Have Fun Teaching Electrical Jim Halderman

Introduction Former flat-rate technician Former automotive college instructor Author of many automotive textbooks Still plays with cars Lives in Dayton, Ohio

Topics to be Discussed Meter usage made fun Wire repair-meter fuse Project-based learning LED test light Memory saver Speaker tester Theft deterrent Logic probe

Why do students take Automotive? Not to do math problems Not to learn a lot of theory They attend to learn how things work They want hands-on activities

Where do I start? Touching a battery Many in the class would not touch the terminals Gives them the “hands- on” knowledge of: Battery voltage (low) Body resistance (high)

You can’t see or feel electricity They have to measure electricity Voltage is the most commonly used measurement specified Measure voltage on their vehicles

CAT III Meters and Leads

Voltage Testing DC Volts is the most commonly used A “V” with a straight line above it. AC volts is a V with a wavy line on top

Series Demonstration A typical nine-volt battery contains six 1.5 volt AAAA batteries connected in series. The voltage adds would connected in series (1.5 X 6= 9 Volts) Students will never forget this

Dry Cell Battery Drop Test Good battery- stays up or bounces once Discharged battery- bounces several times Does not always work Use a voltmeter

Measure body resistance Gets students to use the meter Should them the Ohms symbol Show them where to place the test leads How much is normal?

Need to measure k-Ohms Normal body resistance is 200k to 400k Ohms If lower means dehydrated Can be over one million so they will measure 1.1 Meg Ohms which really confuses them

Meter Settings

Meter scales

What the meter reading means Think of MONEY! 1.00 = a dollar 0.50= fifty cents or a half dollar 0.25 = quarter 0.01 = a penny Milliamps I compare to thousandth of an inch such as bearing clearance amp is like 20 thousandth of an inch

Ammeter

Test Lead Connections

Protect the meter Fuse the meter lead Saves money because the expensive internal fuse will be protected. Use a 10 A. Fuse Tie a knot in the leads- keeps them from getting tangled

Project Based Learning The first week, students get a meter. We use the meter every day starting with checking their body resistance. Asked to purchase some low cost electrical parts that they can use to build projects for their project grade

Speaker Tester Uses a 1.5 volt battery Connect to the speaker terminals If positive (+) is to the positive terminal, the speaker cone moves away for the coil

Air Bag Diagnostic Tool Use a 2Ω ½ watt resistor as “load tool” to replace a module Most modules measure 1.5 to 3.5 Ohms

Shorting Bars When an air bag module is disconnected, spring-loaded shorting bars short the two terminals together Use stir straw to cover one of the shorting bars

Lighter Plug Tester Uses a double banana plug Terminals are ¾ inch apart-the same for all meters Lighter plug Some wire

Lighter Plug Tester Usage Domestic vehicles- Lighter (power)plug is “hot” at all times Import brands- Controlled through the ignition

Using the lighter Plug-#1 Battery Testing- Connect and watch voltmeter and turn on high beam headlights. Watch voltage drop After it stabilizes, turn off the lights Watch how fast the voltage increases The final voltage is the SOC.

Using the lighter Plug-#2 Cranking voltage- Crank the engine Observe the battery voltage Should be above 9.6 Volts during cranking

Using the lighter Plug-#3 Charging Voltage- Start the engine and observe the voltmeter Should be Volts

Using the lighter Plug-#4 AC Ripple Voltage- Start the engine Turn on the headlights to provide an electrical load Switch meter to read AC volts Should be less than 0.5 Volt

Diodes I do not wait to get to the electronics part of the course to teach diodes Most students can easily understand a diode

LEDs Red Green Blue Anode (+) Cathode (-) “A” comes before “C” so the anode is the positive and the cathode is the negative

LED Test Light One LED One 470Ω ½ W resistor A clicker style pen Some wire etc.

Memory Saver Very popular Can be used with a 9- Volt battery Can be connected to a jump box

OBD II DLC Memory Saver Use OBD II male connector…Pin #4(-) and #16(+) to lighter plug and to a jump box

Theft Deterrent Very popular Many students build this and install on their own vehicle Easy to build How does it work?

Logic Probe Use to check for power and ground A test light can only detect power (unless connected to power)

Parts List PROJECT #1 (Air Bag load tool) 2 ohm resistor and label One stir stick straw PROJECT #2 (Speaker tester) Battery holder PROJECT #3 (Lighter plug test tool) Double banana plug Lighter plug (male end with wire) – need to cut and strip wire Two black cable ties Pocket screwdriver PROJECT #4 (LED test light) LED 470 ohm resistor-1/2 Watt Two stripped wires 1 wire nut PROJECT #5 (Logic probe) One red LED One green LED Two-470 ohm resistors Three stripped wires 3 wire nuts

Parts and Prices

Parts and Prices #2

Electrical parts suppliers that I use (Mendelsons)

Summary Students love hands-on activities I try to get their hands on meters as soon as possible I give them projects that they can make using low-cost parts. Projects that are useful Have fun teaching electrical

Contact Information For a copy of this presentation go to: Click on “Jim’s Stuff” Click on “Conference Power Points”