I know automotive electricians have some sort of device that they plug up to the car. This gadget sends a pulse or something, working like a radar. If all the circuit is proper, it will detect as it. If not, there will be a delay in response time, and the gadget will pinpoint the break in the circuit or ground.

I have never seen this device. I know it exist somewhere. Nor do I know the product name.

 

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22...b-t&fl=0&x=wrt

Here's something to look at . . . I don't know what automotive electricians use. I'll email a friend on this thread.

 

Thanks for pointing someone else at the problem too. I'm loving all the feedback, but I've just yet to find an answer.

That meter actually looks really handy. Hmm...

 

Still haven't gotten to do crap, but I pushed the car back into the garage last night. Gonna finally try to take more readings and stuff tonight. I'm gonna try to dedicate more spare time to the car, but man does it get frustrating when you're working in uncharted (for you) territory, and constantly have to bug people for help.

 

Nah... I think the most valuable thing I'd find in a meter for automotive use would be an inductive ammeter, such as the one I attached. For those that don't know what that is, essentially, you can wrap those arm/clamps around a wire and measure the current through that wire or measure the frequency of an AC signal. For as much money as that link above, you can get a decent multimeter with an inductive ammeter. That means never having to tap or break a wire to measure whether or not it's live again.
-N

 

yea, those are very helpful but its also not hard to measure wires, i just use a needle and poke the wire, kinda annoying but not all that difficult, tho the other way is a lot easier

 

Oh, don't worry I wasn't even entertaining the idea of buying one. I have lootcakes.

 

When your testing this 3rd wire for power, do you have someone turning the key? Do you have an amprobe to put around the powerwire to the starter? did you try to jump out the starter? It takes 13.8-14.5 volts and at least 350 amps to start a car.

 

That's not to measure current... you're thinking voltage. Without an inductive ammeter, you cannot measure current without breaking the wire and having the current flow through the ammeter. And even then, it has to be a small enough current not to blow a fuse in your ammeter, while most meters typically max out in only a few hundred mA.
-N

 

It's not the starter. It's ALL POWER IN THE CAR. I have no interior lights, no gauge lights, no trunk light, no nothing. Key in or key out makes no difference.

 

i think you shoudl get a shop manual so you can see how everything goes. because its probably going to be like the needle in a haystack.

 

Yeah, that or the starter... ;-P
-N

 

I have the service manual. I have the entire wiring diagram printed out and 3-hole punched in a 3-ring binder. That's not my problem. I can't read wire diagrams, and I can't troubleshoot electrical problems because I don't understand anything about electricity.

 

do you have power in the fuse box? If not try jumping a wire from the battery to the fuse box.

 

well, you're gonna have to use the wiring diagram. I'm not sure how the mistu ones are, but I have seen some that tell you what voltages to expect at what points. Basically you'll need to identify what the main feeder is, find it at the fusebox, check for voltage, and trace it back until you find a spot where there is the correct voltage. It's gonna be a pain no matter what.