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I work offshore with robots and one of the things I teach is electrical troubleshooting.
With my new guys I've noticed a lot of times they tend to either overthink the issue or are so intimidated by the system their brain freezes up.
My advice to them (and it helps on MVs too) is to not look at the entire machine. That tends to be overwhelming. Focus in the trouble area and:
1. Find the commonalities. If more than one component isn't working or is malfunctioning, trace the system to the part in common. For instance: if **none** of your lights are working, odds are the lights aren't bad, you would follow the "signal source" and check the switch (is it working) the batteries (are they dead) etc, which leads to my next piece of advice.
2. Work "E" to "H". Most of my guys think that means Electrical to Hydraulic, when in reality I mean work "Easy" to "Hard". Why jump into changing a wiring harness when the issue may be something as simple as a corroded connector?
Some people tend to replace things until the problem goes away. I don't have that kind of budget, and I also like to know WHY a component failed in addition to what component failed. If its design, I try to find a better design. If it's maintenance or use related, I'll try to figure out the proper maintance or procedure for use.
1. Commonalities
2. E to H
Best of luck and may you never have to troubleshoot!
I work offshore with robots and one of the things I teach is electrical troubleshooting.
With my new guys I've noticed a lot of times they tend to either overthink the issue or are so intimidated by the system their brain freezes up.
My advice to them (and it helps on MVs too) is to not look at the entire machine. That tends to be overwhelming. Focus in the trouble area and:
1. Find the commonalities. If more than one component isn't working or is malfunctioning, trace the system to the part in common. For instance: if **none** of your lights are working, odds are the lights aren't bad, you would follow the "signal source" and check the switch (is it working) the batteries (are they dead) etc, which leads to my next piece of advice.
2. Work "E" to "H". Most of my guys think that means Electrical to Hydraulic, when in reality I mean work "Easy" to "Hard". Why jump into changing a wiring harness when the issue may be something as simple as a corroded connector?
Some people tend to replace things until the problem goes away. I don't have that kind of budget, and I also like to know WHY a component failed in addition to what component failed. If its design, I try to find a better design. If it's maintenance or use related, I'll try to figure out the proper maintance or procedure for use.
1. Commonalities
2. E to H
Best of luck and may you never have to troubleshoot!