How to check a bad electrical connection

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Asked by
Lizzie

How to check a bad electrical connection? Searching the internet hasn`t helped me so please post. My girlfriend asked me this yesterday but I didn`t have a clue. Ricky

In Wiring

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Shamika

The best way for checking electrical connections is by the use on a meter.Incase you dont have a meter then you can take to wires slide the bare sides and see whether sparks will be visible.on the power supply there is a rating usually attached since meters only tell of the actual load or electrical consumption of the connection.incase you find that there are difficulties in testing the connection seek consultance from a professional.Jack Douton

This answer closely relates to:

Q. Do i have a bad car lighter? electrical help?
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Try it again now. If it only blows with the actual lighter, not charger, buy a new lighter (less socket). If both blow it have to buy whole new lighter.

Q. 96 chev tahoe 5.7 replaced fuel pump (twice) thinking i had a bad pump. will not start.?
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fuel pressure regulator , fuel pump relay , fuel filter , collision sensor.. but if it were a collision sensor it shouldn't run at all...but I have seen weirder problem,s in my year,s....possible computer defect...but if that,s the case it could also be a number of sensor,s.....best of luck!

Q. Replaced 0xygen sensor in 2003 hyundai accent. check engine light is still on. how do you fix it?
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"Check the pins of the connectors..."

Check the pins of the connectors. You probably damaged them. Check the rest of the harness for damage too - maybe a wire melted against the exhaust? If that doesn't help, you'll need to take this car to a professional. Also - Find a new mechanic - NEVER trust a "part swapper" over a technician that actually diagnoses a problem. Guys like that give our profession a bad name.

Q. Replaced 0xygen sensor in 2003 hyundai accent 3 times not fixed! check engine light is still on! what to do?
i have a 2003 hyundai accent with a 16 dohc 4 cylinder engine. my check engine light came on a few months ago and i had the codes read. the codes were p0030 and p0133. they came up as being a possible bad oxygen sensor (front position before the catalytic converter) or a bad electrical connection. i purchased a bosch oe type sensor from auto zone, put it in, disconnect the battery to reset the check engine light, but after driving the car for 100 miles the light came back on. i had the codes read and the same codes came up. i took the o2 sensor back to auto zone and asked for a new one. they gave me a new bosch oe type sensor and i installed it, but the light came on again. so i order an hyundai oem factory oxygen sensor, installed it, and the same story. the check engine light came back on. in order to beat a dead horse i figured i would try a universal sensor. i bought a denso 4 wire o2 sensor, installed it, cleaned and put electrical grease on the connections, but i am still getting the same codes. what in the world could possibly be wrong with my car. i took it to a ase mechanic and he told me that my oxygen sensor was bad. i told him i already replaced it and he said that he would have to start by replacing it again and then figuring it from there. i have to pass emissions in 1 month. p.s. i also replaced my 2nd bank oxygen sensor with a factory oem sensor from hyundai. any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

"You could have the bad connection..."

First find a real mechanic . Just because that guy was ASE cert , doesn't mean squat . Anyone with a little mechanical knowledge can be certified . Doesn't take much smarts . You could have the bad connection . It doesn't have to just be at the sensor .

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"It is old enough to need an electrical part of the ignition switch..."

It is old enough to need an electrical part of the ignition switch. Automatic or manual? Some time the clutch switch grommet wears out or the switch it self fails how about the starter relay on automatic cars. Details details please.

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I beleive your licensed electrician has checked out your side and found all is proper. Unless he made an error (and we can all miss something sometimes), the problem is still at the Utility side of the feed. Often a utility side fault is at more than one location and a second contact to them may show the weakness. My suggestion is to contact the Utility again, tell them exactly what your electrician has done, and point out that the problem remains. Almost always they will dig deeper when provided with the data and when it is presented in an objective, neutral manner.

Q. How do i diagnose a bad switch in electrical window of '02 chevy astro?
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remove the wires from the switch then do a continuity test on the switch. while the leads are the terminals, rock the switch on and off. You should get 0 when on and readings when off.

Q. Electrical problem in one room of the house?
i have been having a problem with electricity in one room of my house. an electrician recently installed a ceiling fan/light fixture in the middle of the room. before the fan was in the room there were several outlets and one light switch (there was no ceiling fixture yet!). the light switch controlled one of the outlets. one breaker is assigned to this room in my electrical box, and it has never tripped. now the light switch works the fan/light fixture...i'm not sure if it still works the outlet (can't even test it now). the problems i am about to describe did not come immediately with the addition of the ceiling fan. everything was working fine for a couple of weeks before i started seeing problems. however recently when i walk into the room and flick the light switch on the light will do a series of quick blinks and stay off...or sometimes on. i can't really tell why this is happening. i noticed all of the outlets in the room are affected too. any lights or appliance plugged into an outlet will turn off or blink consistent with the ceiling light. i don't even need to mess with the light switch to make this happen. anything plugged into a wall outlet will act this way. it seems everything on the one breaker is messed up. i am no electrician but a battery backup unit was plugged into my computer which was off one of the outlets in question. apparently the battery in in the unit went bad, and this was wreaking havoc with my electrical system (the unit kept trying to click off and on, and recharge the battery). i thought this destroyed the outlet. i replaced the outlet that the computer was plugged into and the light switch....negative results. could my problem be a bad breaker, or bad connection somewhere. i checked the fans connections and everything looks good. i did have an electrician install everything. thanks for any answers.

"Plugging your computer and any other extra electrical items (like mp3 player and clothes..."

It is possible that too much power is being used on that circuit. The same thing happened to me when I had a couple appliances turned on at the same time in one room. Try Plugging your computer and any other extra electrical items (like mp3 player and clothes iron) into a different room/circuit and see if that fixes it. Oh, and reset the breaker. If not, some wires could be crossed or damaged and you would want to call the electrician to check it out. Good luck :)

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"What caused ripples in your tv but electrical surge can not be over ruled...."

The technicians call that as "ripple". It is usually caused by abnormal power supply. Oftenly polaroid capacitors whose aluminum cap develops cracks start to leak causing ripples on the screen. Can't say what caused ripples in your TV but electrical surge can not be over ruled.

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"If you want to check smaller wires use a multi-meter..."

try replacing your + cable to your starter from the battery. Had a ford explorer with a problem similar to what you are saying. Something with the cable went wrong and it was the problem. Replaced the cable and it didnt have anymore problems. If you want to check smaller wires use a multi-meter. I found out later that alot of fords had a problem with the cables that is why i mention it. I know yours is not a Ford but it is an idea. Hope this helps.

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