals. That particular tool is what unlocked voltage drop and circuit fundamentals for me, so maybe I got into it backwards. Here in the rust belt corrosion plays a huge part in electrical problems, and the ability to quickly identify a viable (or not) circuit at the load connector is a real time saver. As mentioned above, parasitic drain would be a good video topic, as would voltmeter only testing. Thanks for doing real life segments that benefit todays technicians! AL H.@@theroyaltyautoservice

Appreciate the video Mr Sherwood. You and guys really go beyond to help techs get better

It was extremely helpful. That part about the hills makes sense. Great job explaining this..........

I am a complete novice DIY guy KZread Certified lol. First watch I was confused but after watching again everything made sense. The hills explanation clicked on the second watch and made sense!!

@ThunderbirdRocket

4 ай бұрын

Nice 👍🏼 ! 🎯

This video has to be the BEST on Ytube regarding this elusive topic that appears to stagger the best of car electricians, i can honestly say(with deepest respect ) that every 'Gray' hair on your head has been earned with intense hard work and time consumption, Sir i salute you, please post more of these fantastic educational material, the only thing that appears to concern is why only '114' comments from 9.2K views, are people that busy or indifferent that they cannot show gratitude by posting a nice feedback for someone's effort? 🤔

Great video Sherwood. I personally love to use the word current when using the water flow as an example. I even used as an example for a mechanic yesterday that couldn't figure out why he had 12 volts at the battery but no tail lights.

I’ve been doing auto electric for many years, sometimes I have a hard time explaining how a circuit works, your video was the best apology I’ve ever listened to. I can now explain it to other people much easier now. Great video, you have me as a subscriber.

30 year Gm tech here,love the voltage drop videos,great job Mr.Sherwood!!!!💯💪🏻

This video was extremely helpful. I finished a year long automotive class at mohave community college. (Which means i have a small amount of knowledge and have read A automotive technician book) your videos helps further lock-in the knowledge and information and also lets me know the tools necessary to do a quality job! Keep up the great work!! Thank you! God Bless!

For a DIY'er, voltage drop is one of the harder things to properly understand. Thankfully, I Learned this stuff many years ago in college, and it has served me well over the years. This is one of the best explanations I've seen of it on KZread. Kudos to you for tackling this, and explaining things that are typically very difficult for the home gamer.

Thought your description was very good, I guess a lot depends on whether your subscribers were taught Ohm’s law at school. Hope a lot of techs watch this. Thanks for a great teaching effort.

Excellent video. I'm an electronics tech and you did a great job explaining this. I have never really liked mechanic work, but as complicated as cars have now become, I really enjoy troubleshooting these electrical issues that develop in them. I think you guys are very thorough. I wish there were shops in my area like yours!

Great video, I think all to often people get overwhelmed with the thought of the complexity of electronics, sometimes looking at it as an overall concept and keeping it simple helps understand the simplicity of it in general, I used to be really confused with this situation as easy as finding a problem with a dim light. I went through an electrical school with Chrysler that helped me understand it so much better. But most of us make it more complicated in our own heads by over thinking the idea. Great video

Looking forward to seeing your class at tst.

Great video. I love these videos of you teaching. I could watch these all day long. I thought of something that might be cool for you to include because it’s kind of relevant. Can you touch on load testing a circuit? When to use different loads. Maybe LED vs incandescent test lights? I have a bunch of load testers from .5a to 2a up to 4a.

@ThunderbirdRocket

4 ай бұрын

Yeah ! This is a great topic - one that is a a little bit scary because of the fear of harming a low amp (delicate) component such as a computer module . The question of what is the correct answer to using LED vs an incandescent test light is key and I’m looking for advice too .

Hey . Let me tell you something, this was very helpful. I am familiar with tester, resistance and voltage drop, but I never new if you put both terminals of this tester on The same pole it was showing a resistance . Using this technique I found less in an hour were my bad ground was . It was awesome. Thanks a lot

Tremendous tutorial ! Excellent analogies !! Clearly demonstrated and explained in simple practical terms for us in the repair shop process / issues . Thanks mate ! 👊🏼

It's actually a great explanation. Resistive loads are just added in a circuit

@Peter-tf2uc

4 ай бұрын

I would maybe simplify the wire layout a bit so it's easier to see what is plugged in where

@Peter-tf2uc

4 ай бұрын

I would maybe simplify the wire layout a bit so it's easier to see what is plugged in where

@Peter-tf2uc

4 ай бұрын

I would maybe simplify the wire layout a bit so it's easier to see what is plugged in where

@Peter-tf2uc

4 ай бұрын

I would maybe simplify the wire layout a bit so it's easier to see what is plugged in where

First of all, thanks for all the time and effort it must take to make a video like that , it was great. Voltage drops or electrical problems are my weakness but this was one of the more easy to understand and clearly explained. Bringing the light box in at the end did muddy the waters a little bit but all diagnostic techs usually have a variety of resistance (bulbs) they introduce into the circuit so I do get that. I'm looking forward to watching part 2 and yes it did help !

I would recommend showing measuring the circuit before adding the resistors to show a “known good” situation in real life, in addition to your white board sketch, just to prove the concept and show what the voltages would be in a good circuit. Then when you add the resistor, and see the voltage drop it gives a before and after, it makes more of an impact. My two cents. Great video though! Very helpful. Really appreciated the comment about melted connectors.

Kissé zavaros, de azért érthető. Hiányzik az ép áramköröni mérés. Köszönet

It was a bit complicated but good enough to help me understand. And I HATE electrical diagnostic.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge. The ground side testing and power must be on was very helpful. When it comes to automotive electrical it’s like how do you eat an elephant, one bite at a time.

I enjoyed the video. The easiest way that I learned voltage drop was using a meter and if testing the positive side of the circuit, put the positive lead of the meter to battery positive post and the other lead to whatever point of the positive side of the circuit I'm testing and the number on the screen is my actual voltage drop. I don't have to subtract numbers to get my voltage drop. Negative side of the circuit, I'm hooking my ground side of my meter to the negative battery post and touching my positive lead to whatever point on the ground circuit I'm testing and this gives me my actual voltage drop. As you stated, in order to have voltage drop, you have to have current flow thus a loaded circuit. You also have to know what is an acceptable voltage drop number depending on the type of circuit and component you are testing. I have read various ball park figures depending on if it's a low or high current load that range anywhere from less than 50mv to as much as 2.5V on a starting circuit.

@theroyaltyautoservice

4 ай бұрын

Yeah those are the "ballpark" numbers. Smaller load on smaller wires must have a smaller voltage drop.

From French Guyane thank you Sir.

Great video as usual. I like the kinked hose analogy personally. My 2 cents.

Actually pretty helpful definitely want to see u use the scope

really enjoyed this video as a jeep master tech. i love electrical work and problems! totally think you explained voltage drop and what it is and showed it perfectly the first bit (drawing and your setup) i will say i got confused when you added the two voltage drops at a time and how to check for that. love the little rig you made but maybe just using a lightbulb set up would of been better. anyways very excited on voltage drop on a scope because i love my scope!

Good video, maybe slightly confusing to people new to the subject. I saw a video, by Pete Meier, on the basics of a circuit & voltage drop. The hiw he put it stuck with me. All the voltage in a circuit will be used up by all the loads in the circuit. If a good circuit has 2 of the same bulbs 1 will have a 6v drop & the second will use up the other 6v. ( numbers for simplicity). If it has 1 bulb & one other load, such as high resistance from corroded connector the same thing applies, the amount of voltage each load consumes might be different, but they will both total the 12v. If there's an 8v drop at the light then the bad connector will show a 4v drop.

Video was very clear, I am a trainer for my company and our basic electrical class is very similar

Great job my friend. I love it.

The multiple hill analogy cleared it up for me as well. Thanks!

Great vídeo … Thanks

I definitely understand it better now

Good video. I like the simple circuit.

I got it Sir but please make a video on a board along with the drawing that would be extremely helpful especially for the very important measurement like the voltage drop. Because changing the meter leads from positive to negative during measurement is a little bit an issue i believe for a lots of beginners. love it

Great video, your advise to try not to disturb or unplug connections during testing is good also. if you have a loose or corroded connection, unplugging and reconnecting could remove or disturb the corrosion or tighten a connection that was causing the problem in the first place. 👍👍

Man your videos are some of the best on the Internet seriously they are

This is something I struggled with and you explained it very well, I have a much better understanding of it now, thank you for this video.

Very well explained. Great video.

I appreciate your video and I think it was very informative

Thank you so much for this. Very very helpful 100000000%

Awesome video. Can’t wait to see the next part on how use the scope for voltage drop Thank you for taking the time. To make this video

Great video on simplifying voltage drop and how to find it, especially using the meter. i think your reference to the circuits wirin diagram for the check points is to often overlooked. I for one never think about it.

this 17th century naval captain looking person explained it well. Looking forward to the next one since this is an extremely important area of knowledge. thanks for sharing and your hard work.

Good video. Good explanation.

Very good explanation tanks

Fantastic Job!! Enjoy your guys videos.. 👍🏻

Just the video i was waiting for from someone i look up to 🙂

I enjoyed the video. I’ve already got a fair grasp of electricity but this is a good demonstration and the hill analogy is nice.

What's the difference? If you have a water hose filled with water pressure. Pressure is your push ( or your voltage). Water is your amps. The amount of water your pressure can push is your current. If you start poking holes in your hose ( simulates voltage drop), your difference between the start and end of your hose will be different. I replace or go around a lot of GM connectors. Yes, fretting is a thing. Sometimes I'll try some fine valve grinding compound and a generous amount of dielectric grease. Thank you for sharing your wisdom. We are all in this together.

@robertparamore2863

4 ай бұрын

Do electrons flow positive to negative or neg to pos? Electrons are negatively charged by the way.

@tedgtfan

3 ай бұрын

"The amount of water your pressure can push is your current" is partially correct. The amount of water or amperage that can be pushed is determined by resistance. That being size of pipe or wire and what type of loads or restrictive variables that may be in that line slowing down or limiting its flow. The voltage or pressure only determines how hard or with how much force it can be pushed as opposed to amount that can be. " If you start poking holes in your hose ( simulates voltage drop), your difference between the start and end of your hose will be different." Yes the Pressure/Voltage will change but the amount of water/amperage will remain the same as what went in same amount is what will come out, here again determined by the resistance applied.

@tedgtfan

3 ай бұрын

@@robertparamore2863 Electrons are the lightest particle so they are easier moved than heavier protons and neutrons being neutrally charge weigh somewhere in between. So neg to pos flow.

Great Channel! Subscribed and Liked.

Good video, made total sense

Thanks Sherwood, I found that explanation & demonstration very good.

This was a simple explanation on voltage drops. I liked the video. My problem is finding intermittent shorts in a harness when a wiggle test is unsuccessful. All your videos are always educational and informative.

For those who can’t comprehend “Potential difference “. All it means is that it’s an ”Audit”. The DMM is telling you what it found. It did an audit from both sides. The result is Your reading. It does not tell you who has what! Just the total difference from one side to the other. One side maybe had 6v and the other had 6.5V. Collectively that’s 12.5V. Therefore the “potential difference is 12.5v.

Great Job !!!

I found this to be easy to understand and thorough. i have a hard time wrapping my head around some of these concepts so i appreciate the attention to detail. It was important to me that you repeat certain things, expecially if you don't load the circuit you're wasting your time. Also you stressed the importance of testing both the positive side and the negative side which is an abstract mental puzzle until you explain it.

That was helpful im starting to understand it thank you especially the ohm ing it out part the starter reference saying you better be checking it while you’re cranking it was excellent

Brilliant video well worth a watch to others.

Excellent explanation, examples and demonstration of basic fundamentals! Great job, not confusing at all.

Very good video!

Great video

wow.. i wish i learned this earlier... Thank you guys i learned a lot from you guys specially quality works and dedications on small issue which are big factor on the long run..

Great video.

I was tring to think how to say what @thekeeneygarage said. The thing that I thought was confusing was when you talked abut measuring from Negative to Negative. I know what you are saying, all components are more positive on one side, they have a potential difference. I'm not an automotive technician, I (Used to) work on discreet components in a small area. All those wiring harnesses very intimidating to me!

Great video great explanation the hill works for us runners at Least years ago😁I used to run 👊🏻👍🏻 more like this please

Your explanation of the mountains was helpful to understand there is a connection issue on either side+ or - side. I really appreciate you explaining that you have to test the positive cable going to the starter while cranking. That process could easily be done wrong. You might think about explaining the load pro. I don’t know if that’s something that would be beneficial or not I use it and I love it.

Hello from France, amazing video really, now it is clear in my mind how to test an electric car problem using the voltage drop method. I hope you can do a video on a car, just simulate an electric problem and show how you find it. Thanks so much

Very informative video..! I will say that I'm not too impressed with power probes, however I understand that in most cases it is helpful. Also, you must ask yourself twice before probing a circuit to power or ground. Thanks again for another great video..!

Great video! Very easy to understand for me at least. Ever consider making a parasitic draw diag-lesson video? Def would like to see one of those! Love the content keep it going!

A follow up that would help me is in your example of a starter circuit. Voltage drop could be caused by resistance or in this case a weak battery which falls flat on its face under load. Maybe a quick followup on that type of diagnostics and testing and different methods. Thanks, great content!

@tedgtfan

3 ай бұрын

At the battery post you would see a bad battery under load because it would drop below the 8.5 threshold, some say 9.5 to 10 but for sure at 8.5

good so far

Very excellent instructions for a DIY non-mechanic. I did find the power probe and loading the module was confusing.

Thank you a lot for your video! Excellent explanation! I need one advise, I need to replace a keyless entry receiver module of tahoe 2013 and I need to if necessary to disconnect the battery for this operation. Thanks in advance!

Overall this video helped! Thank you! I would ask you maybe explain or point out some small actions you took that you didn't really mention that if you're really paying attention you did like with that light box how you connected it to negative and then tested positive. I ask cause at first I was really confused how you had a circuit just plugging in one to the box but then I had you had one side of it connected to the battery. Also in future I think it would be good to first give a clean definition of the phenomenon. Then dig a little bit into it like: "Voltage drop is just when you have additional resistance in a loaded circuit." And then expand on it and give the hills example which really helped me. Just cause I was getting a little confused on what counted as a volt drop and would a short show up like a volt circuit, etc. Just helps to neatly define it. Thank you

I understand that thank you sir

Hello, I was able to fully understand how to meassure and find a voltage drop in practice. I have added something for the math’s people. A load like a bulb or a starter motor is like a big resistor. A bad connection is also like a resistor that prevents energy to flow without problems from + to - . In a circuit the current=I trough all the loads and bad connections is the same. The source voltage=U from our battery is 12V. The load for example our bulb‘s resistance=R1 is 5Ohm . The resistance of our bad connection=R2 is 1Ohm. R=U/I or U=R*I or I=U/R . Remember the current trough all the circuit is the same. We have U=12V and we have R = R1+R2=6Ohm so I=U/R =12V/6Ohm= 2Ampere current trough all the circuit. Voltage on our bulb is U=R1*I= 5Ohm*2A=10V. Voltage drop on our bad connection is U=R2*I = 1Ohm*2A =2V. A bad connection or resistor acts like a barrier. It prevents the electrons to flow without problems. But the energy is not lost it is changed into heat or power. The 2V voltage drop on our bad connection generates power=P in form of heat. P=U*I = 2V*2A =4Watt. So the area of the bad connection acts like a 4Watt heater and plastic around that hot point may melt or gets black burning marks. The energy trough the bulb also generates heat and light P=U*I=10V*2A=20W so 20W on the bulb and 4W on the bad connection=24W. If you calculate the voltage of the whole circuit P=U*I=12V*2A you also get the 24W that are drawen from the battery. 4W more than nessesary in a good circuit (without a voltage drop) that is lost in heat on the bad connection.

You could make it easier to follow (for beginners) your basic wire set up if you stuck to red being positive, black being negative (no red wires with black electrical tape on them or yellow/black wire for negative)and literally making the circuit circular (no red and black wires running close together) from positive post to negative post on the battery. Simply put, 1 red wire from the positive post running to the light, black wire coming out of light running to your 2nd source of resistance, then black wire running to your negative post. Simplify.

Great thank you. Can you do a video on oscilloscope testing from A to Z

@ThunderbirdRocket

4 ай бұрын

Yeah ! 👍🏼

Thank you ❤

Thanks 👍

Like the lead with Load testing

I like the HILL concept. There is a problem when you started out. You drew a circuit on the board with a bulb and a resistor on the negative side. When you explained that if you measured voltage before the bulb, you would get 12 volts, then you said you would get ZERO volts on the negative side of the bulb. This is incorrect. It would only be correct if you had no resistor on the negative side. So, start out with just 1 bulb ,no resistor. One hill to climb. Then add the other hill.

I usually tell my students that if there is one load in a series circuit that all the voltage should drop across that load. If all the voltage does not drop across the only load, there is unwanted resistance in that circuit. If there is more than one load in the circuit, the sum of the voltage drops should equal the source voltage.

Cool video I'll watch it 2 times and I'll get it

Thanks...

Thanks allot boss for sharing and please do scop also and please post that ford video

Helpful information. I already understand voltage drops. I enjoy seeing the various methods. What are your preferred backprobes?

@theroyaltyautoservice

4 ай бұрын

AES Wave had good ones. I really liked the ones that came with the original ATS Scope but I haven't seen them for sale in years.

very helpfullllllll

It's Good 👍

👌

As a DIY, can you show the proper use of the power probe? Hearsay says, the improper use you can really mess up some computers ie. Like applying 12 V to a signal circuit. Basically, I need to see how to use the tool properly. Thank you for all you do.

@tedgtfan

3 ай бұрын

It's best to fully understand the circuit and tool first before using a power probe. Get a good basic/knowledgeable understanding of how electrical circuits function. Use a standard volt meter first to learn (hard to fry a circuit with a standard volt meter) and get fully comfortable with using it. Possibilities are endless with computer controlled 5v circuits to cover all in a learning video with power probe because of it being possible to apply 12v @25amps for 2 seconds or a straight path (un-resistive) to ground to overload drivers.