MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - AUG6

allows us to control the operation of the LOAD. This
can be a switch, a relay, or even a driver in an ECU.
Whatever allows the circuit to be turned on or off is
the control device.
The last element is a safety valve of sorts, the circuit
protection device. Fuses, fusible links, and circuit
breakers are typically used to provide a way to
interrupt the circuit should the positive side find a
way back to the negative side of the battery before
it goes through the LOAD. Remember the image I
painted using a wire strand between the two posts?
Remember what happens to that? We don't want to
fry our wiring harnesses and that 's what the circuit
protection devices are intended to protect. See Figure
8.
It's important to understand these elements because
when you find yourself taking on an electrical
problem, you'll need to be able to read a wiring
schematic and identify all these elements. Until you
do, your understanding of how the circuit works will
be incomplete.
Notice I haven't mentioned series, parallel or
series-parallel circuits. That 's because, in terms of
diagnosing a LOAD that isn't working the way it
should, I treat them all as a series circuit. What I
do look at when reviewing the schematic is what is
shared on that circuit with other LOADS and what is
unique to the one that I'm dealing with.
For example, if a single wire connects more than
one LOAD to the positive side of the battery through
a fuse and/or switch, odds are it is going to branch
into multiple paths at some splice point in order
to do so. If my initial observations are that none of
these loads are working, I will focus on the circuit
elements that they all have in common. If my failing
load is the ONLY one with a problem, I can be pretty
well assured that, if it is on the power side of the
circuit, it has to be on the section of circuit unique
to that load, or after the splice point.
Make sense? v
Figure 8: There are 5 basic elements to every electrical circuit, and you need to identify each when reviewing the wiring
diagram.
August 2022
6
MACS Service Reports
Pete Meier

MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022

MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - JAN1
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - JAN2
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - JAN3
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - JAN4
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - JAN5
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - JAN6
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - JAN7
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - JAN8
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - MAR1
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - MAR2
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - MAR3
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - MAR4
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - MAR5
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - MAR6
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - MAR7
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - MAR8
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - APR1
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - APR2
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - APR3
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - APR4
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - APR5
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - APR6
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - APR7
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - APR8
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - MAY1
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - MAY2
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - MAY3
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - MAY4
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - MAY5
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - MAY6
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - MAY7
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - MAY8
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - JUN1
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - JUN2
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - JUN3
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - JUN4
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - JUN5
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - JUN6
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - JUN7
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - JUN8
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - AUG1
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - AUG2
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - AUG3
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - AUG4
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - AUG5
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - AUG6
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - AUG7
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - AUG8
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - SEP1
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - SEP2
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - SEP3
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - SEP4
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - SEP5
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - SEP6
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - SEP7
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - SEP8
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - OCT1
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - OCT2
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - OCT3
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - OCT4
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - OCT5
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - OCT6
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - OCT7
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - OCT8
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - DEC1
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - DEC2
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - DEC3
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - DEC4
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - DEC5
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - DEC6
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - DEC7
MACS Monthly Newsletter - 2022 - DEC8
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/servicereports_2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/servicereports_2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/servicereports_2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/servicereports_2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/servicereports_2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/servicereports_2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/servicereports_2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/macs/servicereports_2015
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com