Troubleshooting Electrical Circuits

EET-110
Research Paper
Prof. Jeevan D’Souza
I pledge to support the Honor System of ECPI. I will refrain from any form of academic dishonesty or deception, such as cheating or plagiarism. I am aware that as a member of an academic community it is my responsibility to turn in all suspected violators of the honor code. I understand that any failure on my part to support the Honor System will be turned over to a Judicial Review Board for determination. I will report to a Judicial Review Board hearing if summoned.
Signature: Gary Martin- 1/17/2016

Narrative My Topic for this research paper is Troubleshooting Electrical Circuits. I have a little experience with troubleshooting and maintenance of electrical circuits. I used to work in maintenance for a gentleman that owned twelve Burger Kings in my area. It was a very busy job, especially with regards to electrical issues. These Burger Kings had a lot of equipment, signs and electronics that required electrical power. Most of the equipment required extreme heat and for extended periods of time. When I started the job, I would go into one of my BK’s and the first thing I would do with an electrical issue was to test the issue to see what results I might get, most of the time the equipment just didn’t work at all. I would then go turn off the power to the equipment but, first I would make sure the breaker wasn’t thrown and the equipment had been properly plugged in to the power outlet to begin with. You would be amazed at how many times that I just simply plugged the equipment in! Most of the time if the breaker was thrown, there was either too much of a load for the circuit to handle or there was a short in the wiring somewhere. That high heat equipment sure drew a lot of power through those circuits. Sometimes, all I had to do was simply lighten the load on the circuit by taking some equipment of that circuit and plugging it in to another power outlet on another circuit. The breaker was bad sometimes but, I’ve only replaced a few breakers, usually wasn’t the issue. If I determined the circuit was not overloaded, I would then start to check the fuses on the equipment to make sure none were blown. If the fuses were ok, I would start inspecting wiring. Now, if regular wiring is used and not high temperature wire, then the insulation on the wire would melt and short out. I had to go through tons and tons of wiring through the different restaurants and replace regular wiring with the correct high temperature wiring. This high temperature wiring also needed to have the high temperature wire nuts if it were spliced anywhere. These wire nuts are made of a ceramic type material, heat resistant. Most of the time too when the wrong wiring had been used, the wires were various colors so it was very hard to tell which wire was what unless the source was right in front of me. Very frustrating. If all the wiring was ok, the connections were good, no bare wires were found, no fuses or breakers blown, the outlets were good, equipment power cords and plugs were good and I had exhausted every other possibility, then I would start testing the equipment internally. Most of these tasks could be completed with my trusty multi-meter. So many of these pieces of equipment had so many components it just took some time to figure out what the issue was. Most of the time it was wiring issues that caused issues, the bad wiring jobs were dangerous and costly to fix but, I final got it all replaced. I really enjoyed this kind or repair work, sometimes it was frustrating but, I enjoy fixing things, making them work and learning in the process. Most of my skills have come from just tearing something open to fix it, trial and error. I’ve learned a lot in my 41 years and I’ll continue to learn till the day I’m gone.

Bridge My topic for the research paper is Troubleshooting Electrical Circuits. When working with these electrical circuits the most important thing to remember is safety. If I can’t safely work on an issue that needs to be repaired, then it will have to wait until I can make it safe. Electricity has to be respected. Troubleshooting electrical circuits can be done easily if one does it safely, meticulously and has the knowledge to complete the task at hand. Having the right tools and equipment is very important when working with electricity, it can be the difference in an easy, safe job and a difficult, unsafe job. My multi-meter was my best friend, and it’s one of the most important tools you can possess. It can be used for so many different things. Knowing how circuits work is important knowledge when you are trying to troubleshoot and electrical circuit. Power source, voltage, current, resistance, switches, wiring, and so much more. Formulas to figure how much load is appropriate or a resistor or certain bulb. If a person doesn’t know how to figure these steps out, then more damage could be done than good. I’ll get answers to some of my questions and I’m sure some of my fellow students have some of the same questions. For example, how does the gauge of the wire affect the current? The resistance? How does the material of the wiring affect it all? Why is some wiring solid copper? I will answer a lot more questions when this paper is finished and I hope that anyone that wants to be able to troubleshoot electrical circuits will feel more comfortable in doing so after they read the information in this paper.

Troubleshooting Electrical Circuits

First thing I want to talk about is safety when it comes to testing electrical circuits. I always make sure that I have the correct tools and the tools that I am using are properly insulated. The right tools could be the difference in a job being very difficult or easily accomplished. The next thing that I do when I am checking or testing any electrical circuits is to make sure that my work area is clean and that it is also dry. A clean work area is essential in correctly diagnosing and fixing electrical issues. A dry work area is also very important because water conducts electricity extremely well and it is good common sense to have a dry work area. I usually use a multimeter to test with but, there are other tools that can be used. Another tester is made of a neon light bulb that lights up when the current is “hot”, a multimeter is used by sticking one lead in one side of the outlet and the other lead is stuck in the other side of the outlet to see if the outlet is “hot” or has power running through it. Always make sure that your testers are working and read properly. The next thing that needs to be done is to use your multimeter to test the circuit to see if it is getting power or current. If it is not getting current then I will go to the power source of the issue to disconnect the power. When I find the power source, which is usually a breaker box, I will turn off the power to all of the breakers in the box with a main switch. I then take out each individual breaker and check to make sure that each one is working properly. It is probably a good idea to keep extra breakers around to replace any breakers that might be bad. If no issues are found with the breakers, I turn the power back on to all of the breakers and turn the breaker off to the circuit that needs to be inspected. I am using an outlet as an example, so then I go and take the cover off of the outlet. The next thing that needs to be done is to check the connection from the wiring to the outlet itself. Make sure the wiring isn’t damaged and the correct gauge and insulation is used on the wiring that’s connected. The correct gauge of wire is important for the amount of current that gets through. Gauge refers to a measurement of how thick a wire is and how much electrical current can safely be carried through. It also refers to how much resistance the wire has and its weight per unit of length. If the wire is damaged then it is very likely that there is a short somewhere and it is probably where the damage is. To have a short means to have an open connection or abnormal connection between two nodes of an electrical circuit. Once the issue is found it’s as simple as replacing the wire or splicing the bad part of the wire out, which I don’t really recommend if you can avoid it. When I have to splice a circuit, I make sure that I have the correct wire splicing tools like wire strippers and wire nuts. Once again, the correct size wire nuts or splicing equipment is required. I have seen many times where the wrong wire nuts were used and the current through the wiring was too much for the wire nuts to handle and the wire nuts or other connectors were melted causing the circuit to short out. Also, the correct insulation on the wire nuts or connectors need to be used. Usually, when something produces very high temperatures, like a clothes dryer, the product requires high heat wire nuts and connections. These connectors and wire nuts are usually made of a material like ceramic or ceramic synthetic that can take very high temperatures for extended periods of time. Wire strippers are a tool that look similar to pliers but, these are used to cut wire, strip the insulation coating off of the wire and to clamp with like pliers. Once the issue is repaired where the damage was, then I make sure that I don’t find any more damaged areas on the wiring. I would then go to the breaker box and turn the power back on and use my multimeter to check to see if I am getting any current. If I am the issue is fixed, if I am not then I repeat the process until all wiring is checked. The issue could be in the outlet itself, it could be a bad outlet. Once the job is done, I make sure that everything is place back in the right position, all covers are put back on and no tools are left behind. I always clean up after myself also, it makes it easier if I need to do more work later. When I think of it, there are so many things that could go wrong within electrical circuits depending what the circuit is made out of. The circuit could be composed of batteries, switches, outlets, inductors, capacitors, resistors, fuses and so much more. It also matters what kind of current is being used. AC current or alternating current is used in our homes as well as DC current or direct current. Direct current electrons flow in one direction while AC current electrons change direction intermittently. DC current is used in our vehicles which runs off of a battery charged by an alternator. Sometimes when AC current is used in our homes, some of our home appliances and electronic devices use DC power which requires the AC current to be changed to DC current with the use of power adaptors, converters and rectifiers. When it comes to electronic devices and their circuits, some of them use fuses also which have to be checked and replaced periodically as well as appliances too. When it comes to appliances and electronics, I have found that lots of issues that occur are in the power cords or connections within the device or appliance. When it comes to electrical circuits, they really are pretty simple. Keep the current flowing and the circuit is closed or complete, if the current is interrupted then the circuit becomes open or broken. In industrial electricity some of the tools and methods used are more high tech but, test the same basic things. For example, HiPot testing. HiPot testing is known as high potential (high voltage) test and is also known as Dielectric Withstand Test. This test is used to check for good isolation. HiPot is the opposite of a continuity test, which means HiPot makes sure no current will flow from one point to another. Continuity tests check to make sure that current flows uninterrupted from one point to another. HiPot tests are used when safety is being considered and when production of certain electrical products to make sure that failures that happen in tests do not happen after they are produced or at least minimized as much as possible. This is just one example of the many tests and techniques used to ensure that circuit fail happens as little as possible in industry. It causes injury and loss of profits when circuits fail. Here are a few basic tools for troubleshooting and repairing electrical circuits.

Conclusion In conclusion, as I have said a few times in this paper, the absolute most important thing when it comes to any electrical work is safety. No job or situation is worth getting injured or even possibly killed. Having the right tools to do the job make the job easier to accomplish and also make the job safer. I have found, when you have the correct tools for the job it makes the job safer because I don’t have to use a make shift tool or tool used for another job to do the job I need to complete at the moment. When I say the correct tools, I also mean correctly insulated tools just in case there is a mistake made and an issue happens to be worked on with power still supplied to the device, appliance, switch, outlet and so on. The most important tool that can be used when diagnosing issues and checking for power, in my opinion, is the multi-meter. A good multi-meter is a must when doing any repair work on anything that has a power supply. The better the quality of multi-meter means the better and more accurate reading that I get. Make sure before work is attempted on anything or any components are replaced on anything that has a power source, that the problem is correctly identified or diagnosed. Doing any kind of work on an unknown issue or improperly diagnosing an issue can cause other problems to other components of what is being worked on or possibly causing injury. One of the things that I mentioned that could be done when it comes to electrical issues in the home and prevention of issues was to keep extra breakers around so if one goes out then it can be replaced immediately. Well, one of the things I forgot to mention is to make sure that they are stored correctly. All electrical components, such as breakers, fuses, relays, solenoids, need to be stored in a dry environment and need to be checked monthly to make sure they haven’t been damaged in any way. Some components, such as the older fuses in older houses, really need to have a close eye kept on them because of the softer plastic and cardboard like materials they are made of. They can be damaged easier than the newer components we use today. Another thing that I forgot to mention about safety when it comes to working with electricity, especially in a commercial or industrial environment is that it’s a great and safe idea to work on the issue at hand with another person there to help. They are there to help figure the issue out because two experienced minds are better than one when trying to figure out an issue and if something goes wrong then they are there to get help. I always try to have someone around just in case something goes wrong, even if they can’t help with the problem. When it comes to industrial issues, more complicated equipment and tests are used like the HiPot (high voltage) test but, when it is all said and done, no matter how high tech the device is, they all check for the same functions. Whether it is voltage, continuity (current flow), resistance, power or so on, the devices function the same. Maybe they work on different levels but, they check for basically the same functions.

References

Troubleshooting Tips for Industrial Control Systems (Feb 2012). Retrieved From http://ecmweb.com/test-amp-measurement/troubleshooting-tips-industrial- control-systems

Line, J.K. (March 2008) “Managing and Predicting Intermittent Failures Within Long Life Electronics”, Aerospace Conference. Pages 1-6

Nenninger, B. J., Floyd, H. L. (August 2002) “Personnel Safety and Plant Reliability Considerations in the Selection and Use of Voltage Test Instruments”, Industrial Applications. IEEE Pages 367-373

Keim, R. (n.d.) “Understanding Circuits”. Retrieved from www.allaboutcircuits.com/technical-articles/

Troubleshooting Electrical Circuits (2013). Retrieved from http://www.simutechmultimedia.com/troubleshooting-electrical-circuits-tech/