DYNAMIC DUO. Lab scopes and current

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1 DYNAMIC DUO Combining the data acquisition capabilities of a lab scope with the versatility of a current probe gives you a powerful diagnostic tandem that s awfully hard to beat. BY MARK WARREN Lab scopes and current probes. Think of them as the peanut butter & jelly of the diagnostic set a match made in heaven. Using a lab scope with a current probe gives you one of the most powerful and versatile tools in your shop. Photo: Bob Savasta 22 March 1998

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3 DYNAMIC DUO Waveforms: Mark Warren Fig. 1 Fig mS Bad Cylinder 213 Amps 170 Amps Why a current probe? All electrical devices work on the principle of power (wattage), which is nothing more than voltage times amperage. In many cases, therefore, testing just for voltage gives us only half the information we need for diagnosis, and often will show no problem where one truly exists. In addition, a current probe is nonintrusive; that is, it connects around the wire in the tested circuit, which makes hookups a snap. Combining the capabilities of a scope with the versatility of a current probe can save you some serious time when you re trying to diagnose bad motors, solenoids and coils. Even a tired engine can be nailed by this potent duo through a process known as relative compression. Let s begin by looking at a relative compression test. Good compression and an adequate starting system are critical to fast starts and good driveability. A compression test used to be a regular part of our diagnostic regime. Today, however, with more durable engines and the difficulty of accessing spark plugs, the compression test has lost popularity. In its place is a nonintrusive process known as a relative compression test. Before we get into the specifics of relative compression, there are a few general rules you need to be made aware of. Most current probes convert amps to millivolts to be read on a DMM or scope. Check your specific probe manual for the correct setup. Always connect the probe over the positive or negative battery cable, being sure to orient the arrow on the current probe with the direction of current flow. If you get a negative reading or none on your scope, no problem; just reverse the direction of 24 March 1998

4 the arrow on the probe. I prefer to start with scope settings of.5 volt/division and 100mS/division. You can always tweak these settings to get the optimum waveform for viewing. Fig. 1 on page 24 is a waveform recording from a 6-cylinder engine during cranking. Since the scope software and current probe I use are designed to work together, the display reads in true current, rather than having to convert to millivolts. In Fig. 1, notice the even spacing and amplitude of the compression humps. The humps go from a low of 170 amps to a high of 213 amps. In one fast recording, we can see that this engine has good relative compression, a good starter, good cables and connections and a good battery. Fig. 2 is the same vehicle with one spark plug removed. Notice the dip in current draw when the cylinder with no compression comes around. Remember, this is a relative compression test; if all cylinders were weak, they d all look the same, with lower amplitude (peak-to-peak height) and lower-than-normal current draw. What s normal current draw? Well, this requires some experience. The old rule was that you d see 1 amp of draw for each cubic inch of the engine. This is a 300-CID engine drawing 213 amps, so the rule obviously isn t prefect, although it s a good starting point. Bad Motors and Windings Fig. 3 is a high-resolution waveform of blower motor current. This test can be run on any motor starter, blower, cooling fan, fuel pump, etc. The humps represent the actual change in current from the brushes moving in and out of contact with the Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Bad Winding 15.2mS March

5 DYNAMIC DUO Fig Injector turned on. 2. Current ramping up. 3. Peak current of 4 amps determined by current-limiting injector driver. 4. Injector driver switched to hold (lower) current 1 amp. 5. Driver turns injector off. commutator bars. The signature repeats (arrows) denote one revolution. This test shows not only the total current draw for the motor, but also the condition of individual windings and brush to commutator bar contact. It s not uncommon for a motor to lose one winding. The motor will usually still work, but the bad winding will show up on the waveform, as in Fig. 4 on page 25. If the motor stops on this winding when the car is turned off, then it may fail to work when the car is restarted. Usually, multiple attempts or vibration will get a motor past the bad winding. Intermittent motors can cause some real troubleshooting headaches. There are many ways an electric motor can fail, but the most common is from overwork. As the bearings in a motor deteriorate with age, the motor draws more current to maintain the same speed. This extra current causes more stress on the entire circuit. At some point, the excess current will cause a connector to overheat and fail. On fuel pumps, the negative brush holder seems to be the weakest point. On older GM high fan blower circuits, the relay connections or the inline fuse loved to burn up. Fixing the bad connection was only a stopgap measure. The true fix was to check the fan s current draw and replace the fan if it drew too much current. The GM blower motors I ve replaced often drew 20-plus amps when first tested, then just 12 amps from the circuit when replaced. Usually, a bad motor draws too much current to start and then too little when a connection finally fails. Keep in mind that a fuel pump may draw too much current if the filter is plugged or the regulated pressure is too high. You must retest after replacing a motor to confirm correct current draw to prevent another failure. Determining RPM Looking at a current waveform also allows us to determine rpm, from either an engine or an electric motor. From Fig. 1, for instance, we can calculate the cranking rpm of an engine as follows: Look at the time on the scope that it took to complete six compression events (six peaks). In this case it s 480 milliseconds. To complete six compression strokes takes two revolutions of the crankshaft, right? Since 480mS is almost 1 2 second, we know that the crank is turning at roughly four revolutions per second. To get revolutions per minute, therefore, we simply need to multiply 60 seconds by 4, which indicates a cranking speed of about 240 rpm. Minimum cranking speed is critical for starting engines, especially diesel engines, and looking at a current waveform is a quick and easy way to calculate it. Fig. 4, if you remember, shows a blower motor with a bad winding. Even without the bad winding, however, you can see that each commutator bar has a specific signature that repeats regularly. You can use these signatures to determine the number of commutator bars and thus the rpm of the motor. Here s how: This motor takes 15.20mS to complete one revolution. It therefore completes about 66 revolutions per second (1000mS/15.2mS). Multiply that by 60 seconds and this motor is turning at about 3960 rpm. Note that 26 March 1998

6 Hump this blower motor was not installed and had no fan on it at test time, so the current draw and rpm are quite different from what we would encounter under actual load conditions. Current Limited to 4 Amps Limited Amperage Coils and Current Flow Fig. 5 on page 26 shows the current waveform for a current-limiting injector circuit on the top, and the voltage waveform on the bottom. The first part of the waveform (1-3) is the peak current flow; the second part (4-5) is the hold part (lower current). Thus the term peak-and-hold circuit. Notice that current ramps up as it takes time to build. The coil has less inductive resistance as the magnetic field builds strength. The current in this example builds to 4 amps before the current-limiting driver switches rapidly to a resisted circuit, limiting current flow to the injector to 1 amp. This switch happens faster than the mechanical pintle can close, so the injector is held open continuously. It takes a lot of power to open an injector fast, but very little to hold it open. Note that injectors have gone from 14-plus ohms resistance with 1 amp total current draw to 4 ohms and less. A 2-ohm injector will draw 7 amps at 14 volts if unregulated. That s a lot of amperage for such small wires. Another benefit of a peak-andhold circuit is that it is self-protected in the event of a short. Peak-and-hold circuits are hardly new to automobiles. The starter solenoid has two windings, a pull-in winding and a hold winding. Both are powered up at the start, and when the solenoid contact ring makes contact to spin the starter, the pull-in winding loses its ground. Ignition systems and some injector Current Ramp Fig. 6 Fig. 7 Hump Key On 1.4 Seconds 9 Amps 4 Amps Key Off March

7 DYNAMIC DUO systems have also had a peak-andhold circuit before the advent of electronically controlled peak-and-hold. The ballast resistor, for example, is really a time-delay resistor. Using a resistive wire, this resistor does not resist current flow until it heats up. That way, an ignition coil or an injector coil got full amperage to start and diminished amperage as the resistor heated up. The downside of ballast resistors was that their control was not as precise, and they wasted power in the form of heat. Fig. 6 on page 27 is a voltage and current waveform showing current limiting in an ignition circuit. As you can see, it s slightly different from an injector. Rather than cut its current from 4 amps to 1 amp, it limits the flow to 4 amps. Note that when the The ballast resistor s control was not precise, and it wasted power in the form of heat. current-limiting hump appears in the voltage waveform, the current flattens and stays at 4 amps. This is because with an ignition coil we re trying to hold a saturation field ready for discharge, whereas with an injector we re just holding the pintle open. Multiple Circuits Fig. 7 is a current waveform recorded off a positive battery cable as the key is turned on. The initial spike is the current needed to charge various circuits, including the initial fuel pump surge, alternator, ignition, etc. This current is sustained at 9 amps for 1.4 seconds, then drops to 4 amps. Finally, the current drops to zero when the key is turned off. The 9-amp draw for 1.4 seconds includes the time necessary for the fuel pump to be turned on by the pump relay timer. The 4-amp draw is the current used by other circuits with the key on, after the pump was turned off. Using this information, we can conclude that the fuel pump was timed on for 1.4 seconds and used 5 amps in the process (924=5). If we 28 March 1998

8 looked at this waveform in higher resolution, we could determine the condition of the pump brushes and the speed of rotation, as well. Be aware that the fuel pump prime timers seem to shorten up with age. Hard starting from low fuel pressure is not uncommon. The old Bosch systems were notorious for this, and many owners learned to cycle the key several times to get an adequate prime. How Much Is Enough? How do you know if a circuit is drawing enough current and when it s drawing too much? That s a tough predicament to be in kind of like asking how to spell a word and being told to look it up. Of course, experience is the best guide, but what Rating fuses to 2 times the normal circuit load keeps them from blowing under changing loads. about venturing into new waters? One place to start is to look at the fuse rating. Generally, a fuse will be rated at to 2 times the normal circuit load. This keeps the fuse from blowing under slightly changing loads. The older GM high fan blower circuit we talked about earlier usually used a 20-amp fuse, and in good condition the fan drew about 12 amps. When worn, the fan could draw 16 amps, still under the fuse rating. Only if the fan drew significantly more than 20 amps would we begin to experience problems. Like anything else, new equipment takes some getting used to. But once you get comfortable using a current probe with a lab scope, I think you ll find it hard to put this dynamic duo down. For a free copy of this article, write to: Fulfillment Dept., MOTOR Magazine, 5600 Crooks Rd., Troy, MI Additional copies are $2 each. Send check or money order. March

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