-by Jorge Menchu and Ralph Birnbaum

We are about to provide you with a simple, step-by-step process that will let you divide and conquer common automotive circuit problems. It is called a Voltage Drop Test, and it works!

Voltage drop tests are an effective way to test an electrical circuit’s ability to deliver power to electrical loads.

Auto-oscopy — In Color!!

Sam Bell called the other day and told me that we ought to be doing an article on a borescope called the VOscope. It has a live LED color display instead of an eyepiece viewer. The Slammer says he uses his more that he thought he ever would, and that we ought to check it out.

In spite of their native torque and superior fuel efficiency, diesel engines spew some pretty toxic emissions that contain high levels of particulate matter (PM), oxides of nitrogen, sulfur, some HC and CO, and a slew of other malodorous nasties that contribute to smog and respiratory distress. In fact, one of the big problems with diesel exhaust is that the soot particles killing us may be too small to see. To paraphrase an old saying, “Out of sight, out of breath.”

Problem: You’ve replaced a radial shaft seal (circular lip seal) during a timing belt replacement, brake job, or transmission job, but the seal leaks oil following the repair. This is a common enough occurrence—especially on high-milers—even if you have used the required seal for the application, and have installed it correctly. (Occasionally, as our sidebar shows, your seal removal tool can gouge the sealing area, causing shaft damage and a leak.)