"Understanding voltage drop is like getting a gold brick in the mail!" Thank-you so much for taking the time to make this paramount fundamental concept crystal clear.
The best part was explaining that the system already knows that there is more resistance to overcome to get the voltage to 0.0 When it reaches the first hill, it knows that there is at least another hill to overcome, maybe even more hills, beyond the second hill but the voltage readings will tell you if you have found all the hills after the last one by reading near zero.
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.
Yes. Even better is to use gas as an analogy because it is compressible, just like electric charges. i.e, voltage vs current curve on a charging capacitor or battery (the voltage increases rapidly at first, then slows as electrons accumulate and create resistance to flow).
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 UA-cam. Kudos to you for tackling this, and explaining things that are typically very difficult for the home gamer.
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!
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.
Man I have watched a bunch of videos on this stuff. I work as a fleet diesel tech so I see the same equipment every day. I absolutely hate electrical for the same reasons people hate firearms- they don't understand them. If people would start with understanding Ohm's law and then move on to learning how to read a meter and what the symbols are things would start to click. I thought you did an excellent job of explaining the importance of checking both legs not just the positive. Most people think the negative side is a completely dead wire and don't truly get what the word circuit means. I was one of those guys in the beginning. Great job man. A+
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
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!
I understood the way you explained this subject really well. I have had trouble understanding electrical issues in the past and still do at times but you really clarified some basic things that help me understand drops as a whole. Thank you. I will just say that you have one thing that you do (and I do also when I get excited about explaining something) that you might think about, and that is you jump around trying to explain something and then change to a different way of explaining it easier or different. But overall great explanation for me as it really helped!
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? 🤔
This video combined with others will be very helpful. I find that there’s not ever really one video or person that shows it in a way that everyone can understand, but the plethora of content creators like you who explain it in their own way together, with all those compiled, it helps astronomically. Also your example of the hills is very easy to understand
You're explaining what happens during a power "brown-out" in a house. Every electrical device dims or suffers equally as power is shared incrimentally according to each individual load. I'm subscribed. Thanks.
I am a complete novice DIY guy UA-cam 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!!
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.
Man, what a blessing this video was I’ve been an engine installer for 22 years shop i worked at the Owner retired and now I’m forced to learn how to Diagnose I’ve searched and search for the best description of Voltage drop trst and as soon as you did The description on the little whiteboard, it just clicked thank you guys For taking the time to teach what yall learned over the years, you guys have no idea how much people like me Appreciate these These videos!!
Tremendous tutorial ! Excellent analogies !! Clearly demonstrated and explained in simple practical terms for us in the repair shop process / issues . Thanks mate ! 👊🏼
One of the better voltage drop explanations I've seen. Only two suggestions, don't change the reference like you did at the 21:00 mark, for young guys learning they might confuse that it's a requirement to "test the ground side". The other is just about how I think - leave the water analogies out. If a pipe breaks water keeps flowing, if a wire breaks current doesn't.
Great video, this was helpful. I haven't messed with circuits since Physics class at the University. Great refresher. I'm experiencing an issue on my wifes car. 40a IGN 1 fuse is grounding out on one side of the circuit. Which is preventing the starter relays and starter to engage. I'm going to remove the fuse box and do a visual inspection. I have a cheap version of the power probe, but it does work have used it to test head lights and solenoids. I have a small voltage cable tracer that I use for Ethernet cables, it did come with an adapter with alligator clips to send tones down wires. I also have a cheap voltmeter, need to get myself those leads so I can attach a test light. But I feel I should be able to find the issue from the info I learned in this and other videos. Thanks for the free education!
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😊
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.
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.
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 .
One of the best ways I was able to get my trainees to understand what the meter displays for voltage drop was to tell them the meter shows how much voltage CAN'T get through the points of the circuit under test. In other words the meter is another path for voltage to get through. If it CAN'T get through the circuit (voltage drop), it CAN get through the meter. Always seemed to help them understand!! Of course this is only accurate when testing positive or negative sides of the circuit separately.....
I am one of those hardheaded guys where theory just does not click. Theory goes over my head. Show me, solve a real circuit problem and I get some of it. But when I do it myself (usually making every mistake) it starts to sink in. Lessons must be hard learned. It would really help if I had a pro like you slapping my hand at each mistake. Not good at reading schematics is a major handicap. I have been thru lots of VD (funny) videos and none really rang the Ah Ha bell. Finally, one evening, out of the blue, it hits me. No one has ever explained to my way of thinking, how the multimeter computes VD. In a perfect circuit (power on) with the multimeter leads on the beginning and the end of the circuit, you should get close to 0 voltage reading. However when there is a high resistance the multimeter leads allow current to flow past the resistance (path of least resistance). It is then measured in the volts instead of ohms. This is actually ohms law, you just do not see it. Still have a problem with the term voltage drop. What we are really looking for is a resistance in the circuit. You cannot see voltage, but you can see some form of resistance which would usually be measured in ohms. But you cannot read ohms in a powered circuit, it will destroy the multimeter. So we have to use the DC volts scale instead.
Honestly, the "hill to overcome" analogy to explain resistance felt rather confusing for me. But I watched several other videos before that,- so I knew what you wanted to explain. So I watched the full video. And I think it's good. Bc, other people may profit from it the way it is. It is a complex concept, but once you get your head around it, it's logic.
Probably too late for comments. The subject was well explained, great job. The problem I had was that I couldn’t see the meter screen or the entire circuit when you were taking your measurements. I think to make the process more visual, you could’ve drawn the circuit on the white board then after after you made the measurement, go to the white board and show the lead locations so we could easily see where they were in the circuit. But you did a good job. I liked the hill analogy.
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.
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.
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.
Good video! you may want to take the time to mount the circuit on a piece of plywood with single wires like your dry erase board diagram. I've found people will grasp the concept faster if pos and neg are separated and the "circle" is easy to see. I use a garden hose with a spray-gun attachment to describe voltage drop. pressure is voltage, kink is resistance, flow is current. Kink the hose a little. Both sides of the kink have pressure. Pull the trigger (activate the circuit) and you can see there is very little pressure at the nozzle (voltage drop). release the trigger and both sides of the kink will pressurize equally eventually (full voltage in a circuit that's off). EXCELLENT idea using the multiple devices! Keep up the great work!
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
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..
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.
Hi thanks for your input. I thought the early part was well explained using the white board. But you seemed to go quicker as it got complicated . I will need to to watch it a few more times. Well done thanks again
Bad connection = resistance = "hill"; Ideal connection = no resistance = "flat"; In more scientific terms V= I x R where V is the voltage drop across the connection and R is the resistance (I is current greater than zero; i.e. the circuit has to be connected and electricity flowing for this work). With a constant current, as resistance, R, goes up (bad connection, corrosion) voltage V (as measured by the meter) goes up. Thank you for a great video.
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 !
You should teach them Ohm's Law first. You have a series circuit that has a lamp (32.5 ohms) and a 2 ohm resistor and the resistance in the jumper cables/alligator clip bad connection which equal 13.4 ohms. Your total circuit resistance is 47.9 ohms. Your total voltage is 12.45 DC volts and your total current is 0.26 DC amps. In your homemade circuit you actually have several bad voltage drops. You have the 2 ohm resistor and the bad test leads and connectors. The engineered intended circuit was a battery, a lamp rated at 32.5 ohms and the wire to the lamp and back to battery which should be 1 ohm or less not 13.4 ohms from bad connections in your example. I followed along what you were saying but I think if they knew Ohms law they would know what the reading should be before taking a meter to the circuit. I really love you videos. Keep up the great work!
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
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!
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. 👍👍
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
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.
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
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.
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..!
Well done guys good vid, I use a load pro for testing of voltage drop and I find it very useful, you guys should do a video using one, an incredibly simple tool that adds another dimension to the multi meter
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!
Excelent video. Great analogy. the only thing I would like to know more about is the potential difference. the reading after the resistance should be the potential difference, so the voltage should be 12.6 V on the last step towards the ground and not 0 V on the multimeter. If I understood correctly. greetings
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
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
"Understanding voltage drop is like getting a gold brick in the mail!"
Thank-you so much for taking the time to make this paramount fundamental concept crystal clear.
That hill analogy is great. Thanks.
The best part was explaining that the system already knows that there is more resistance to overcome to get the voltage to 0.0 When it reaches the first hill, it knows that there is at least another hill to overcome, maybe even more hills, beyond the second hill but the voltage readings will tell you if you have found all the hills after the last one by reading near zero.
You did great. Wish i could of had your presentation 50 years ago. I really like how you presented.
Resistance on the negative side was extremely helpful
Same
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.
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.
Yes. Even better is to use gas as an analogy because it is compressible, just like electric charges. i.e, voltage vs current curve on a charging capacitor or battery (the voltage increases rapidly at first, then slows as electrons accumulate and create resistance to flow).
Very interesting, I never thought of it that way
It was extremely helpful. That part about the hills makes sense. Great job explaining this..........
Same
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 UA-cam. Kudos to you for tackling this, and explaining things that are typically very difficult for the home gamer.
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!
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.
Man I have watched a bunch of videos on this stuff. I work as a fleet diesel tech so I see the same equipment every day. I absolutely hate electrical for the same reasons people hate firearms- they don't understand them. If people would start with understanding Ohm's law and then move on to learning how to read a meter and what the symbols are things would start to click. I thought you did an excellent job of explaining the importance of checking both legs not just the positive. Most people think the negative side is a completely dead wire and don't truly get what the word circuit means. I was one of those guys in the beginning. Great job man. A+
Appreciate the video Mr Sherwood. You and guys really go beyond to help techs get better
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
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!
I understood the way you explained this subject really well. I have had trouble understanding electrical issues in the past and still do at times but you really clarified some basic things that help me understand drops as a whole. Thank you. I will just say that you have one thing that you do (and I do also when I get excited about explaining something) that you might think about, and that is you jump around trying to explain something and then change to a different way of explaining it easier or different. But overall great explanation for me as it really helped!
Watched a ton of videos on voltage drop and just couldn’t grasp it. The hill analogy cleared up a lot. Thanks.
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? 🤔
This video combined with others will be very helpful. I find that there’s not ever really one video or person that shows it in a way that everyone can understand, but the plethora of content creators like you who explain it in their own way together, with all those compiled, it helps astronomically. Also your example of the hills is very easy to understand
You're explaining what happens during a power "brown-out" in a house. Every electrical device dims or suffers equally as power is shared incrimentally according to each individual load. I'm subscribed. Thanks.
I am a complete novice DIY guy UA-cam 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!!
Nice 👍🏼 ! 🎯
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.
If i can only pick one person to be stranded on a deserted island with I know who i would pick! Stunning!! ❤
Man, what a blessing this video was I’ve been an engine installer for 22 years shop i worked at the Owner retired and now I’m forced to learn how to Diagnose I’ve searched and search for the best description of Voltage drop trst and as soon as you did The description on the little whiteboard, it just clicked thank you guys For taking the time to teach what yall learned over the years, you guys have no idea how much people like me Appreciate these These videos!!
Tremendous tutorial !
Excellent analogies !! Clearly demonstrated and explained in simple practical terms for us in the repair shop process / issues . Thanks mate ! 👊🏼
Damn that was good stuff. Well explained, you helped an old do it yourselfer further understand the magic of basic electrics
Absolutely brilliant break down on loss👏👏. Great explanation of it thank you so much.
One of the better voltage drop explanations I've seen. Only two suggestions, don't change the reference like you did at the 21:00 mark, for young guys learning they might confuse that it's a requirement to "test the ground side". The other is just about how I think - leave the water analogies out. If a pipe breaks water keeps flowing, if a wire breaks current doesn't.
Thanks Sherwood if I had any questions about any of that before you've cleared it all, makes it feel much easier knowing different ways to test it.
Great video, this was helpful. I haven't messed with circuits since Physics class at the University. Great refresher. I'm experiencing an issue on my wifes car. 40a IGN 1 fuse is grounding out on one side of the circuit. Which is preventing the starter relays and starter to engage. I'm going to remove the fuse box and do a visual inspection. I have a cheap version of the power probe, but it does work have used it to test head lights and solenoids. I have a small voltage cable tracer that I use for Ethernet cables, it did come with an adapter with alligator clips to send tones down wires. I also have a cheap voltmeter, need to get myself those leads so I can attach a test light. But I feel I should be able to find the issue from the info I learned in this and other videos. Thanks for the free education!
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😊
30 year Gm tech here,love the voltage drop videos,great job Mr.Sherwood!!!!💯💪🏻
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.
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.
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 .
One of the best ways I was able to get my trainees to understand what the meter displays for voltage drop was to tell them the meter shows how much voltage CAN'T get through the points of the circuit under test. In other words the meter is another path for voltage to get through. If it CAN'T get through the circuit (voltage drop), it CAN get through the meter. Always seemed to help them understand!! Of course this is only accurate when testing positive or negative sides of the circuit separately.....
This is totally helpful...I'm loving your tutorials.
I am one of those hardheaded guys where theory just does not click. Theory goes over my head. Show me, solve a real circuit problem and I get some of it. But when I do it myself (usually making every mistake) it starts to sink in. Lessons must be hard learned. It would really help if I had a pro like you slapping my hand at each mistake. Not good at reading schematics is a major handicap.
I have been thru lots of VD (funny) videos and none really rang the Ah Ha bell. Finally, one evening, out of the blue, it hits me. No one has ever explained to my way of thinking, how the multimeter computes VD. In a perfect circuit (power on) with the multimeter leads on the beginning and the end of the circuit, you should get close to 0 voltage reading. However when there is a high resistance the multimeter leads allow current to flow past the resistance (path of least resistance). It is then measured in the volts instead of ohms. This is actually ohms law, you just do not see it.
Still have a problem with the term voltage drop. What we are really looking for is a resistance in the circuit. You cannot see voltage, but you can see some form of resistance which would usually be measured in ohms. But you cannot read ohms in a powered circuit, it will destroy the multimeter. So we have to use the DC volts scale instead.
The multiple hill analogy cleared it up for me as well. Thanks!
Very good. Liked understanding resistance on ground side. Very good.
Honestly, the "hill to overcome" analogy to explain resistance felt rather confusing for me. But I watched several other videos before that,- so I knew what you wanted to explain. So I watched the full video. And I think it's good. Bc, other people may profit from it the way it is. It is a complex concept, but once you get your head around it, it's logic.
It's actually a great explanation. Resistive loads are just added in a circuit
I would maybe simplify the wire layout a bit so it's easier to see what is plugged in where
I would maybe simplify the wire layout a bit so it's easier to see what is plugged in where
I would maybe simplify the wire layout a bit so it's easier to see what is plugged in where
I would maybe simplify the wire layout a bit so it's easier to see what is plugged in where
I understood perfectly. I finally understand
Probably too late for comments. The subject was well explained, great job. The problem I had was that I couldn’t see the meter screen or the entire circuit when you were taking your measurements. I think to make the process more visual, you could’ve drawn the circuit on the white board then after after you made the measurement, go to the white board and show the lead locations so we could easily see where they were in the circuit. But you did a good job. I liked the hill analogy.
Man your videos are some of the best on the Internet seriously they are
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.
Yeah those are the "ballpark" numbers. Smaller load on smaller wires must have a smaller voltage drop.
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.
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.
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.
Good video! you may want to take the time to mount the circuit on a piece of plywood with single wires like your dry erase board diagram. I've found people will grasp the concept faster if pos and neg are separated and the "circle" is easy to see. I use a garden hose with a spray-gun attachment to describe voltage drop. pressure is voltage, kink is resistance, flow is current. Kink the hose a little. Both sides of the kink have pressure. Pull the trigger (activate the circuit) and you can see there is very little pressure at the nozzle (voltage drop). release the trigger and both sides of the kink will pressurize equally eventually (full voltage in a circuit that's off). EXCELLENT idea using the multiple devices! Keep up the great work!
Excellent explanation, examples and demonstration of basic fundamentals! Great job, not confusing at all.
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
Me too
By far the best thing so far to test for a voltage drop on power and ground circuits is a Load Pro.
Excellent description. Fully understand, would want a more in depth power probe checking. But fully understand the volt meter explanation
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
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..
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.
Hi thanks for your input. I thought the early part was well explained using the white board. But you seemed to go quicker as it
got complicated . I will need to to watch it a few more times. Well done thanks again
Bad connection = resistance = "hill"; Ideal connection = no resistance = "flat"; In more scientific terms V= I x R where V is the voltage drop across the connection and R is the resistance (I is current greater than zero; i.e. the circuit has to be connected and electricity flowing for this work). With a constant current, as resistance, R, goes up (bad connection, corrosion) voltage V (as measured by the meter) goes up. Thank you for a great video.
You are a GREAT teacher !!! 100% clear and easy to understand. Wow!
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 !
You should teach them Ohm's Law first. You have a series circuit that has a lamp (32.5 ohms) and a 2 ohm resistor and the resistance in the jumper cables/alligator clip bad connection which equal 13.4 ohms. Your total circuit resistance is 47.9 ohms. Your total voltage is 12.45 DC volts and your total current is 0.26 DC amps. In your homemade circuit you actually have several bad voltage drops. You have the 2 ohm resistor and the bad test leads and connectors. The engineered intended circuit was a battery, a lamp rated at 32.5 ohms and the wire to the lamp and back to battery which should be 1 ohm or less not 13.4 ohms from bad connections in your example. I followed along what you were saying but I think if they knew Ohms law they would know what the reading should be before taking a meter to the circuit. I really love you videos. Keep up the great work!
Thank you, very informative video
Love how you got to the core of simplify it .
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
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.
Just the video i was waiting for from someone i look up to 🙂
Auto elec student here. Explained and did demo verywell
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!
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. 👍👍
You explained it great thank you for the video you helped me understand what a voltage drop is and how it works!!!
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
Thanks Sherwood, I found that explanation & demonstration very good.
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.
Great video as usual. I like the kinked hose analogy personally. My 2 cents.
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
Brilliant video. Many thanks. I didn't know that voltage was so smart. :)
Looking forward to seeing your class at tst.
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 man I’m going to use this to teach people voltage drops
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..!
Well done guys good vid, I use a load pro for testing of voltage drop and I find it very useful, you guys should do a video using one, an incredibly simple tool that adds another dimension to the multi meter
Great video.The hill analogy works for me 👍.
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!
Excelent video. Great analogy.
the only thing I would like to know more about is the potential difference. the reading after the resistance should be the potential difference, so the voltage should be 12.6 V on the last step towards the ground and not 0 V on the multimeter. If I understood correctly. greetings
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
Very excellent instructions for a DIY non-mechanic. I did find the power probe and loading the module was confusing.
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.
Fantastic Job!! Enjoy your guys videos.. 👍🏻
I was always taught the water explanation, I think the hill explanation is more relatable.
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!
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!
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
Great video great explanation the hill works for us runners at Least years ago😁I used to run 👊🏻👍🏻 more like this please
Thanks for your time brother.
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.
Love 💗 the way you ask for feed back!
Good information for basic voltage drops! 24:18
Video was very clear, I am a trainer for my company and our basic electrical class is very similar
Thanks for the great video. Doe make sense. Very helpful. Cheers👏👏
Very well explained. Great video.
Great training video.
Great job. Thanks extremely helpful
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.