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Bench Testing Electrical Components
- Thread starter Tinkerman
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TR3driver
Great Pumpkin - R.I.P
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Depends on the item. TR3 horns draw a LOT of current, intermittantly (in pulses), so they do not work the same when powered from something like a battery charger that has a relatively high internal resistance. So I don't bother testing them on the bench, beyond continuity; unless I happen to have a charged 12v battery handy.
But heater and wiper motors don't draw nearly as much, so they can be tested with a battery charger. I actually have a 0-50 volt 10 amp power supply with pretty good filtering (discarded by a previous employer) that I keep on the bench for testing.
As long as your power supply is protected, the in-line fuses seem like more of a PITA than they are worth. And if you are using a car battery or similar, the lead itself will act like a fusible link. But that's just my opinion, make up your own mind.
BTW, Radio Shack sells some reasonable quality clip leads for not too much. I carry a few in the car (along with a DMM), just because they come in handy.
But heater and wiper motors don't draw nearly as much, so they can be tested with a battery charger. I actually have a 0-50 volt 10 amp power supply with pretty good filtering (discarded by a previous employer) that I keep on the bench for testing.
As long as your power supply is protected, the in-line fuses seem like more of a PITA than they are worth. And if you are using a car battery or similar, the lead itself will act like a fusible link. But that's just my opinion, make up your own mind.
BTW, Radio Shack sells some reasonable quality clip leads for not too much. I carry a few in the car (along with a DMM), just because they come in handy.
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If you look on ebay, you can find some single-voltage power supplies in the 12V range. Some of these are adjustable over a few volt range, and some have ipmpressive output current. And, best of all, they're cheap. 12 volts is a common value, and if the thing is adjustable, you can probably tweak it to ~13V, which is closer to the real voltage of our electrical systems.
I use a second-hand Hewlett-Packard 10-amp adjustable power supply I got on ebay. Wasn't terribly expensive (I think about $100) but more than most people would want to pay for such things. But it's an option.
I use a second-hand Hewlett-Packard 10-amp adjustable power supply I got on ebay. Wasn't terribly expensive (I think about $100) but more than most people would want to pay for such things. But it's an option.
dklawson
Yoda
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I read Paul's post the same way. I knew what he meant but it still made me smile.
Look over this string of posts. It struck me as interesting that so many of us take our DIY service and repairs so far that we have bench power supplies of various types just for such work. For my work, I have a small surplus 1.5 Amp bench supply for the really small stuff, a variable 3 Amp quality supply for gauges, and I use a battery charger (or battery) for the big stuff.
Look over this string of posts. It struck me as interesting that so many of us take our DIY service and repairs so far that we have bench power supplies of various types just for such work. For my work, I have a small surplus 1.5 Amp bench supply for the really small stuff, a variable 3 Amp quality supply for gauges, and I use a battery charger (or battery) for the big stuff.
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