Introduction to Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting is probably the most important part of a service technician’s job. Good trouble- shooting ability will save hours of valuable time and money. Unfortunately, troubleshooting can be one of the most confusing aspects of the job if the technician does not know the basics. Different technicians use different methods. Most adopt a procedure they are comfortable with and understand. Some basic questions that should be considered when trouble- shooting any type of system are:
• What is the system supposed to do?
• How does it do it?
• What is it doing that it should not be doing, or what is it not doing that it should be doing?
Knowing the answer to these basic questions will generally point you in the right direction for deter- mining the problem.
Troubleshooting electric circuits generally involves the use of electric measuring instruments. The most common are the voltmeter, ammeter, and ohmmeter. Understanding how each of these instruments functions and how to employ them is one of the keys to developing good troubleshooting skills. The general use of each will be discussed in this unit.