Power Probe 3 - Manual (Page 11)

10
C
HECKING FOR
B
AD
G
ROUND
C
ONTACTS
(PPM)
F
OLLOWING
& L
OCATING
S
HORT
C
IRCUITS
(PPM)
Probe the suspected ground wire or contact with the probe tip.
Observe the
green negative sign “-” LED. Depress the power switch forward then release.
If the green negative sign “-” LED went out and the red positive sign “+” came on, this is not a true ground.
If the circuit breaker tripped, this circuit is more than likely a good ground. Keep in mind that high current
components such as starter motors will also trip the circuit breaker.
In most cases a short circuit will appear by a fuse or a fusible link blowing or an electrical protection device
tripping (i.e., a circuit breaker). This is the best place to begin the search.
Remove the blown fuse from the fuse box. Use the Power Probe tip to activate and energize each of the
fuse contacts. The contact which trips the PP3 circuit breaker is the shorted circuit. Take note of this wire’s
identifi cation code or color. Follow the wire as far as you can along the wiring harness, for instance if you
are following a short in the brake light circuit you may know that the wire must pass though the wiring
harness at the door sill. Locate the color-coded wire in the harness and expose it. Probe through the insu-
lation with the Power Probe tip and depress the power switch forward to activate and energize the wire.
If the Power Probe circuit breaker tripped you have verifi ed the shorted wire. Cut the wire and energize
each end with the Power Probe tip. The wire end which trips the Power Probe circuit breaker again is the
shorted circuit and will lead you to the shorted area. Follow the wire in the shorted direction and repeat
this process until the short is located. ECT200 uses a wireless non-contact technique that guides you to the
short/open location.
R
ED
/G
REEN
P
OLARITY
I
NDICATOR
& A
UDIO
T
ONE
The “ RED / GREEN Polarity Indicator” lights-up when the probe tip voltage matches the battery voltage
within ± 0.5 volts. This means that if you contact a circuit that is not a good ground or a good hot, you will
see this instantly by the “
RED / GREEN Polarity Indicator” NOT lighting. The Audio Tone runs parallel to
the “RED/GREEN Polarity Indicator and will also NOT react when contacting a circuit that does not match
the battery voltage thin ± 0.5 volts.
English