Learn me electrical

So recently I made a major career switch. After years of further education, ending up in a Ph.D. Program for a few years, the counseling and psychiatrist could no longer keep depression at bay. Turns out academic work is a bad fit, and it was contributing significantly to the problem. Berk that with a rusty fire poker. So now I'm back working for my dad's appliance repair business. He's got his eye on retirement (read taking it easier to maybe heal up a bit) and at 68 years old, 43 of which in the business, he's earned it.

His first major order was to learn electrical, so learn me that. He gave me some of his old books from when he got a degree in that (along with a e36m3 ton of other tech school degrees) but the most recent one is from 1970 or so. Assuming I wanted to become an electrician starting now, what should I read?

I've been studying his old books assuming many basic things haven't changed (volts are still volts, ohms law still applies, etc...) but after 6 years of epic reading lists in graduate school, I'm running out fast.

Yes becoming an electrician isn't necessary for appliance repair, but the knowledge occasionally helps him figure out stuff that nobody (even other pro repair guys) can, and he has such a phenomenal reputation around here that I have to become freaking Ron Swanson if I plan to keep that up.

First of all, everything you learn about electricity is based on a model of molecular theory. That theory may or may not be correct. It is just a model and it is useful as a model because you can make accurate predictions from it.

Now, with that out of the way, I suggest you go to your local library and find an ARRL (American Radio Relay League) introduction to Amateur Radio book and start with the basics of electricity in that. That is about as simple and useful of an explanation as you will find anywhere.

Go to an appliance repair forum, study the components. Can you read a schematic?learn how to install home theaters. Most appliances now are disposable. Ymmv.

Shoot me an address, and I'll send you a couple of books I have left from my electricians apprenticeship if you want them.

Electrical work is pretty straight forward, you just have to think it through step by step. Practice makes perfect. I also recommend you collect every scrap of information you can find on everything you might work on. I have several meg of scanned service information and wiring directions on my phone that I have collected over the past 15 years.

In reply to Toyman01:

Thank you, good sir! PM sent :D

Tear apart your current washer, rebuild by schematic under front panel. Electrons are invisible and slippery.

Touch both ends. If you get shocked, there is electricity. If not, it is broken. What more do you need to know?

Dr. Hess wrote: First of all, everything you learn about electricity is based on a model of molecular theory. That theory may or may not be correct. It is just a model and it is useful as a model because you can make accurate predictions from it. Now, with that out of the way, I suggest you go to your local library and find an ARRL (American Radio Relay League) introduction to Amateur Radio book and start with the basics of electricity in that. That is about as simple and useful of an explanation as you will find anywhere.

Checked the website of my local library, they don't have one of those... hmm... i do remember them losing a lot of books a few years back when the library got flooded.

TRoglodyte wrote: Go to an appliance repair forum, study the components. Can you read a schematic?learn how to install home theaters. Most appliances now are disposable. Ymmv.

I'm on a couple of them (the ones with a subscription fee) and they are pretty helpful. We don't do anything with home theaters, just appliances, and then not all of them. Many things are disposable, but many other things (generally really big and expensive ones) are fixable. Sadly, even the crazy expensive ones now seem to be built as though they are disposable, but they certainly cost too much to buy new every couple years! Funny enough, the dirt cheap disposable (formerly good) products are almost synonymous with the words "class action lawsuit." There are a few good products left though that we recommend to everyone. In general avoid complication and circuit boards. More circuit boards means more headaches. It also means i have to learn MUCH more about circuit boards...

TRoglodyte wrote: Tear apart your current washer, rebuild by schematic under front panel. Electrons are invisible and slippery.

I can already do that with my washer. I have an old whirlpool top load washer, i could literally rebuild one of those from a pile of parts when I was a teenager (i used to work for my dad during school breaks)

pinchvalve wrote: Touch both ends. If you get shocked, there is electricity. If not, it is broken. What more do you need to know?

But how do i know exactly how much it's supposed to hurt?!

How are your plumbing skills?

TRoglodyte wrote: How are your plumbing skills?

Haven't done it. I was told by my dad that there are a million plumbers in this city, let them work in the E36m3. Hardly any appliance guys and we're all swamped.

Here you go. Start about chapter 4. http://www.qsl.net/sp9hzx/img/The%20Beginner's%20Handbook%20of%20Amateur%20Radio.pdf

whoa nice thank you! PDF saved!

Ya know... if hardcore academics were depressing you - really learning the intricacies of how electricity works is going to be a trip to the looney bin. It is not for the timid (or math/physics challenged).

That said, how to troubleshoot a basic circuit the likes of which inhabit your stove, washing machine, dishwasher and so forth... are pretty easy. Be able to read a diagram. Know the difference between how AC and DC operate and be able to follow them thru the diagram and test to where they don't exist in the expected value. If you can debug electronic fuel injection you can fix any repairable machine with just a few basic rules.

It's when you ask WHY it does that where things get serious. Don't ask why until you have that xanax prescription in hand ;)

It wasn't the learning part of hardcore academics that depressed me, i like learning a lot, it was the lack of potential career opportunities, the ever increasing massive debt, the idea that even when i'm not 'at school' i can't stop working on my dissertation so no relaxation, and the endless hours upon hours spent alone while reading/writing that depressed me. Basically everything about academic work, but not the learning.

Fixing stuff is fun, i get to talk to people, and i make broken things work again. Also i get paid. All of this happens multiple times per day. Not to mention the fact that when i'm at home i can actually relax. Granted, it's usually a 60 hour work week, but the time flies. it's better than a 10 hour work week.

Rufledt wrote:

pinchvalve wrote: Touch both ends. If you get shocked, there is electricity. If not, it is broken. What more do you need to know?

But how do i know exactly how much it's supposed to hurt?!

That depends on the voltage

Much of the stuff I work on comes down to identifying which circuit board gave up the ghost. I understand newer appliances are similar.

I wish I still had my books from my apprenticeship, I would send them to you.

When trying to explain how something works, the term FM helps. (berkeleying magic)

You are going to learn twice as much twice as fast by digging in and getting your hands dirty than you will by reading about it in a book. I've had apprentices straight out of school that could spew chapter and verse all about codes, and fixture units and blah blah blah, that seriously couldn't figure out how tight to make the bolts holding a toilet tank to a toilet bowl. The best apprentices I have ever seen started out as auto mechanics.

If you can already read and work from schematics then it's all easy peasy man! It's all just input and output, just like plumbing.

At the "repair" level I've found it best to look at just that (input/output).

You have a "source" of electricity that goes to a component (switch, light, motor, circuit board, etc). If Electricity is present at the motor but the motor doesn't turn, then look at the "output" side (ground). If both the source and ground are present but the motor doesn't turn, then you replace the motor.

As to your question of "how much is it supposed to hurt" when you touch both sides: I say "don't sweat the small stuff". If you're supposed to have 12v and you're reading 10.8v you're probably good (taking into consideration the contacts between your meter and ground, etc). If you're supposed to have 12v and you have 2v then you're probably not. You can "scale" the rule from there.

On the ground side, if you're supposed to have good continuity and you're reading 5ohms, you're probably good. If you're supposed to have good continuity and you have 1Kohms then you're probably not.

The rest is just keeping focus on the part you NEED to be looking at and not getting distracted by the spaghetti noodles in the rest of the diagram. I highlighter helps me in that area.

Sounds to me though, like you already got a great grasp on "electricity" and will be just fine

Install a MegaSquirt by splicing in to the existing wiring harness. You'll learn a ton about how to read a schematic. Alternately, get an old British car with one of those good Lucas systems I've heard so much about.

It's all a fairly straightforward system if you have the schematics, and most of the electronics on appliances are pretty simple. Even the complicated digital control panel units are designed such that the whole control module is a FRU so if there's power going in at all the right pins, but not coming back out when it should, collect three kidneys from the household and send them in to exchange for the new control board.

If you're looking to be able to do component-level repair of those electronic control systems, that's a whole bigger ball of wax. Can be done - I used to replace flybacks and ICs on Wyse green screen terminals - but you need a lot more information as to what readings you should get on which pins.

Rufledt wrote:

pinchvalve wrote: Touch both ends. If you get shocked, there is electricity. If not, it is broken. What more do you need to know?

But how do i know exactly how much it's supposed to hurt?!

It takes a while to hone that skill.

Up to 11 volts - nice little tingle
12-48 volts - Ow! Dammit.
49-74.6 volts - OUCH! Damn it!
75 - 100 volts - HOLY CRAP THAT SMARTS!
100 - 120 Volts - YEOW NNNGGGNNZZZPPPP
+120 Volts - Ask a volunteer

115ac is a lot like smacking your funny bone. Except not so funny.

28vdc is like claws ripping the hairs out of your arm.

berkeley DC

Hungary Bill wrote: 115ac is a lot like smacking your funny bone. Except not so funny. 28vdc is like claws ripping the hairs out of your arm. berkeley DC

QFT. DC hurts, ant it doesn't let go!

Rufledt wrote: In reply to Toyman01: Thank you, good sir! PM sent :D

Looks like the PM got lost somewhere. Shoot me an email at toyman zero one five 4 at g mail dot com.

Thanks for the advice everyone!

tr8todd wrote: You are going to learn twice as much twice as fast by digging in and getting your hands dirty than you will by reading about it in a book. I've had apprentices straight out of school that could spew chapter and verse all about codes, and fixture units and blah blah blah, that seriously couldn't figure out how tight to make the bolts holding a toilet tank to a toilet bowl. The best apprentices I have ever seen started out as auto mechanics.

Very true, fortunately that's what i'm doing. I'm working 50-60 hrs a week doing appliance repair for my dad's business.

Hungary Bill wrote: If you can already read and work from schematics then it's all easy peasy man! It's all just input and output, just like plumbing.

That's one of the main things i'm trying to learn. The main thing holding me back at this point is just not knowing what all the symbols mean, but i'm picking that up pretty quickly. I also want to know about house wiring and non-appliance stuff, because that occasionally becomes relevant. Just yesterday a problem with a drier ended up being a breaker that had a wire come loose and started cooking itself. I probably wouldn't have guessed that, but my dad knew the problem straight away. He walked straight to the breaker box and opened it, revealing the plume of smoke inside emanating from the melted breaker.

Toyman01 wrote:

Rufledt wrote: In reply to Toyman01: Thank you, good sir! PM sent :D

Looks like the PM got lost somewhere. Shoot me an email at toyman zero one five 4 at g mail dot com.

Weird... I'll send an email the normal way then.