CABLE CONNECTION AND FAULT

This can be the major cause of electrical faults. Corrosion is the number one cause. Though broken wire or poor connection are equally as common. The key points to remember are, there is no such thing as a quick or temporary fix, scotch locks are big no. the preferred joint on soldered, while electrical joints can also be joined using automotive electrical crimps. A good crimping tool that applies two compressed sections is more robust than a single crimped connection use a multimeter, measuring the resistance a across it.

Start with source and progress from there is there power from the battery or is the fuse intact? Is there power to the inlet and is there good earth? By starting at the source and working your way though each section you can start to breakdown the entire electrical system. Battery, power led, fuse, next power section and so on until you reached your gear and followed that through to earth. You can simplify the initial fault finding by checking at the end were the gear is supplied, and if a fault exists you can they check it back closer to the source to start isolating the section the fault is in.

Another thing to check is the polarity of the wires. A number of electronic items are fitted with a reverse polarity diode that protects the rest of the internals should it be wired up in reverse. This diode will sacrifice itself and the item will need this fixed before it will operate again, it is possible on some gear to check for continuity across the positive and negative terminals when it is switched on but not connected to power.

Never repair by replacement, because anything faulty that caused the original bit of equipment to fail will only damage the new gear once it is plugged in or powered up.