Electrical Troubleshooting

An Ohmmeter or the ohms function on a typical multimeter would be used to bench test a motor for a short or an open winding. First, be absolutely certain that the motor under test is disconnected from any mains. Using a low ohms scale, x1 or x10, one would expect to see some resistance across the motor. The resistance can be quite low depending on the size of the motor, but should not be zero. If it is a motor that has brushes and a commutator, rotate the shaft, with the meter connected, through a full revolution. This rotation could help identify a single defective winding in the rotor. To check the stator, remove one of the brushes so that the measurement current only passes through those windings. Of course, it would help if you have a known good motor of the same kind so that you can compare the readings.

Usually by applying a voltage to it.

First thing voltage does not flow current does. Voltage is the potential or pressure needed to make the current flow.

Current is directly proportional to the applied voltage and inversely proportional to the resistance of the circuit. To make the current flow you have to adjust the resistance of the circuit and that would be the water in this case. Salt added to water will make the water conductive so the resistance can be adjusted thereby making the current rise or fall depending on the water solution's resistive properties. The equation that you should consider using is Amps = Volts/Resistance.

Check the circuit breaker to see if it tripped.

Draw two parallel vertical lines on a piece of paper. Visualize these as a left side and a right side of an upright ladder. The left side will be called the "hot" wire and the right side will be the neutral wire. The cross pieces in this diagram will be the rungs of the ladder. Draw a line from the left hand side of the ladder to the right hand side of the ladder. Insert into this rung one of the two light bulbs. Below this rung copy the above rung with the second light bulb. Into this second rung insert a switch in series with the second bulb. When the complete circuit is powered on the first bulb will light and depending on the position of the switch in the second rung, the second bulb will light if the switch is closed. If the switch in the second rung is open the bulb will not light.

This will be the drawing that your scenario suggests.

The main rule to be followed when using an ohmmeter is to have the circuit under test de energized from the power source.

Engineers request that 5 meg ohm is the bottom limit. I use 1 meg as a bottom limit when megging conductors before they are energized. I have run motors as low as .5 meg, when the moisture is driven out by the heat of the motors operation the motors usually climbs up to about 2 meg ohms.

To check any piece of electrical equipment for a short circuit a megohm meter will be used. The common name for this piece of equipment is a megger.

Storm related electrical outages may occur for a variety of reasons, most of which are caused by lightning strikes, fallen trees, or weather related damage to the components of the electrical system. If a major storm produces severe flooding, the local electrical power may be turned off to prevent accidental electrocution and to prevent damage to the main electrical grid infrastructure.

Using the remote is like having two switches in series. Both switches have to be on at the same time. Do not use the remote to turn off the fan when you want to turn the fan off with the wall switch.

Yes, unless your local electrical code or zoning ordinances prohibit it. Check with your local building officials to be sure.

However, longer wiring runs result in larger voltage drop, and wasted energy. In order to avoid this you must increase the size of the wiring, which increases the cost of the installation. It may not be cost effective depending on the size of your installation.

There is no such thing as a two phase load any more. Any two legs from a three phase system are classed as single phase. If this single phase load is connected across the generator it will induce an imbalance in the output voltages of the generator. This is one reason that single phase loads on a three phase generator should be shifted around to find the best possible balance.

There are many sites on the internet where you can search for manuals for different types of equipment.

Electric woks usually do not get hot enough to fully cook the food, and also it is very common for the food to stick rather badly after the cooking process is finished.

It is a circuit fuse in a vehicle. The fuse is used to protect the courtesy/clock circuit.

When installing an isolator switch enclosure, make sure that the terminations are tight and secure.If you are using the isolation switch to disconnect a load that must be worked on the following should be checked. Make sure that the handle of the switch is down and locked in the off position. For isolation switches that have windows in the front of them look and make sure that the switch blades are physically in the open position. Then lock the switch in the off position. Always safety first.

They are used to trace wiring. There may be multiple conductors in a bundle that are unmarked, or perhaps unmarked wires that go to different locations. The tone generator is connected to a pair of conductors (or one conductor and ground), and the probe is used to find the same conductor on the opposite end. The probe is used to look for the conductor that is carrying the tone.

In a bundle of conductors, or several conductors in a raceway, the tone may be induced, or "bleed" into other conductors. In this case, the desired wire has the strongest tone. Connecting the generator to one conductor and ground tends to induce the signal into other conductors. Toning a pair, with neither one grounded, is the most selective, making identification more sure.

To make sure that a feeder cable is secure it must be supported. The support distance is stated in the electrical code book. The code also gives support of cable trays, conduit and all the different ways to support cables.

The centrifugal switch on a motor's start winding should open at 75 to 80 percent of the motors run speed RPM.

Look very closely for a serial number stamped on the unit. The suggested course of action is to take the alternator to an auto parts store to see if they can recognize what vehicle the alternator should belong to. Automotive alternators are three phase and should have a full wave diode bridge concealed within the alternator housing. If you open the alternator case, the diode bridge will have diode numbers or a number stamped on the bridge network. Cross referencing this number to other diode bridges will tell you what amperage the alternator should be able to output. If you find a number there let the automotive parts store see if they can find a substitute for it.