Anyone notice how our Boy has gotten smoother in his speaking delivery ? It doesn't matter if I watch a new release video or an older version of SMA , Eric still entertains me. But after all his videos , everything is honest and comes direct from his heart. I'm glad he made something of himself !
HOLY cow this was a long one. No armchair talk from me. The time you took to share your method made this video complete. Better than a mechanic course. way to go Eric. Thanks -John
South Main Auto Repair: another great job Eric. You sir are THE man. Heck you explain it better than even the technical schools do. It's too bad high school shop classes aren't available anymore in your area, bummer isn't it. Not to worry because the students now have you as their teacher.
@@SouthMainAuto As I watch these, my one question is: "Does everyone fully understand just what is is you give up in order to do these late night videos?" The day time vids do slow you down, but you don't allow them to take up more time than is available. The night time vids are a whole different story. You are giving up precious time that would otherwise be spent with YOUR FAMILY. That, Sir, is an enormous sacrifice! You could focus on expanding your business and devoting all of your spare time towards your family and not one person in the world could fault you for that. Your channel is NOT for your benefit, you are doing this to help everyone else. You ARE making the World a better place for it. Thank you for ALL of the time you spend on your channel for out benefit. We all can learn something. When we stop learning, we start dying...
There is a way to check out power circuits and a wrong way. What he demonstrated here is the correct way even though it takes a while to complete. Thanks Eric. Cheers!
Thanks for the video. No point making these if you sum things up in 2 min, cut to the chase. The educational content on these videos are priceless. Anyways thanks for sharing.
Had a similar issue on a Mack truck the other night. Wouldn't charge. Another shift put in batteries and an alternator. All it was.....loose engine block ground bolt. Good diag and very thorough. I like to do the same. Make sure I'm right before I order parts.
Going back 30 years or so. Q. How do you tell that you forgot the earth strap after installing the engine? A. The choke cable vapourises when cranking.
Everyone...especially those that own a Powerstroke need to watch this UA-cam video: "Bad ground kills Powerstroke transmission". Very educational...the more grounds the better for your powerstroke.
I do not work in cars,not a mechanic I am an instrument tech/control troubleshooting electrician , And I am learning a lot from your troubleshooting skills. Thanks.
My brother, I am the same. I do drawings in construction. I do drawings in roofing, and some people don't even know what the heck. I'm talking about, but when I do the drawings. For some reason or another way to understand you are doing the perfect thing. Don't knock yourself down. You're a good man.
very well explained for a tricky problem. Some basic electrical knowledge helps to understand this. even nicer to see a mechanic ..err .. technician, actually diagnose things and not just throw parts at it.
I'm an electronic tech, and the second thing I'd check after battery voltage, and finding a differential, is measure the resistance between battery terminals, neg to neg, pos to pos. If you're measuring a different voltage across two devices that are in parallel, then they're not truly in parallel. Something ain't right. Also, as a tech, 'chassis grounds' in any device, unless silver or gold plated, (copper can work but not as well) are problematic when using them to conduct hundreds of amps as needed to crank the engine. Always connect a healthy gauge of copper wire between those terminals with a common ground at the starter via the same heavy gauge wire. And equal gauge from the solenoid back to the batteries. Wire is cheap in the big scheme of things. Always wire directly for ground returns on high current devices.
Sometimes a continuity (resistance) check is a better approach than voltage. Either points you toward a fix, but if it was me and I knew that the batteries were truly connected in parallel I'd: Check resistance between the (+) battery terminals (should be near zero Ohms) Check resistance between the (-) battery terminals (should be near zero Ohms) The second test fails in this situation, so: Check resistance of each battery's negative terminal to chassis. The defective chassis ground of the offending battery would immediately be apparent. Nice post. I admire the energy and effort that you put into this channel.
This was a great video, Eric. I appreciate your taking us on this learning journey. The proof of concept technique was the extra step but also informative. These “teaching moments” (and the humor) is what keeps me coming back for more. Oh, and I loved the drawing on Scotty too.
Since I am an old school guy as soon as I knew one battery was out of the circuit I would have brought out the jumper cables for trial and error work to get everything working. In this case I would made the repair with a heavy duty ground strap from the engine to the frame. Probably the way your dad would have done it. All cars and trucks should have an engine to frame ground strap and a body to frame strap to ensure a consistent ground. I am 71 years old and like your dad I grew up in a time when we didn't have much to work with. We just think a little differently. I do enjoy watching your brain work with logic of the computerized systems we have today. You make it look easy and it probably is when you have the wiring diagrams available and the scan tools you have. You are at a level not many mechanics will ever achieve. Keep up the good videos and I will keep watching.
Anyone who has a desire to understand the very real issues that can arise from un-wanted voltage drop should watch this all the way to the end. Eric is a very good, thorough and reliable instructor which is why he does things the way he does. Please watch the whole video if you want to improve your knowledge on this issue.
Eric, as soon as you drew your wiring diagram of how the batteries were wired up I knew exactly where the trouble was. Only because I used to work in the RV industry and worked on many coaches with multiple battery set up and often saw issues like this. Your scope use just blows me away.
Alternator charges batteries, batteries crank engine, engine running, alternator runs lights,all accessories, and plow motor also plow lights. The only GROUND between the alternator and ALL of the above is the connection that you found FRIED. Ground for the plow is going back to the Neg. Battery terminal NOT the ENGINE BLOCK. Remember the Plow is AFTER-MARKET, Ford doesn't know its there and the Plow manufacture doesn't know its installed on that Ford so all they can do is rig it to ground to the battery. Answer is an extra ground cable from the alternator mounting bolt to the plow motor.
The battery saw the alternator voltage, so no, the alternator was fine, its connected to the battery. The only problem was the ground of the "second" battery never reached that of the still working battery at the chassis. See 29:00
I made my "bad ground" diagnosis at the point in the video when you didn't get the same voltage reading from each individual battery, that was the give away as to the problem for me. I have watched most of your videos and have learned a lot. I didn't cheat by watching the entire video and then composing my comment.
I always check the battery under load. I’ve had my battery say 13v and when I hit the key drop below 6v. I really enjoy your videos. One of my favorite things is to diagnosis problems. I always guess at the beginning where I would start and what the problem would be. Doesn’t have to be a vehicle. I did it for a friends a/c and another persons washing machine. Fixed a lawn mower a couple days ago. It helps keep my old brain working.
Well done Eric, it's good how you you don't guess the problem but methodically figure it out. We have all had the "guess" work done, cost money and the problem still existed, it is frustrating especially when you have to bring the car back for the same problem. Your Granny was a wise lady? Kind regards from Tassie John
I put this on so I could have something to listen to while trying to fall asleep, I ended up watching it, and I understand voltage drop tests and diagnosing a problem like this so much better now. Good stuff
At first I was a little surprised you are using current from the battery charger to get electrons moving enough to do the testing, but then I realized it is such a common situation, the technique almost falls into your lap. Good idea. I have to confess, with the big difference in voltages between the two batteries, I would have switched to static testing with an ohmeter, then switched back if I didn't find the break. It would be interesting to see what kind of current flows on those 12 gauge wires 'protected' by the 150A fuse. Even in an old truck, as you point out, that's a fire waiting to happen when either battery eventually fails. If he didn't want to pay for a heavy connection wire, I might have added a fuse to the 12 gauge wire to protect the 40A limit it is designed to carry.
i would have put jumper cables on both batteries to produce a common ground then check battery voltage then it would show no voltage drop then it would show a bad ground
The best demonstration of a bad ground I’ve ever seen. All the effort and illustration made it even better. It goes to show you that what seems obvious may be an illusion. I now know to go to what seems good and prove that it is good. Someone else may have just assumed that what seems like a good connection really may not be a good connection. Very good job.
Thank you for the time you take to explain how the 2 batteries are connected and for the lesson in trouble shooting. The “sparks/firework's” were a bonus!! Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.
My Cummins dual batteries are not connected under normal circumstances. They charge through a 2 bank battery isolator and a solenoid parallels them when cranking. I have become a fan and always learn something from these videos.
When you're wrenching days are over you ought to become a teacher your knowledge of the engine and how to diagnose is off the charts see where I went with that
Not 1 comment after he pulled out the cable and said “ the y” a place we all like to be. Did every one of miss that??? Thanks Eric for keeping your videos fun.
This is an outstanding video for troubleshooting! Eric's systematic step by step process and detailed explanation allows you to follow along. This is worth watching more than once due to the foundational troubleshooting concepts presented. Good video for the beginner and the experienced mechanic. You couldn't get a better instructor.
That could have been + or - connections especially with all the extra connection points & 2 batteries, snow plow crap. Good voltage drop testing especially on that mess and load testing like Grandma taught you. I was waiting for the ohms test to pass like they usually do b/c all you need is a good strand but it was crispy burnt. Nice Saturday afternoon entertaining instructional video. Just finished rebuilding my motorcycle carbs & needed a break before installing them and there was your video.
+South Main Auto Repair Yep the more strands that broke the hotter it got, the more arcing and your saying "One Two BBQ"...:-) Would have been nice to show how it could pass an ohms check and fail under a loaded circuit.
I appreciate your method. I totally respect your efforts to 100% confirm before jumping ahead to your best guess. When you were pretty sure the passenger side ground was the issue, I was like " OK clean and check those grounds on the passenger side" ...but we still didn't know which wire or connection point was bad. Thank you for being thorough. I have learned a lot from you.
Just wented to say just started watching your videos an had this problem nothing like helping people out without lying to make money thanks u appreciate you and your videos brother they sure do help people wish they had more people like u in the world thanks brother man !!!!.
@@ChristoherWGray He does some strange stuff. Scotty : never buy a Ford eco boost they're junk! Ford : we have a check for $5000 If you say eco boost is really a great engine Scotty: I was wrong about the Ford eco boost, they really are great engines.
Electrons are still a bit of a mystery although coming a lot clearer with your teaching, I am still learning, thank you for that.We were always told to work smarter not harder, as seen in this video good to see your thought process and did save you a lot of rust in the eyes.I dealt with mechanical' s and not electrical's, we had people in the aviation industry that did that.
After your diagram I would have checked the cable to the engine...I bet if you connect a jumper cable from the battery neg. to the engine block it will start !!
When he said let's go to the scotty board, i thought it was like a brand name or something and when i saw, literally a scotty with a chainsaw, plus cartoon pants, i almost blacked out laughing, funniest guy ever haha
I just finished watching a couple of videos, and I didn't see any Brake Kleen in either one! I hope you're not ill. I started buying the stuff by the case a few years ago, and my son is now a confirmed brake kleen addict also. One job that I haven't seen you use it for is cleaning your HAT. I use it on my favorite, and it has kept it looking surprisingly good after 6 years. Love watching, and have learned a ton. THANKS
I noticed CCA has made it's way into battery feed cables for manufacturers to save money. I learned my lesson by avoiding CCA which stands for Copper Clad Aluminium. It looks just like copper at a lower price. The aluminum deteriates very fast but the wires still look good. Made the costly mistake of using that garbage on a front and back winch feed and had to replace all of it with copper welding wire. Don't be fooled by the cheap CCP crud. Look for solid core copper. battery feeds. Looks like this truck was a victim of that garbage. The way you can verify it, is hand torch it. The aluminium disentigrates fast where-as the copper just heats up.
Never thought of using a battery charger for voltage drop checks. That is a most valuable tip. An extra piece of raisin pie for Eric (after you recover from the burritos).
Excellent video Eric, the bottom line here is the ability to fault find using voltage drop with purely a multimeter and not complicating it with "other" tools. Most folk play with the positive but tend to "ignore" the negative as I suppose it's deemed more complex, but it's not. It's a process many people do not fully understand, but, it's worth going through the pain to understand. Certainly speeds up fault finding once you do fully understand. Keep up the good work :) PS: you sure the little curly fairy was out !
I think this guy is very clever. He's always working on things that are very hard. I like his manner the way he is, I think he's the greatest. He sees it the way it is and he tells it the way. It's gonna be sorry that he curses. Everyone's around, but Hey, we all do this be adults.
I prefer the roundabout to the solution. I guessed that it was the wire between the frame and motor, the key is why. To get to the key you have to know how to check. I like seeing the voltage drop, easy test. Keep em comin!
SMAR LLC thx for the great informative video of diagnostic trouble shooting not a parts changer. I worked at McConnell Douglas in early 80s on MD80s had one with function test fail on DFGC was ready to open cargo area from nose to tsil to check all connections and wire looms when an old A/C electrician I was working with sat with his pipe in mouth staring into space for about 20min then told me what frame station # location to accesss a Cannon Connector and pin# that was depressed and not seated properly fixed it and problem solved all from working it out in his head. Learned a valuable lesson from Tom that night. #
Great diag! never seen that before on a 6.0, I have seen something like that before, I remember years ago I diaged a no crank on an 80 ish f150 needing a negative battery cable voltage drop proved it was the cable my service advisor didn't believe me jumper cables proved I was right! the shop I work at now also had a Volvo with a slow crank issue after helping the other tech prove it was a voltage drop on the positive cable running to the rear battery, the customer declined the 16 hrs plus parts to replace the cable
Robert jissbom to replace the cable requires complete interior removal as the cable runs inside the cabin, yes it is good we ran a extra cable under the car to the battery with cable we made with protection from abrasion too. No more hard crank
I always find it interesting how different test equipment behaves under different test conditions. The other extremely interesting test is a high voltage insulation test. To make sure that insulation for cables is working correctly in high voltage usage. The first time i was introduced to this test it left me in awe. Cause I had never considered that a failure point. Just like with any test/measurement equipment. Its important to know where your equipment is inaccurate and how large the inaccuracy can be in those ranges.
I guess I like his demeanor he goes down to business finds it. He works hard at what he does. He should be paid very well. I don't think he's getting paid enough. May God bless him and his family and they do very well in life.
your marker went into what ai call the INTERTRANSDIMESIONAL RIFT....I do that when I am machining a part, lay my mic or vinier down and when I turn to get it to check it is GONE (wavy). then when not looking for it and continue ...then a small gremlin laugh and POOF there it is.
I think Scotty is very proud you made him a part of this video. Maybe he probably wouldn't have had the bean burritos for lunch though. Another great video and great information too. Thanks Eric and keep'em coming.
The easiest fix for this problem is to put an extra ground cable from the drivers side battery to the block. Dont forget the starter is on the motor and the computer is on the chassis. So frame, block, chassis and motor all have to be grounded to each other. Great videos
If the batteries are hooked together in parallel, how can you get different voltages on your meter? Shouldn't your meter show an equal average of the batteries on both batteries? Looks like a bad ground somewhere to me.
Bean burrito, I love those things too... Scotty took the marker... Love the diagnostic on this one. Simple circuit but narrowing down the correct cable and spending extra time for our benefit was awesome. I appreciate that. Wow, I've never seen a battery cable that bad. I made it this far and I do feel ya!
Hi Eric greeting from IRAQ nice diagnosis but if it was my car i would simply put a new cable from the battery to the nearest screw in the body and live goes on , and why there was no brake cleaner in this video LOL
Whenever I installed an Aux Battery that was connected to the Main Battery directly, or through a Battery Isolator/Battery Charging Relay, I ALWAYS ran a ground from the Aux Battery to the Frame AND the Engine! I've eliminated SO MANY problems that way. I had a Ford F250 that spent most of its like at a different (Los Angeles Dept of Water and Power) yard, NEAR TO the Pacific Ocean. Needless to say, there was plenty of crusties in the sheet metal, parts of the frame and........you know the song. The vehicle had "INTERMITTENT" electrical problems for over a year. The mechanic at the yard finally gave up on it, brought it to me. (I was the Auto Electrician at the Main St, L.A. Shop) I did LOTS of voltage drop testing, both with engine running AND using the SNAP-ON Battery-Alternator-Starter tester while loading the (Power, Ground and other) circuits with the tester. Without a load, some had up to .5 Volt voltage drop. Loading it produced a surprise from the same .5 Volt drop, up to 1.5 Volt Drop ! ! So, I ran a 10 gauge black wire from inside the cab at the ground in back of the Driver Side kick panel (2004 F250 with a 5.4 V8), through the bulkhead/firewall to the grounds on the bulkhead, the driver's side inner fender panel, the radiator core support, to the passenger side inner panel grounds to FINALLY, the Small Wire battery ground on the passenger side inner fender panel. The original ground at that point was loose, thanks to a (AGHHH) sheet metal screw ! ! I installed a "nutsert" into the panel and connected the new 10 gauge ground with the battery ground at this point being held by a 1/4" bolt and lockwasher tightening everything to Mike's Torque Spec! Retested for voltage drops, most were at .1 volt UNDER LOAD. The 1.5 Volt under load voltage drop went to .3 Volts drop under load. The driver took the truck, the next time I saw it was when I did the smog test to it about 6 months later. ALL my connections with the 10 gauge were crimped and soldered. No more problems.
Off the hook, I have never seen the charger load a circuit before, I feel like a turd for not thinking of that, are you allowed to say turd on UA-cam. LOL Awesome vid buddy, voltage drop 101 plus. 👍👍
+South Main Auto Repair that's just to keep the government from snooping on all that top secret info on brake clean and beef jerky you guys have been talking about.
Could have taken the battery charger and hooked up positive to the battery and connect the ground to the alternator. The check the voltage at the battery. Then move the negative charger cable to the frame and check again. Keep up the good work. Really appreciate all you do!
That's wrong... You didn't use any Brake Clean for this whole video!!! :) BTW, I saw the my local Autozone started carrying Fluid Film. Bought a can. It has definitely earned a spot on the top of my tool box beside my Kroil.
Anyone notice how our Boy has gotten smoother in his speaking delivery ? It doesn't matter if I watch a new release video or an older version of SMA , Eric still entertains me. But after all his videos , everything is honest and comes direct from his heart. I'm glad he made something of himself !
I love it when you say "There's you're problem lady !"
your
I love the beginning, the look on Eric's face and the enthusiasm are like "Here we go again" 😞😟
HOLY cow this was a long one. No armchair talk from me. The time you took to share your method made this video complete. Better than a mechanic course. way to go Eric. Thanks -John
Hah nice John! Glad you liked it :)
South Main Auto Repair: another great job Eric. You sir are THE man. Heck you explain it better than even the technical schools do. It's too bad high school shop classes aren't available anymore in your area, bummer isn't it. Not to worry because the students now have you as their teacher.
@@SouthMainAuto As I watch these, my one question is: "Does everyone fully understand just what is is you give up in order to do these late night videos?" The day time vids do slow you down, but you don't allow them to take up more time than is available. The night time vids are a whole different story. You are giving up precious time that would otherwise be spent with YOUR FAMILY. That, Sir, is an enormous sacrifice! You could focus on expanding your business and devoting all of your spare time towards your family and not one person in the world could fault you for that. Your channel is NOT for your benefit, you are doing this to help everyone else. You ARE making the World a better place for it. Thank you for ALL of the time you spend on your channel for out benefit. We all can learn something. When we stop learning, we start dying...
@@lifeofgoldYou might want to do some research because he does get paid three subscriptions
There is a way to check out power circuits and a wrong way. What he demonstrated here is the correct way even though it takes a while to complete.
Thanks Eric.
Cheers!
Thanks for the video. No point making these if you sum things up in 2 min, cut to the chase. The educational content on these videos are priceless. Anyways thanks for sharing.
dwoodog well we kinda wanna see his thought process
Had a similar issue on a Mack truck the other night. Wouldn't charge. Another shift put in batteries and an alternator. All it was.....loose engine block ground bolt. Good diag and very thorough. I like to do the same. Make sure I'm right before I order parts.
+asavage1576 Gotta test not guess!
Going back 30 years or so.
Q. How do you tell that you forgot the earth strap after installing the engine?
A. The choke cable vapourises when cranking.
John Lamb
Isn't that just it too.
These people these days couldn't even imagine how stuffs changed.I forgot about that one.
You can smell the plastic sleeve burning 😋
VW engines used to light up the heater box cables when cranking the engine when there was not a good ground.
John,
Been there done that before. Not a good feeling either
There is no choke on a diesel.
Everyone...especially those that own a Powerstroke need to watch this UA-cam video: "Bad ground kills Powerstroke transmission". Very educational...the more grounds the better for your powerstroke.
love the whiteboard commentary. watching your video while working on my own car, underbody rust repair/ undercoating.
I do not work in cars,not a mechanic I am an instrument tech/control troubleshooting electrician ,
And I am learning a lot from your troubleshooting skills.
Thanks.
You are an amazing teacher ! Never underestimate your skills thank you 😊
My brother, I am the same. I do drawings in construction. I do drawings in roofing, and some people don't even know what the heck. I'm talking about, but when I do the drawings. For some reason or another way to understand you are doing the perfect thing. Don't knock yourself down. You're a good man.
very well explained for a tricky problem.
Some basic electrical knowledge helps to understand this.
even nicer to see a mechanic ..err .. technician, actually diagnose things and not just throw parts at it.
The presentation was for mechanics that did not have a strong understanding of electrical troubleshooting
I'm an electronic tech, and the second thing I'd check after battery voltage, and finding a differential, is measure the resistance between battery terminals, neg to neg, pos to pos. If you're measuring a different voltage across two devices that are in parallel, then they're not truly in parallel. Something ain't right. Also, as a tech, 'chassis grounds' in any device, unless silver or gold plated, (copper can work but not as well) are problematic when using them to conduct hundreds of amps as needed to crank the engine. Always connect a healthy gauge of copper wire between those terminals with a common ground at the starter via the same heavy gauge wire. And equal gauge from the solenoid back to the batteries. Wire is cheap in the big scheme of things. Always wire directly for ground returns on high current devices.
Sometimes a continuity (resistance) check is a better approach than voltage. Either points you toward a fix, but if it was me and I knew that the batteries were truly connected in parallel I'd:
Check resistance between the (+) battery terminals (should be near zero Ohms)
Check resistance between the (-) battery terminals (should be near zero Ohms)
The second test fails in this situation, so:
Check resistance of each battery's negative terminal to chassis. The defective chassis ground of the offending battery would immediately be apparent.
Nice post. I admire the energy and effort that you put into this channel.
This was a great video, Eric. I appreciate your taking us on this learning journey. The proof of concept technique was the extra step but also informative. These “teaching moments” (and the humor) is what keeps me coming back for more. Oh, and I loved the drawing on Scotty too.
Since I am an old school guy as soon as I knew one battery was out of the circuit I would have brought out the jumper cables for trial and error work to get everything working. In this case I would made the repair with a heavy duty ground strap from the engine to the frame. Probably the way your dad would have done it. All cars and trucks should have an engine to frame ground strap and a body to frame strap to ensure a consistent ground. I am 71 years old and like your dad I grew up in a time when we didn't have much to work with. We just think a little differently. I do enjoy watching your brain work with logic of the computerized systems we have today. You make it look easy and it probably is when you have the wiring diagrams available and the scan tools you have. You are at a level not many mechanics will ever achieve. Keep up the good videos and I will keep watching.
Holy RockAuto Fridge magnets Batman!
Anyone who has a desire to understand the very real issues that can arise from un-wanted voltage drop should watch this all the way to the end. Eric is a very good, thorough and reliable instructor which is why he does things the way he does. Please watch the whole video if you want to improve your knowledge on this issue.
When it comes to electrical issues it’s always one of two things, the ground or the last person who worked on it. Lol
Or of course a blown inline fuse, or toasted wire as its also known lol
Or a shit ton of other things
😂😂😂
I'm running into a last guy who worked on it problem I think
@@jordonmaccormack7942 "keep it in the back of your mind, but take it with a grain of salt."
Eric, as soon as you drew your wiring diagram of how the batteries were wired up I knew exactly where the trouble was. Only because I used to work in the RV industry and worked on many coaches with multiple battery set up and often saw issues like this. Your scope use just blows me away.
Alternator charges batteries, batteries crank engine, engine running, alternator runs lights,all accessories, and plow motor also plow lights. The only GROUND between the alternator and ALL of the above is the connection that you found FRIED. Ground for the plow is going back to the Neg. Battery terminal NOT the ENGINE BLOCK. Remember the Plow is AFTER-MARKET, Ford doesn't know its there and the Plow manufacture doesn't know its installed on that Ford so all they can do is rig it to ground to the battery. Answer is an extra ground cable from the alternator mounting bolt to the plow motor.
The battery saw the alternator voltage, so no, the alternator was fine, its connected to the battery. The only problem was the ground of the "second" battery never reached that of the still working battery at the chassis. See 29:00
I made my "bad ground" diagnosis at the point in the video when you didn't get the same voltage reading from each individual battery, that was the give away as to the problem for me. I have watched most of your videos and have learned a lot. I didn't cheat by watching the entire video and then composing my comment.
I think your methods are not only correct, but some of the best I've seen. Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing! 😁
I always check the battery under load. I’ve had my battery say 13v and when I hit the key drop below 6v. I really enjoy your videos. One of my favorite things is to diagnosis problems. I always guess at the beginning where I would start and what the problem would be. Doesn’t have to be a vehicle. I did it for a friends a/c and another persons washing machine. Fixed a lawn mower a couple days ago. It helps keep my old brain working.
Well done Eric, it's good how you you don't guess the problem but methodically figure it out. We have all had the "guess" work done, cost money and the problem still existed, it is frustrating especially when you have to bring the car back for the same problem. Your Granny was a wise lady? Kind regards from Tassie John
Ditto
I put this on so I could have something to listen to while trying to fall asleep, I ended up watching it, and I understand voltage drop tests and diagnosing a problem like this so much better now. Good stuff
Not at all,folks talking and music helps me get my mind off things and fall asleep. Didn't work this time though, it was too interesting
Great video, troubleshooting electrical problems always seem difficult, you make them appear simple. Thanks for the videos!
Estuvo muy vien iterpretado muchas grasias
10:30 that is what i call charisma right there. that turn and nod to the camera is so natural and comfortable.
At first I was a little surprised you are using current from the battery charger to get electrons moving enough to do the testing, but then I realized it is such a common situation, the technique almost falls into your lap. Good idea. I have to confess, with the big difference in voltages between the two batteries, I would have switched to static testing with an ohmeter, then switched back if I didn't find the break. It would be interesting to see what kind of current flows on those 12 gauge wires 'protected' by the 150A fuse. Even in an old truck, as you point out, that's a fire waiting to happen when either battery eventually fails. If he didn't want to pay for a heavy connection wire, I might have added a fuse to the 12 gauge wire to protect the 40A limit it is designed to carry.
i would have put jumper cables on both batteries to produce a common ground then check battery voltage then it would show no voltage drop then it would show a bad ground
@@leereynolds2911 you would still have to isolate which ground wire was at fault.
The best demonstration of a bad ground I’ve ever seen. All the effort and illustration made it even better. It goes to show you that what seems obvious may be an illusion. I now know to go to what seems good and prove that it is good. Someone else may have just assumed that what seems like a good connection really may not be a good connection. Very good job.
"There is the brown pudding" are you talking about the gas station burritos again?
good ole taco bell
Two girls, one cup
I’m not even having this issue with my 6.0 but I know I’m going to get a pro level explanation on this issue and definitely learn something new.
Thanks for the education, I must adopt the drawing it out method, it really helps.
You sure do know about cars but your missus knows about food.
You are a very impressive trouble shooter. Please stop putting yourself down. I learn so much from every video I watch. Thank you!
Amazing video as always. Love the famous last words. "there's your problem lady".
Thank you for the time you take to explain how the 2 batteries are connected and for the lesson in trouble shooting.
The “sparks/firework's” were a bonus!!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.
You have great diagnostic skills
This is a perfect example of how and why to investigate the circuit layout and how to use the voltage drop test. Good work.
thanks eric always wanted to see a video on dual battery diesels im sure the same basic principal applies to the duramax and the cummins good job
+Mark Ferraro Yep one two or ten batteries, ya just need to know how they are hooked up and where every one goes.
It's crazy how much trouble a bad ground can cause. Great video 👍👍👍👍👍
This is one of the best voltage drop videos I've seen. Thanks for posting it.
Thanks +Adrian Kingsley-Hughes
My Cummins dual batteries are not connected under normal circumstances. They charge through a 2 bank battery isolator and a solenoid parallels them when cranking. I have become a fan and always learn something from these videos.
A call to the owner: "The good news is the fuel gauge is fixed, the bad news is that it won't start" lol....
+ICU2 The fuel gauge is now as useful as a decal.
+SirDeanosity Haha
+SirDeanosity The fuel gauge is now as useful as the Scotty Kilmer decal. Which is as useful as watching Scotty Kilmer.
Eric: did you make or buy a cable for this truck?
bought it from Ford around 50 bucks
When you're wrenching days are over you ought to become a teacher your knowledge of the engine and how to diagnose is off the charts see where I went with that
Mr. O! Thank you! I needed a laugh today! Double beef and bean burritos for lunch!
Classic!
Not 1 comment after he pulled out the cable and said “ the y” a place we all like to be.
Did every one of miss that???
Thanks Eric for keeping your videos fun.
Love the Scotty kill-MORE addition to your dry erase board😜👌
This is an outstanding video for troubleshooting! Eric's systematic step by step process and detailed explanation allows you to follow along. This is worth watching more than once due to the foundational troubleshooting concepts presented. Good video for the beginner and the experienced mechanic. You couldn't get a better instructor.
That could have been + or - connections especially with all the extra connection points & 2 batteries, snow plow crap. Good voltage drop testing especially on that mess and load testing like Grandma taught you. I was waiting for the ohms test to pass like they usually do b/c all you need is a good strand but it was crispy burnt. Nice Saturday afternoon entertaining instructional video. Just finished rebuilding my motorcycle carbs & needed a break before installing them and there was your video.
+Hayward's Automotive I was really hoping it passed to but I am sure at the point one strand was holding on it got a little toast :)
+South Main Auto Repair Yep the more strands that broke the hotter it got, the more arcing and your saying "One Two BBQ"...:-) Would have been nice to show how it could pass an ohms check and fail under a loaded circuit.
Yeah I was really hoping too, that is why I threw the ohm meter under the bus a bit before getting the results... Oh well. Next time :)
A perfect descriptive course in high current DC fault analyisis. The guy is smart
Great lesson. I learned a lot. Thanks Mr. E O.
You sir, are a diagnostic GENIUS. I would drive from Canada just to have you service my vehicle.
You are really productive, putting out videos all the time. Thanks alot. Always informative and entertaining. Greetings from Norway :-)
I appreciate your method. I totally respect your efforts to 100% confirm before jumping ahead to your best guess. When you were pretty sure the passenger side ground was the issue, I was like " OK clean and check those grounds on the passenger side" ...but we still didn't know which wire or connection point was bad. Thank you for being thorough. I have learned a lot from you.
But wait ! There's more ! Usual " New York "stuff", the black marker...to many to list!
You crack me up!!
Is Eric O. Thinking he's Billy May's? 😂😂😂😂
My two favorite car guys...Eric and Scotty!!
Top notch voltage drop clinic. Thanks so much Eric!
Just wented to say just started watching your videos an had this problem nothing like helping people out without lying to make money thanks u appreciate you and your videos brother they sure do help people wish they had more people like u in the world thanks brother man !!!!.
" The Scotty board of knowledge ". Hahahahaha!!! 😂😂😂😂
Yeah, thats why it's blank most of the time.......
Rev up yer knowledge!!!
And don't forget, if you never wanna miss another video from me again, ya gotta ring dat bell!!!
When has SK said anything other than yelling and generalities
I must have missed his more intelligent videos
@@ChristoherWGray
He does some strange stuff.
Scotty : never buy a Ford eco boost they're junk!
Ford : we have a check for $5000 If you say eco boost is really a great engine
Scotty: I was wrong about the Ford eco boost, they really are great engines.
Scotty grew some legs in this video
Electrons are still a bit of a mystery although coming a lot clearer with your teaching, I am still learning, thank you for that.We were always told to work smarter not harder, as seen in this video good to see your thought process and did save you a lot of rust in the eyes.I dealt with mechanical' s and not electrical's, we had people in the aviation industry that did that.
After your diagram I would have checked the cable to the engine...I bet if you connect a jumper cable from the battery neg. to the engine block it will start !!
Your grandmother was one smart person love this one
When he said let's go to the scotty board, i thought it was like a brand name or something and when i saw, literally a scotty with a chainsaw, plus cartoon pants, i almost blacked out laughing, funniest guy ever haha
Just read this comment out loud and started crying.. 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Scotty board LMFAO
Lmfao your comment! Long time viewers knows Mr Eric O. Pokes ol' scotty from time to time, it's all in good fun!
At the beginning of the video, the cartoon pants aren't there. At 13:00 no. At 22:00 they are there.
I just finished watching a couple of videos, and I didn't see any Brake Kleen in either one! I hope you're not ill. I started buying the stuff by the case a few years ago, and my son is now a confirmed brake kleen addict also. One job that I haven't seen you use it for is cleaning your HAT. I use it on my favorite, and it has kept it looking surprisingly good after 6 years. Love watching, and have learned a ton. THANKS
I noticed CCA has made it's way into battery feed cables for manufacturers to save money. I learned my lesson by avoiding CCA which stands for Copper Clad Aluminium. It looks just like copper at a lower price. The aluminum deteriates very fast but the wires still look good. Made the costly mistake of using that garbage on a front and back winch feed and had to replace all of it with copper welding wire. Don't be fooled by the cheap CCP crud. Look for solid core copper. battery feeds. Looks like this truck was a victim of that garbage. The way you can verify it, is hand torch it. The aluminium disentigrates fast where-as the copper just heats up.
This video has made me a subscriber!
It's near impossible to find anyone who can troubleshoot ANYTHING anymore.
Ninja Scotty hid the marker.
Never thought of using a battery charger for voltage drop checks. That is a most valuable tip. An extra piece of raisin pie for Eric (after you recover from the burritos).
I really fancy a Burrito now !
Excellent video Eric, the bottom line here is the ability to fault find using voltage drop with purely a multimeter and not complicating it with "other" tools. Most folk play with the positive but tend to "ignore" the negative as I suppose it's deemed more complex, but it's not. It's a process many people do not fully understand, but, it's worth going through the pain to understand. Certainly speeds up fault finding once you do fully understand. Keep up the good work :) PS: you sure the little curly fairy was out !
I'm really starting to like your videos more and more. OSHA approved bucket hahahahahaha
I think this guy is very clever. He's always working on things that are very hard. I like his manner the way he is, I think he's the greatest. He sees it the way it is and he tells it the way. It's gonna be sorry that he curses. Everyone's around, but Hey, we all do this be adults.
really learned a lot Eric, Thanks.
I prefer the roundabout to the solution. I guessed that it was the wire between the frame and motor, the key is why. To get to the key you have to know how to check. I like seeing the voltage drop, easy test. Keep em comin!
REV UP YOUR DUMP BOX! (Especially after two gas station burritos)
Don't shit yer dun ta duns, yo 😂😂
SMAR LLC thx for the great informative video of diagnostic trouble shooting not a parts changer. I worked at McConnell Douglas in early 80s on MD80s had one with function test fail on DFGC was ready to open cargo area from nose to tsil to check all connections and wire looms when an old A/C electrician I was working with sat with his pipe in mouth staring into space for about 20min then told me what frame station # location to accesss a Cannon Connector and pin# that was depressed and not seated properly fixed it and problem solved all from working it out in his head. Learned a valuable lesson from Tom that night.
#
Great diag! never seen that before on a 6.0, I have seen something like that before, I remember years ago I diaged a no crank on an 80 ish f150 needing a negative battery cable voltage drop proved it was the cable my service advisor didn't believe me jumper cables proved I was right! the shop I work at now also had a Volvo with a slow crank issue after helping the other tech prove it was a voltage drop on the positive cable running to the rear battery, the customer declined the 16 hrs plus parts to replace the cable
No doubt the volvo customer declined 16h work to change a cable.
And it is all good by now.
Robert jissbom to replace the cable requires complete interior removal as the cable runs inside the cabin, yes it is good we ran a extra cable under the car to the battery with cable we made with protection from abrasion too. No more hard crank
Nice "quick" fix,
Have vida SW but did not go deep on it, just first impression.
Once again brilliant logic and technical skill diagnosis of voltage drops leading to a proper resolution.
What's the snap on part number for that bucket?
I always find it interesting how different test equipment behaves under different test conditions. The other extremely interesting test is a high voltage insulation test. To make sure that insulation for cables is working correctly in high voltage usage. The first time i was introduced to this test it left me in awe. Cause I had never considered that a failure point. Just like with any test/measurement equipment. Its important to know where your equipment is inaccurate and how large the inaccuracy can be in those ranges.
Geez, I got extension envy after watching this vid!
+Adrian Kingsley-Hughes LOL I have a 48"er too...
This repair is why I watch SMA. Love your analysis and trouble shooting!
Scotty is using his telekinesis again.
+ManicMechanic007 Haha he sure did , just glad he gave it back :)
I guess I like his demeanor he goes down to business finds it. He works hard at what he does. He should be paid very well. I don't think he's getting paid enough. May God bless him and his family and they do very well in life.
your marker went into what ai call the INTERTRANSDIMESIONAL RIFT....I do that when I am machining a part, lay my mic or vinier down and when I turn to get it to check it is GONE (wavy). then when not looking for it and continue ...then a small gremlin laugh and POOF there it is.
The vortex that sits in the gap between dimensions!
Then suddenly... a vortex
FROM THE INTERNET
kidnapped Eric O.'s markers!!
I think Scotty is very proud you made him a part of this video. Maybe he probably wouldn't have had the bean burritos for lunch though. Another great video and great information too. Thanks Eric and keep'em coming.
OMG, I'm eating lunch and my sandwich came out of my nose when I saw Scotty...
Most thorough mechanic on youtube
Egg-shaped Harmonic Balancer on diagram: *"there's your problem lady!"*
The easiest fix for this problem is to put an extra ground cable from the drivers side battery to the block. Dont forget the starter is on the motor and the computer is on the chassis. So frame, block, chassis and motor all have to be grounded to each other. Great videos
If the batteries are hooked together in parallel, how can you get different voltages on your meter? Shouldn't your meter show an equal average of the batteries on both batteries? Looks like a bad ground somewhere to me.
+beechwood619 Did you see the video haha?
Yes and yes
I like the way you trouble shot that problem. Thorough and straight forward. 👍👍👍
Kick ass vid!
Bean burrito, I love those things too... Scotty took the marker... Love the diagnostic on this one. Simple circuit but narrowing down the correct cable and spending extra time for our benefit was awesome. I appreciate that. Wow, I've never seen a battery cable that bad. I made it this far and I do feel ya!
+wyattoneable Thanks for sticking it out :)
Hi Eric greeting from IRAQ nice diagnosis but if it was my car i would simply put a new cable from the battery to the nearest screw in the body and live goes on , and why there was no brake cleaner in this video LOL
Never would have lasted. That was a quality lead at one time. I would have ran from ground to ground at the batteries.
The body of the vehicle is seldom used to effect a ground for high amperage requirements.
Whenever I installed an Aux Battery that was connected to the Main Battery directly, or through a Battery Isolator/Battery Charging Relay, I ALWAYS ran a ground from the Aux Battery to the Frame AND the Engine! I've eliminated SO MANY problems that way. I had a Ford F250 that spent most of its like at a different (Los Angeles Dept of Water and Power) yard, NEAR TO the Pacific Ocean. Needless to say, there was plenty of crusties in the sheet metal, parts of the frame and........you know the song. The vehicle had "INTERMITTENT" electrical problems for over a year. The mechanic at the yard finally gave up on it, brought it to me. (I was the Auto Electrician at the Main St, L.A. Shop) I did LOTS of voltage drop testing, both with engine running AND using the SNAP-ON Battery-Alternator-Starter tester while loading the (Power, Ground and other) circuits with the tester. Without a load, some had up to .5 Volt voltage drop. Loading it produced a surprise from the same .5 Volt drop, up to 1.5 Volt Drop ! ! So, I ran a 10 gauge black wire from inside the cab at the ground in back of the Driver Side kick panel (2004 F250 with a 5.4 V8), through the bulkhead/firewall to the grounds on the bulkhead, the driver's side inner fender panel, the radiator core support, to the passenger side inner panel grounds to FINALLY, the Small Wire battery ground on the passenger side inner fender panel. The original ground at that point was loose, thanks to a (AGHHH) sheet metal screw ! ! I installed a "nutsert" into the panel and connected the new 10 gauge ground with the battery ground at this point being held by a 1/4" bolt and lockwasher tightening everything to Mike's Torque Spec! Retested for voltage drops, most were at .1 volt UNDER LOAD. The 1.5 Volt under load voltage drop went to .3 Volts drop under load. The driver took the truck, the next time I saw it was when I did the smog test to it about 6 months later. ALL my connections with the 10 gauge were crimped and soldered. No more problems.
Off the hook, I have never seen the charger load a circuit before, I feel like a turd for not thinking of that, are you allowed to say turd on UA-cam. LOL Awesome vid buddy, voltage drop 101 plus. 👍👍
turd is ok, ****** ends up as a load of stars.
+Badgertronix It that why when Steve messages me it looks like this **** ******** ***** ********* ** ***' **!!!
Does that mean he is mad?
South Main Auto Repair Nope just Canadian LOL
+South Main Auto Repair that's just to keep the government from snooping on all that top secret info on brake clean and beef jerky you guys have been talking about.
Could have taken the battery charger and hooked up positive to the battery and connect the ground to the alternator. The check the voltage at the battery. Then move the negative charger cable to the frame and check again. Keep up the good work. Really appreciate all you do!
That's wrong... You didn't use any Brake Clean for this whole video!!! :) BTW, I saw the my local Autozone started carrying Fluid Film. Bought a can. It has definitely earned a spot on the top of my tool box beside my Kroil.
+FrugalPrepper Oh cool, good stuff!
Nice going eric, you have excellent electrical troubleshooting skills. I have no problem with your methods of isolation whatsoever.