Hi Everyone, I wasn't happy with all the testing we did a couple videos back and after several comments, I decided to do a bit of research on how to get better results than what a Volt-Ohm meter can provide. I came across a channel called Mechanic Mindset and reached out to Darren and got a bunch of great info on the PicoScope 2204a. Check out his channel here for lots of tips and tricks: ua-cam.com/users/results?search_query=mechanic+mindset In the video, we check the position and speed sensors, the airflow meter, run a virtual compression test, take a look at the ignition patterns and finally get a yes or no on that original black coil. Let me know your thoughts on the Pico and some of the data I got. We even found one big surprise! You can find the PicoScope software here: www.picotech.com/downloads If you are interested in the scope or any of the probes and such you can find links for them here: PicoScope 2204A (no probes): amzn.to/3vhB0In Hantek HT25 Auto Ignition Probe with three ends (order 2 of these): amzn.to/3rKi9Uc Acer Aspire Laptop (under 400 dollars!!!):amzn.to/3bEgNVB Autooutlet Oscilloscope Probe: amzn.to/3viisaP Hantek CC-650 AC/DC Max High Current Clamp Probe: amzn.to/3vgdfAl Hantek AC/DC Current Clamp CC 65A Low Current Clamp Probe: amzn.to/3rJHVYS Hantek HT201 1.053M Input Resistance 10MHz Bandwidth Signal Attenuator: amzn.to/3vgpEUW Pack of 2 BNC Q9 to Double Alligator Clips: amzn.to/3thVuiB Hantek HT30A with Utrade Heavy Duty Test Lead 3M BNC to Banana Adapter Cable: amzn.to/3viHXsQ Probe Kit KKmoon HT307: amzn.to/3rF7Lgv 6V/24V Car Electrical Circuit Continuity Tester with Indicator Light: amzn.to/2N8JUGU Thexton THE404 Spark Tester: amzn.to/3bFxzU9
Congratulations on your new pico scope. I have used scopes for automotive diagnostics for over fifty years.. believe me you have just open up a great new way to diagnose electrical problems, weather it is engine, alternator- generator, heater fan or wiper motor, the possibilities are endless. As you said in your video, practice is key; I assure you the more you practice the more you will be using it. Thank you for what you are teaching technicians both professional and DIY. It is very much needed and appreciated. Thank you R.G. Young, Jr
This is the first time I've ever seen anyone use a test light to diagnose a bad plug wire and it's absolutely genius. I'm sure a lot of people already knew about it but thank you for teaching me that trick bc I've had so many problems in the past trying to track down a bad plug wire
This an incredible demonstration of how to apply modern technology to what are essentially old techniques. The Picoscope is a $100 Sun engine performance tester that fits in your pocket. I rarely learn anything new about cars. Today I did. Thank you.
Just found you. Been a shade tree since the 70s but since retiring want to get into scopes. Been looking at the different ones on the cheap side and your explanation on the Pico was excellent. I very much like your delivery. Kept me interested. Some of these channels they fumble, and they get a little lost. You were right on key. Thanks and please keep them coming.
Hi, Just found your channel after trying to work out how best to do an AC ripple test to check an alternator. Thank you. I've learnt a few new tricks from this video alone, and I've been working with cars for nearly thirty years now. I'm really excited to watch some more of your videos to see what other golden nuggets I might come across. A very grateful tinkerer from the UK 🙂
Nice usage of the PicoScope. I know their products well. One comment on the 'missing' firing signal. This has nothing to do with the vertical resolution of 8 bit but is more a problem of not enough sample rate to capture the glitch. For this type of scope you can calculate the the required bandwidth of the scope to be 0.35 divided by the fastest rising edge (10% - 90%). Then you need to have four times the sample rate to avoid alaising effects. Nyquist law says you have to have at least 2 times the sampling rate but in reality with Gaussian input characteristic of the scope chanels you need to have four times sample rate. So the fastest rise time that can be seen on the screen of the PicoScope 2204a is 35 ns.
Thanks for that. I did pop open the properties window to get a good look at just what the Pico was altering its settings to. I have the samples set to 2M and then the rest is just voltage range and time base, right? As I increased the time base to see all cylinders the sample rate would drop into the several thousands range. I read that this was a limit to the 8bit data capture. Can you suggest a setting that would capture all the firing lines? That would be super helpful :) I also played with the up-scaling of the probe to 8.5-10bit but that just smooths the signal without increasing resolution. Thanks!
@@HeidiandFranny You're welcome. Most oscilloscopes have an automatic setting of the sample rate and the aquisition memory to fill the entire screen. So first you can manually increase the aquisition memory to the maximum of 8 kSa which is unfortunately not very much. If you then increase the time base it will lower the sample rate or just not fill the complete screen. But the PicoScope6 software has a nice feature. You can stream the data via USB streaming mode directly into the PC for longer aquisitions with a higher sampling rate. Based on the datasheet you can stream up to 100 MSa so if you use 40 MSa/s sampling rate - which is enough for a 10 MHz scope input - you can stream up to 2.5 seconds to the memory. I haven't used the software in a while so I can't remember where to set it up. But I'm sure you can find out in the build in help. The 8.5 to 10 bit upscaling just increases the vertical resolution. What this function does is to take up to 8 sampling points and derive one new sample point but with higher vertical resolution. This of course reduces the effective sample rate by the factor of 8. So with 100 MSa/s maximum hardware sample rate only 12.5 MSa/s with high resolution is left which means appr. 3.15 MHz alaising-free bandwidth. This technique is called 'boxcar averaging'. I'm looking forward to se the Carrera running soon... Greetings.
This is the very best video I have seen to introduce beginners unfamiliar with oscilloscopes and show them how they can actually be use to test components on vehicles
The intellectual curiosity and desire to get things properly worked out are impressive! So often people just cannot be bothered to get repairs completed and even brag about how little they care. This is not perfectionism for perfectionism's sake. The knowledge you are gaining and passing on gives you a better understanding of what processes are working and what are not. Many people will simply throw parts at a problem and never fix it. On the Car Wizard channel Mr. Long shows how properly diagnosing issues actually saves time and money.
You continue to impress, Franny. My mainframe computer engineering career (long ago) started just after the time when computers had lots of built in diagnostics. Prior to that all people had were logic diagrams and scopes, and those early engineers really knew their stuff. Setting up, using and interpreting scopes is a rare skill these days but, just like everything else, you take in your stride. Great stuff!
Hello Heidi and Franny's Garage, NICE JOB! Game UPPED and looking like a modern master tech! I also like your point on using it for checking a used car. The price of the scope is less than a traditional compression test. If you do decide to pull a plug, you will see the amps drop on that cylinder to near zero, but the following cylinder in the firing order will go higher than normal (~15-25%). You will also notice this when your fist start the relative test. The first couple events get the crank turning and then stabilize on a good engine (compression close for all cylinders). Looking forward to more video. Mr. P
@@HeidiandFranny Hello Heidi and Franny's Garage, Now that you jumped in with the 2-channel unit.......we also want more right? The 4-ch units are quite expensive, so I have a plan to purchase another 2-ch unit and use a second laptop/computer. May up the bandwidth on the 2nd unit, but at this point do not "NEED". The advantage will be screen space and following 2 vs 4 tracking lines per monitor! Much easier to read and laptops/computers so reasonable on price, it makes perfect sense.....at least in my thinking. As a fellow engineer, would like your comment as I sometimes go too tool happy! Cheers! Mr. P
LOL....and Pico probably did not thing of it, but 2 x two channels scopes will be the new standard. When I updated our shipping office I added dual monitors to each station. Now instead of clicking between Quickbooks and Excel/email/other, you just look at the other screen. Efficiency WAY up and our customer impressed for a small company. BAD news is if Pico reads this post, the price of a 2-ch will go up in comparison to the 4-ch units.......GRRRR! The scope by itself is not capable of supporting any viewing output and to my knowledge, the software does not currently support two monitors. Mr. P
Yes, your black coil was in good shape and the car is still running a lot better than when you started the exercise of identifying where the idle problem was. Congratulations! Great video! :-) I will say I owned 11 9111s starting with a 1966 and ending with a 2012; I did all my maintenance and I never used a scope. You are a lot more high tech than I ever was!
Keep in mind heat and resistance while the car is running can affect sensors and captures. The automotive scopes are amazing. The ATS escope is even better. You should make a delta sensor for intake and exhaust pulses.
Wow. This is so nifty - I’d never consider bringing a ‘scope to look at a car. How very clever taking advantage of the continued miniaturization of technology!
relative compression can burn you. If you have a dead hole it’ll throw you off you should do a spark sync (not trigger that’s different) with it. Great video
I "THINK" spark plug gap will also change you ignition test graph. MAYBE that's why the factory graph looked a little different in comparison to yours. This is all interesting stuff. Thank you so much for sharing!!!!!
Well.... yep... You're very intelligent. I was looking at that PicoScope, but am not sure I'd be able to figure that out. Another great video... Thank you !!!
Oh, I'm sure you can! It is a little weird and intimidating but you'll pick it up fast. It can take a little bit of research to interpret the graphs but there are lots of YT videos that will walk you through it. Also, you can download the Pico software for free and it will go into a demo mode and let you play around a bit. Worth a try :) f
I've been a fan and follower of you and Heidi now for close to two years. Your content is always top notch. But today Franny you've really outdone yourself! I am stunned at how much I've learned today. Thank you!!! ❤️👏🎉
An old-fashioned analog voltmeter can also catch quick voltage dips and spikes that a digital meter might miss, due to the near-instantaneous response of the needle, versus a digital readout that only updates a few times per second. So it's a handy (and cheap!) tool to have.
Cool, great to see your enthusiasm with a new tool, especially a scope. Seems you already have a good knowledge base of how to use it. I've been using scopes since 2004. I still get excited when I get good vehicles to use for known goods and even more excited when that info can be used to diag something broken....
00:00 - 9:12 High tech stuff! 09:13 - 11:17 checking spark plug and coil wires for leaking voltage with a test light 11:18 - 20:31 High tech stuff! Thanks for that test light trick. News to me! (Note for newbs: wire of test light was clamped to a ground.)
Thanks a bunch for the production quality of your videos. It's so nice to unwind at the end of the day with this channel. And thanks for teaching us so much about these cars! Possibly the most in-depth DIY Porsche/VW channel out there.
Please keep up your great content. I apologize for the snarky comment last month. Very interesting and thorough detective work. Good luck on bringing the 3.2 home.
Wonderful idea use picoscope 2 ch. I agree all with video, buy when compare scope data with data reference of secondary pulses. Look ok, but your burn time is shorter than reference. Is very dificult to control spark plasma and burn time. Spark gap, all resistance in secondary circuit can move a bit to more or less the time, also primary coil current and internal limitations con control module or ecu. If combustion chambers are stardard, not altered (compress ratio std) ur engine must have similar burn time as references. Engines common values are 1.2 to 2.5 miliseconds. I use to see primary current in bottle coils using similar Hantek current clamp, but the CC-65. Less current range.
No lie this is one of those videos that str8t guys would rag on you for watching BUT because you've watched it you have a wealth of information and how-to that many of them would NEVER get and you'll look like a engine whisperer and wow them when you say "just use and oscilloscope, it will show you information more easily" :3
@@HeidiandFranny Are "str8t" guys still so insecure about their sexual orientation that they can't handle being schooled by a woman? It's so disappointing how pervasive that crap is in "Merica", your stuff is brilliant and it's their loss!
@@HeidiandFranny Hello Heidi and Franny's Garage, I truly hope nothing is holding your channel back. Worked in automotive electrical engineering for a good part of my career and trained many on how to use test instruments, but I guarantee I could not produce anything near the quality and quantity covered in this video. In just 20 minutes you clearly covered 3 very different uses of the Pico scope and even how to set a trigger so that cylinders can be identified on the scope. The way you convey the knowledge is practical and detailed, like a super teacher! Keep posting, more will follow, the content is some of the BEST I have viewed! Mr. P
Excellent video. Great to see someone doing it the old school way. 40 years ago I was using automotive scopes regularly. They kind of fell out of favor with the newer cars. But next week I will be trying this out on my 88 Mercedes 560SL, which has developed a miss. I wont be using a Pico Scope but the stuff you teach applies to all scopes.
Every garage needs an oscilloscope for testing around cars great tools that do so much more. For the higher voltages coil a price of wire and connect to the end of the scope and u can use it to sniff the spark plugs etc and see the pulses. Bring to coil close but don’t make contact to the voltage source
Great to see a cool use of an ignition trace with a very nice little scope. One thing that might be fun, given the portable nature of the scope, is to look at the ignition breakdown voltage when the engine is under load. The peak voltage should go much higher than at idle. This will also possibly indicate arc-over in the coil or secondary wiring. Very good fun!
One common technique is to do a "snap" throttle test to simulate a momentary load. Since the software can record 32 screens at a time you can just go back and look. I used a free screen capture software that will allow you to "monitor" for several minutes and write to MP4 file. With the Pico software you can also save those 32 screens and pull them up later and do stuff like zoom in and out, measure time and voltage. Super slick!
Hi ladies , really a coincidence with your video to what i saw today at one of the garages i buy vehicles from . i went in through the workshop and one of the techs had the same picoscope but with 4 inputs , and i asked what he was up to and he was testing the injectors on a Renault diesel , uncanny or what .
Very well explained. I was playing with my Hantek a few days ago when I had one of my occasional heart buzzes. It occurred to me that one of these could be modified to give an ECG reading. Anyone tried it?
As usual a superior video. But, you started with the observation that you thought the idle was off. So, did all the testing and the returning resolve that issue? Or, did I miss something (not the first time if I did).
Seems to have. I set the idle back to 800 (the shop set it up close to 900) and you saw I reinstalled the original coil and I am running the original idle bypass valve as well. Seems to start hot and cold well and idle very close to 800rpm. I need to drive the car a bit more but the weather has been nutty.
Franny, you never cease to amaze me - I always learn something, although I don't understand what lol Franny's new project: brain surgery. Because she's just that intelligent =) BTW - how's it driving? Smooth?
Thanks for the awesome video. I certainly come to youtube to be entertained and also to learn. I can say I learned a bunch of excellent diagnostics techniques and tools that I've not seen presented on other channels - keep up the amazing content. Of course the downside is that I want a classic Porsche of my own to work on - ;-)
Hi Franny I recently came across your videos as I’m desperately searching and researching videos or anything on the infamous 1974 autostick super beetle. I have one that had the wires removed from the flooring as the floor was replaced. I would like to see a video showing every step of this system as it combines safety and operational issues. The autostick works in tandem with the seat belts, the seat sensors and door buzzer. I would like to recreate this system which includes a relay that controls and is responsible for the seatbelt interlock. Thanks for any help.
There is a house for sale just down the street from me. What would it take to talk the two of you into moving ? :) Great Job and thank you for doing all f this is such a soothing voice. Sooooo Relaxed when I'm done watching your videos. Stay Safe Mike
Great to see that project come to a (successful) end, soon, and looking forward to following the Ferrari being inspected. One thing I noticed in your explanation, why the spikes don’t show up as in the manual: you were blaming it to the 8 bit A/C converter, but wouldn’t it actually be a sample rate problem ? Just wondering. Keep up that phenomenal work !
Thanks Stefan, great question! I need more time with it but whenever I increase the time base the samples drop automatically. It seems it can only deal with so much data at one time. While researching I heard that you can't expect too awfully much from an 8bit scope for large data sets. The true Pico automotive scopes are 12bit I think - but... also $900 so... I need to spend more time with it though.
Thank you Franny. This was a great video. I've turned wrenches for years but am a little behind on the electronic side beyond anything basic. (Our 914 racer was pure analog) This tool is amazing. Did it take long to determine the protocols for its use? I follow this channel religiously. You and Heidi are my hero's!!!
Thanks so much! It did take a bit of research, but it goes quickly. Well worth the effort because of how versatile it is and that it can be used on every car. I'm looking forward to hooking it up to the 356!
Hi Heidi and Franny, What guide did you use for the Porsche 3.2? I'm looking for any manuals or guides or documentation on what the various voltages and the waveforms should be (and should not be) on a 911 3.2 L Carrera. I love your channel. It's very cool!
Thanks! I use both the Porsche service manual and also the Bentley manual. Bentley is easier to follow but has some errors and omissions. The actual service manual is the gold standard.
Glad you liked the Picoscope, I just upgraded to a 2204A myself, great scopes for automotive use as long as you use a pair of attenuators :p (had a Hantek before but didn't like the software). One question, are you an automotive engineer? Anyways, thank's for a great and informative video. Great tip to use a testlight to confirm there's no discarge! By the way, is it just me or there seems to be a lot of gentlemen of the older generation on this channel that seems a bit "butthurt" that a woman understands technology and uses an oscilloscope
Excellent video. I just bought a Autel MP408 scope and am learning it. I use to use the old big Sun Scopes during my dealership days but times have changed and I’m an old dog learning new tricks. I’ve never seen an mass air flow sensor that you can measure with the engine off. How did you do that? Love your little gas analyzer.
With the ignition on you can measure the voltage across the pot as you move the vane. It is a bit old-skool but it works. You can also just measure the dead resistance without power as well. All you are really looking for are noticeable dead spots. I was really lucky that mine was good. I've seen some photos of completely worn carbon tracks. I'm just learning with the scope. Very cool though!
Wow, thanks for another great video! The link to the PicoScope 2204a is $400. You had mentioned it is about $100? Is the link correct? When you hooked up the red clips to the Air flow meter, where does the black clip go, Ground somewhere perhaps? When you hooked up the current clamp on the starter wire and I assume the USB is connected to the current clamp and laptop? If yes, how do you test each cylinder? Sorry, just not sure how the wiring goes to test each cylinder, Much appreciated it.
You might be looking at the 2205a. I think that is $400 and 25MHz (2204a is 10MHz). Also there are packages with scope leads that run the price up a bit. I bought all that separately. Since Pico is out of the UK their products are a little hard to get. The pricing goes up and down a bit on Amazon. So, yes, on the air flow teste the black is on a good ground. I should have shown that. For the current clamp, it is also plugged into a channel on the scope (it is just another probe as far as the Pico is concerned). The Amp clamps convert the amp flow to voltage internally. They are an "active" probe in that they have a battery (9V) and you have to turn them on and zero out the signal. Just take a sec. You can also clamp on the main battery cable at the battery if that is easier. For syncing you could then use that same capacitive HT 25 clamp on the #1 spark plug lead and trigger on that. Cylinders would then be in the firing order. Let me know if that answers your questions :) F
@@HeidiandFranny Thanks for the details. That is great. My understanding is that I need to clamp the current clamp HT 25 to each spark plug lead in order to isolate each cylinder, correct? Clamping on the starter wire or the main battery cable will give you an overall average of all 6 cylinders, correct? Sorry about the silly questions.
@@kawman4519 you really only need the HT25 on cylinder #1 and then to the right the cylinders will be in the firing order (162435). You are really just looking at a relative drop in one cylinder consistently.
You have to set your scope for usb streaming mode by change your time to 200ms/div this will tell your scope to go from block mode to streaming mode to transfer your waveform to pc direct without using picoscope buffer which is to small
Franny, I hate to say it but I hate when you speak Greek. Lol When I went in the Navy, they tested my aptitude in different fields. I aced the mechanical part but totally flunked electronics. I didn't even understand what you were talking about with the MAF. I've never seen one with any kind of lever and I don't know what that does on your car. Does it open and close the throttle body butterfly? Is that because it is an early design or is it unique to Porsche? Anyway, good to see you and hope all is well with you and Heidi.
Hi Everyone, I wasn't happy with all the testing we did a couple videos back and after several comments, I decided to do a bit of research on how to get better results than what a Volt-Ohm meter can provide. I came across a channel called Mechanic Mindset and reached out to Darren and got a bunch of great info on the PicoScope 2204a. Check out his channel here for lots of tips and tricks: ua-cam.com/users/results?search_query=mechanic+mindset
In the video, we check the position and speed sensors, the airflow meter, run a virtual compression test, take a look at the ignition patterns and finally get a yes or no on that original black coil.
Let me know your thoughts on the Pico and some of the data I got. We even found one big surprise!
You can find the PicoScope software here: www.picotech.com/downloads
If you are interested in the scope or any of the probes and such you can find links for them here:
PicoScope 2204A (no probes): amzn.to/3vhB0In
Hantek HT25 Auto Ignition Probe with three ends (order 2 of these): amzn.to/3rKi9Uc
Acer Aspire Laptop (under 400 dollars!!!):amzn.to/3bEgNVB
Autooutlet Oscilloscope Probe: amzn.to/3viisaP
Hantek CC-650 AC/DC Max High Current Clamp Probe: amzn.to/3vgdfAl
Hantek AC/DC Current Clamp CC 65A Low Current Clamp Probe: amzn.to/3rJHVYS
Hantek HT201 1.053M Input Resistance 10MHz Bandwidth Signal Attenuator: amzn.to/3vgpEUW
Pack of 2 BNC Q9 to Double Alligator Clips: amzn.to/3thVuiB
Hantek HT30A with Utrade Heavy Duty Test Lead 3M BNC to Banana Adapter Cable: amzn.to/3viHXsQ
Probe Kit KKmoon HT307: amzn.to/3rF7Lgv
6V/24V Car Electrical Circuit Continuity Tester with Indicator Light: amzn.to/2N8JUGU
Thexton THE404 Spark Tester: amzn.to/3bFxzU9
Justin miller on UA-cam also has good information on the 2204a like darren
Darren is a top chap 👍
Congratulations on your new pico scope. I have used scopes for automotive diagnostics for over fifty years.. believe me you have just open up a great new way to diagnose electrical
problems, weather it is engine, alternator- generator, heater fan or wiper motor, the possibilities are endless. As you said in your video, practice is key; I assure you the more you practice the more you will be using it.
Thank you for what you are teaching technicians both professional and DIY. It is very much needed and appreciated.
Thank you
R.G. Young, Jr
Seriously one of the best Pico scope and explanations on UA-cam, awesome it really is awesome ....
Thanks so much!
Your virtual compression test is so smart ! AWESOME
Especially on cars with tight engine compartments
This is the first time I've ever seen anyone use a test light to diagnose a bad plug wire and it's absolutely genius. I'm sure a lot of people already knew about it but thank you for teaching me that trick bc I've had so many problems in the past trying to track down a bad plug wire
This an incredible demonstration of how to apply modern technology to what are essentially old techniques.
The Picoscope is a $100 Sun engine performance tester that fits in your pocket.
I rarely learn anything new about cars. Today I did. Thank you.
Thanks so much!
Just found you. Been a shade tree since the 70s but since retiring want to get into scopes. Been looking at the different ones on the cheap side and your explanation on the Pico was excellent. I very much like your delivery. Kept me interested. Some of these channels they fumble, and they get a little lost. You were right on key.
Thanks and please keep them coming.
The PICO Machines are amazing, I can't believe how sensitive & precise it is!
Hi,
Just found your channel after trying to work out how best to do an AC ripple test to check an alternator.
Thank you.
I've learnt a few new tricks from this video alone, and I've been working with cars for nearly thirty years now.
I'm really excited to watch some more of your videos to see what other golden nuggets I might come across.
A very grateful tinkerer from the UK 🙂
This is one of the best Porsche video's I've seen. I learned a ton! Thanks so much!
Nice usage of the PicoScope. I know their products well.
One comment on the 'missing' firing signal. This has nothing to do with the vertical resolution of 8 bit but is more a problem of not enough sample rate to capture the glitch. For this type of scope you can calculate the the required bandwidth of the scope to be 0.35 divided by the fastest rising edge (10% - 90%). Then you need to have four times the sample rate to avoid alaising effects. Nyquist law says you have to have at least 2 times the sampling rate but in reality with Gaussian input characteristic of the scope chanels you need to have four times sample rate.
So the fastest rise time that can be seen on the screen of the PicoScope 2204a is 35 ns.
Thanks for that. I did pop open the properties window to get a good look at just what the Pico was altering its settings to. I have the samples set to 2M and then the rest is just voltage range and time base, right? As I increased the time base to see all cylinders the sample rate would drop into the several thousands range. I read that this was a limit to the 8bit data capture. Can you suggest a setting that would capture all the firing lines? That would be super helpful :) I also played with the up-scaling of the probe to 8.5-10bit but that just smooths the signal without increasing resolution. Thanks!
@@HeidiandFranny You're welcome.
Most oscilloscopes have an automatic setting of the sample rate and the aquisition memory to fill the entire screen. So first you can manually increase the aquisition memory to the maximum of 8 kSa which is unfortunately not very much. If you then increase the time base it will lower the sample rate or just not fill the complete screen.
But the PicoScope6 software has a nice feature. You can stream the data via USB streaming mode directly into the PC for longer aquisitions with a higher sampling rate. Based on the datasheet you can stream up to 100 MSa so if you use 40 MSa/s sampling rate - which is enough for a 10 MHz scope input - you can stream up to 2.5 seconds to the memory. I haven't used the software in a while so I can't remember where to set it up. But I'm sure you can find out in the build in help.
The 8.5 to 10 bit upscaling just increases the vertical resolution. What this function does is to take up to 8 sampling points and derive one new sample point but with higher vertical resolution. This of course reduces the effective sample rate by the factor of 8. So with 100 MSa/s maximum hardware sample rate only 12.5 MSa/s with high resolution is left which means appr. 3.15 MHz alaising-free bandwidth. This technique is called 'boxcar averaging'.
I'm looking forward to se the Carrera running soon... Greetings.
You are so rad. Thank you for sharing your sweet cars with us!
This is the very best video I have seen to introduce beginners unfamiliar with oscilloscopes and show them how they can actually be use to test components on vehicles
Thanks so much!
Ah i see, a relative compression test. My brain was bouncing there for a minute. Just found the channel. Nice 👍
The intellectual curiosity and desire to get things properly worked out are impressive! So often people just cannot be bothered to get repairs completed and even brag about how little they care. This is not perfectionism for perfectionism's sake. The knowledge you are gaining and passing on gives you a better understanding of what processes are working and what are not. Many people will simply throw parts at a problem and never fix it. On the Car Wizard channel Mr. Long shows how properly diagnosing issues actually saves time and money.
Your channel is awesome. Have loved following this build. Learning so much.
This is one of the best Pico video's ever! Great JOB
Very interesting! I look forward to seeing "Pico scopes" as part of the evaluations on your future projects. Great work!
You continue to impress, Franny. My mainframe computer engineering career (long ago) started just after the time when computers had lots of built in diagnostics. Prior to that all people had were logic diagrams and scopes, and those early engineers really knew their stuff. Setting up, using and interpreting scopes is a rare skill these days but, just like everything else, you take in your stride. Great stuff!
Still very useful I would say and you are right that interpreting the images is the fun part.
Frannie's living proof that Engineers never stop engineering because it's not a job but a calling.
Another great source for using your Pico, is Eric at South Main Auto on UA-cam.. great teacher and explainer. Love his videos on trouble shooting
Thanks I'll take a look.
Hello Heidi and Franny's Garage,
NICE JOB! Game UPPED and looking like a modern master tech!
I also like your point on using it for checking a used car. The price of the scope is less than a traditional compression test.
If you do decide to pull a plug, you will see the amps drop on that cylinder to near zero, but the following cylinder in the firing order will go higher than normal (~15-25%). You will also notice this when your fist start the relative test. The first couple events get the crank turning and then stabilize on a good engine (compression close for all cylinders).
Looking forward to more video.
Mr. P
Thanks! Yes, I did see that. I also needed to expand the scale a bit to get better resolution. Looking forward to using this more :)
@@HeidiandFranny
Hello Heidi and Franny's Garage,
Now that you jumped in with the 2-channel unit.......we also want more right? The 4-ch units are quite expensive, so I have a plan to purchase another 2-ch unit and use a second laptop/computer. May up the bandwidth on the 2nd unit, but at this point do not "NEED". The advantage will be screen space and following 2 vs 4 tracking lines per monitor!
Much easier to read and laptops/computers so reasonable on price, it makes perfect sense.....at least in my thinking. As a fellow engineer, would like your comment as I sometimes go too tool happy!
Cheers!
Mr. P
LOL....and Pico probably did not thing of it, but 2 x two channels scopes will be the new standard. When I updated our shipping office I added dual monitors to each station. Now instead of clicking between Quickbooks and Excel/email/other, you just look at the other screen. Efficiency WAY up and our customer impressed for a small company. BAD news is if Pico reads this post, the price of a 2-ch will go up in comparison to the 4-ch units.......GRRRR! The scope by itself is not capable of supporting any viewing output and to my knowledge, the software does not currently support two monitors.
Mr. P
Great videos. You are scaring me with your hair so close to the a/c belt!
Amazing and very interesting way to measure so many different parameters. Like it!! Thank you Franny.
Yes, your black coil was in good shape and the car is still running a lot better than when you started the exercise of identifying where the idle problem was. Congratulations! Great video! :-) I will say I owned 11 9111s starting with a 1966 and ending with a 2012; I did all my maintenance and I never used a scope. You are a lot more high tech than I ever was!
Keep in mind heat and resistance while the car is running can affect sensors and captures. The automotive scopes are amazing. The ATS escope is even better. You should make a delta sensor for intake and exhaust pulses.
Another great episode. I love the clarity with which you present information!
Thanks so much!
Wow. This is so nifty - I’d never consider bringing a ‘scope to look at a car. How very clever taking advantage of the continued miniaturization of technology!
relative compression can burn you. If you have a dead hole it’ll throw you off you should do a spark sync (not trigger that’s different) with it. Great video
I "THINK" spark plug gap will also change you ignition test graph. MAYBE that's why the factory graph looked a little different in comparison to yours. This is all interesting stuff. Thank you so much for sharing!!!!!
That little scope is so cool. Always better to know than guess.
I have a Fluke handheld for the ignition only. Thanks you for the other uses for it.
Well.... yep... You're very intelligent. I was looking at that PicoScope, but am not sure I'd be able to figure that out. Another great video... Thank you !!!
Oh, I'm sure you can! It is a little weird and intimidating but you'll pick it up fast. It can take a little bit of research to interpret the graphs but there are lots of YT videos that will walk you through it. Also, you can download the Pico software for free and it will go into a demo mode and let you play around a bit. Worth a try :) f
I've been a fan and follower of you and Heidi now for close to two years. Your content is always top notch. But today Franny you've really outdone yourself! I am stunned at how much I've learned today. Thank you!!! ❤️👏🎉
You are truly amazing for a home mechanic.
Awesome, awesome awesome, just added the pico scope to my Amazon wish list. thank you Franny
Your splanations are ok.i hope than people know value your time.thaks......
An old-fashioned analog voltmeter can also catch quick voltage dips and spikes that a digital meter might miss, due to the near-instantaneous response of the needle, versus a digital readout that only updates a few times per second. So it's a handy (and cheap!) tool to have.
Good to see you! Thank you for your wonderful video.
What a GREAT episode. This is great information!
Cool, great to see your enthusiasm with a new tool, especially a scope. Seems you already have a good knowledge base of how to use it. I've been using scopes since 2004. I still get excited when I get good vehicles to use for known goods and even more excited when that info can be used to diag something broken....
00:00 - 9:12 High tech stuff!
09:13 - 11:17 checking spark plug and coil wires for leaking voltage with a test light
11:18 - 20:31 High tech stuff!
Thanks for that test light trick. News to me! (Note for newbs: wire of test light was clamped to a ground.)
Thanks for that!
Asked on my 20 years of experience of reading esophageal manometry waveforms, I can state that your 911 will no issues with swallowing solid foods.
I see video release I sit down and watch....👍👍👍👍
Yea!
i know a master mechanic when i see one - enjoying your show from Melbourne Australia 🇦🇺
Thanks so much!
Heidi and Franny's Garage - no problem- thank you too !
Thanks a bunch for the production quality of your videos. It's so nice to unwind at the end of the day with this channel.
And thanks for teaching us so much about these cars! Possibly the most in-depth DIY Porsche/VW channel out there.
Please keep up your great content. I apologize for the snarky comment last month.
Very interesting and thorough detective work. Good luck on bringing the 3.2 home.
No worries! Glad you enjoyed it :)
Nice!! Been tempted by one of these for ages!! Looks like you've got a great result.
As usual, very helpful! And I can now maybe tackle testing my Air Flow Meter. You can make things I didn't understand understandable.
Outstanding vid. Illustrates the “scope” of applicable coverage! Esp like the compression examples! Thank you! Very educational and interesting stuff!
Wonderful idea use picoscope 2 ch. I agree all with video, buy when compare scope data with data reference of secondary pulses. Look ok, but your burn time is shorter than reference. Is very dificult to control spark plasma and burn time. Spark gap, all resistance in secondary circuit can move a bit to more or less the time, also primary coil current and internal limitations con control module or ecu. If combustion chambers are stardard, not altered (compress ratio std) ur engine must have similar burn time as references. Engines common values are 1.2 to 2.5 miliseconds. I use to see primary current in bottle coils using similar Hantek current clamp, but the CC-65. Less current range.
No lie this is one of those videos that str8t guys would rag on you for watching BUT because you've watched it you have a wealth of information and how-to that many of them would NEVER get and you'll look like a engine whisperer and wow them when you say "just use and oscilloscope, it will show you information more easily" :3
I think that may be the reason our stuff doesn't get shared out that much :( Thanks so much for watching :)
@@HeidiandFranny Are "str8t" guys still so insecure about their sexual orientation that they can't handle being schooled by a woman? It's so disappointing how pervasive that crap is in "Merica", your stuff is brilliant and it's their loss!
@@HeidiandFranny
Hello Heidi and Franny's Garage,
I truly hope nothing is holding your channel back. Worked in automotive electrical engineering for a good part of my career and trained many on how to use test instruments, but I guarantee I could not produce anything near the quality and quantity covered in this video. In just 20 minutes you clearly covered 3 very different uses of the Pico scope and even how to set a trigger so that cylinders can be identified on the scope. The way you convey the knowledge is practical and detailed, like a super teacher!
Keep posting, more will follow, the content is some of the BEST I have viewed!
Mr. P
Excellent video. Great to see someone doing it the old school way. 40 years ago I was using automotive scopes regularly. They kind of fell out of favor with the newer cars. But next week I will be trying this out on my 88 Mercedes 560SL, which has developed a miss. I wont be using a Pico Scope but the stuff you teach applies to all scopes.
It is amazing what they can tell if you know what to look at. I hope you find your miss!
Every garage needs an oscilloscope for testing around cars great tools that do so much more. For the higher voltages coil a price of wire and connect to the end of the scope and u can use it to sniff the spark plugs etc and see the pulses. Bring to coil close but don’t make contact to the voltage source
Yup! Also really good for Coil-On-Plug as well. You can even use the coil from a relay. Check out Mechanic Mindset's videos on that.
Great diagnostic explanation. Thanks!
Learned a lot again today. Great video as always :)
Learning volumes from you. Thank you Franny.
Great to see a cool use of an ignition trace with a very nice little scope. One thing that might be fun, given the portable nature of the scope, is to look at the ignition breakdown voltage when the engine is under load. The peak voltage should go much higher than at idle. This will also possibly indicate arc-over in the coil or secondary wiring. Very good fun!
One common technique is to do a "snap" throttle test to simulate a momentary load. Since the software can record 32 screens at a time you can just go back and look. I used a free screen capture software that will allow you to "monitor" for several minutes and write to MP4 file. With the Pico software you can also save those 32 screens and pull them up later and do stuff like zoom in and out, measure time and voltage. Super slick!
Hi ladies , really a coincidence with your video to what i saw today at one of the garages i buy vehicles from . i went in through the workshop and one of the techs had the same picoscope but with 4 inputs , and i asked what he was up to and he was testing the injectors on a Renault diesel , uncanny or what .
Thanks for making this video it helped me out alot now I know what I'm buying keep up the good work
You really take care of your cars
Very well explained. I was playing with my Hantek a few days ago when I had one of my occasional heart buzzes. It occurred to me that one of these could be modified to give an ECG reading. Anyone tried it?
This was a great demo thank you guys. Could you recommend a automotive scope for beginners? Thank you
As usual a superior video. But, you started with the observation that you thought the idle was off. So, did all the testing and the returning resolve that issue? Or, did I miss something (not the first time if I did).
Seems to have. I set the idle back to 800 (the shop set it up close to 900) and you saw I reinstalled the original coil and I am running the original idle bypass valve as well. Seems to start hot and cold well and idle very close to 800rpm. I need to drive the car a bit more but the weather has been nutty.
Wow that's amazing as usual a wonderful insight into your problem solving
Franny, you never cease to amaze me - I always learn something, although I don't understand what lol
Franny's new project: brain surgery. Because she's just that intelligent =)
BTW - how's it driving? Smooth?
Thanks for the awesome video. I certainly come to youtube to be entertained and also to learn. I can say I learned a bunch of excellent diagnostics techniques and tools that I've not seen presented on other channels - keep up the amazing content.
Of course the downside is that I want a classic Porsche of my own to work on - ;-)
Thanks so much! Good luck with your search :)
Excellent video, thanks for taking the time, more academic and quite interesting!!!
Hi Franny I recently came across your videos as I’m desperately searching and researching videos or anything on the infamous 1974 autostick super beetle. I have one that had the wires removed from the flooring as the floor was replaced. I would like to see a video showing every step of this system as it combines safety and operational issues. The autostick works in tandem with the seat belts, the seat sensors and door buzzer. I would like to recreate this system which includes a relay that controls and is responsible for the seatbelt interlock.
Thanks for any help.
Excellent video, thanks for sharing. Cheers
Wow another great video. That's really cool information from that Scan tool. Stay safe out there...
Thanks, you too!
thank you very much for this very nice presentation and pico demonstration
Thanks so much for watching :)
Franny what a fantastic edition very well explained you are one clever girl thank you 👍👨🏻🏭🇬🇧
Thanks so much!
Thanks a lot for your videos. Very helpfull. I have a 3.2 1984 coupe stock and enjoy all your tips.👍
this i can really use .......... great stuff again ! thanks
How much better would a pico 2205A perform over the pico 2204A
As allways i bow my head in the sand.. Awesome! And it seem that your channel punching up, soon 50k subs
Fingers crossed!
There is a house for sale just down the street from me. What would it take to talk the two of you into moving ? :)
Great Job and thank you for doing all f this is such a soothing voice. Sooooo Relaxed when I'm done watching your videos.
Stay Safe
Mike
Such great in-depth video!! Looking forward to the next one....and then the one after that too for your other cars!
Yea!
Awesome- as usual. I want to buy a Porsche now, it is the one automobile that has always my attention.
You did have a slight dip on your RELATIVE compression test that would have been good to zoom in on.
Great to see that project come to a (successful) end, soon, and looking forward to following the Ferrari being inspected. One thing I noticed in your explanation, why the spikes don’t show up as in the manual: you were blaming it to the 8 bit A/C converter, but wouldn’t it actually be a sample rate problem ? Just wondering. Keep up that phenomenal work !
Thanks Stefan, great question! I need more time with it but whenever I increase the time base the samples drop automatically. It seems it can only deal with so much data at one time. While researching I heard that you can't expect too awfully much from an 8bit scope for large data sets. The true Pico automotive scopes are 12bit I think - but... also $900 so... I need to spend more time with it though.
Thank you Franny. This was a great video. I've turned wrenches for years but am a little behind on the electronic side beyond anything basic. (Our 914 racer was pure analog) This tool is amazing. Did it take long to determine the protocols for its use? I follow this channel religiously. You and Heidi are my hero's!!!
Thanks so much! It did take a bit of research, but it goes quickly. Well worth the effort because of how versatile it is and that it can be used on every car. I'm looking forward to hooking it up to the 356!
Very nice. Good work!
Hi Heidi and Franny, What guide did you use for the Porsche 3.2? I'm looking for any manuals or guides or documentation on what the various voltages and the waveforms should be (and should not be) on a 911 3.2 L Carrera. I love your channel. It's very cool!
Thanks! I use both the Porsche service manual and also the Bentley manual. Bentley is easier to follow but has some errors and omissions. The actual service manual is the gold standard.
Glad you liked the Picoscope, I just upgraded to a 2204A myself, great scopes for automotive use as long as you use a pair of attenuators :p (had a Hantek before but didn't like the software). One question, are you an automotive engineer? Anyways, thank's for a great and informative video. Great tip to use a testlight to confirm there's no discarge! By the way, is it just me or there seems to be a lot of gentlemen of the older generation on this channel that seems a bit "butthurt" that a woman understands technology and uses an oscilloscope
No, aerospace. 😀
I would like to buy this pico scope can you provide info on a good probe kit TY
Interesting as always. Time to race that car!
Excellent video. I just bought a Autel MP408 scope and am learning it. I use to use the old big Sun Scopes during my dealership days but times have changed and I’m an old dog learning new tricks. I’ve never seen an mass air flow sensor that you can measure with the engine off. How did you do that? Love your little gas analyzer.
With the ignition on you can measure the voltage across the pot as you move the vane. It is a bit old-skool but it works. You can also just measure the dead resistance without power as well. All you are really looking for are noticeable dead spots. I was really lucky that mine was good. I've seen some photos of completely worn carbon tracks.
I'm just learning with the scope. Very cool though!
Wow, thanks for another great video! The link to the PicoScope 2204a is $400. You had mentioned it is about $100? Is the link correct? When you hooked up the red clips to the Air flow meter, where does the black clip go, Ground somewhere perhaps? When you hooked up the current clamp on the starter wire and I assume the USB is connected to the current clamp and laptop? If yes, how do you test each cylinder? Sorry, just not sure how the wiring goes to test each cylinder, Much appreciated it.
You might be looking at the 2205a. I think that is $400 and 25MHz (2204a is 10MHz). Also there are packages with scope leads that run the price up a bit. I bought all that separately. Since Pico is out of the UK their products are a little hard to get. The pricing goes up and down a bit on Amazon.
So, yes, on the air flow teste the black is on a good ground. I should have shown that. For the current clamp, it is also plugged into a channel on the scope (it is just another probe as far as the Pico is concerned). The Amp clamps convert the amp flow to voltage internally. They are an "active" probe in that they have a battery (9V) and you have to turn them on and zero out the signal. Just take a sec. You can also clamp on the main battery cable at the battery if that is easier. For syncing you could then use that same capacitive HT 25 clamp on the #1 spark plug lead and trigger on that. Cylinders would then be in the firing order. Let me know if that answers your questions :) F
@@HeidiandFranny Thanks for the details. That is great. My understanding is that I need to clamp the current clamp HT 25 to each spark plug lead in order to isolate each cylinder, correct? Clamping on the starter wire or the main battery cable will give you an overall average of all 6 cylinders, correct? Sorry about the silly questions.
@@kawman4519 you really only need the HT25 on cylinder #1 and then to the right the cylinders will be in the firing order (162435). You are really just looking at a relative drop in one cylinder consistently.
@@HeidiandFranny I see now. Thanks so much. Have a fantastic weekend!
try the black coil with higher rpm's running idle isn't that hard , the other scoop image look normal
Hi Franny I think that Yvan from Pine Hollow could help you with those waveforms, he uses his pico a lot for his diags..he's good..just saying
Very informative, thank you.
Great video Heidi 👍👌
Was pin 2 the signal circuit? And does each channel need to be grounded?
Hi Franny, I may have missed it but are you happy with how the car is running now, or are you still searching for an issue?
Move mass air flow sensors dont have a movable vane
You have to set your scope for usb streaming mode by change your time to 200ms/div this will tell your scope to go from block mode to streaming mode to transfer your waveform to pc direct without using picoscope buffer which is to small
I'll totally check that out! Thanks!
Very informative , Hi from Malta (Mediterranean)Great going
Hi there! We hope to get to Malta some day :) Sounds so beautiful!
@@HeidiandFranny you'll have a great time here , full of petrol heads 👍😆
Franny, I hate to say it but I hate when you speak Greek. Lol
When I went in the Navy, they tested my aptitude in different fields. I aced the mechanical part but totally flunked electronics.
I didn't even understand what you were talking about with the MAF. I've never seen one with any kind of lever and I don't know what that does on your car. Does it open and close the throttle body butterfly? Is that because it is an early design or is it unique to Porsche?
Anyway, good to see you and hope all is well with you and Heidi.