Component tester which one is worth the money from it capability to test and identify

[sam_sam_sam]

I am thinking of buying a component tester but I want to get the most out of the device for the money that I am going to spend

Any idea but I would prefer actual use of the device it good points and it short comings be completely truthful about the review of the device

There are so many versions of this type of device and I do not have enough information to make a good decision at this point

When I bought my battery testing machine I had some information to go by because of electrical experience with auto electrical experience in this field job wise ( also school training as well )

I have some experience with testing component with multi meter but this type of testing is very limited

The reason I am having this post is because I going to try to fix a semi truck computer that has issues with parking lighting circuit and I want to attempt to fix the one that is in a parts truck first to get my feet wet so to speak

I know that this version of this truck has many issues with the parking lights not working correctly anymore after welding on the frame and other mishaps I do not know what the actual history of this truck that my son bought and the parts truck ( this was a package deal for both trucks and was a good price that we got on both )

Yes I have the wiring diagram for this truck already and gone through it so I have some type of idea of how to tackle the issues with this truck

I know how to bypass the computer controller issue but I would like to repair it if possible before I just make it a permanent bypass of the computer ( he has to make money with this truck to pay for buying this investment and how he going to make a living with it ) ( the cost of used semi truck before DEF restrictions became in forced and made mandatory have dropped in price recently which is why my son has made the decision about buying this late model truck because some of his friends that are also owner operators have bought or lease a newer model truck and have nothing but issues with there trucks )

One note this computer has two different circuits on the parking lights one is for the front of the truck and this circuit still works however the one for the back of the truck is the circuit that is completely dead so I just tapped of the circuit that still works and use a power relay to power the back of the truck parking lights )

The dash board lighting the on and off switch the dimmer function is also controlled by the computer ( which function correctly as of now )
The power windows motor and it controls circuit is also controlled by the computer which also does not work either however someone has tried to fix this issue and could not figure out what wrong with it which is my next thing to work on when the truck is not being used

The cost of a used computer that you have no idea about it history and if all of the functions work correctly
start at $300.00 to over a $1000.00 used I might have to go this route and take my chances and hope for the best

A reconditioned computer starts at over $1000.00 to over $7000.00

My guess to what is wrong with this computer issue is that some type of mosfet or some type or some type transistor failure on the parking light circuit

I have seen on several occasions someone attempting to fix a problem on automotive type of computers sometimes they have been able to fix the issue and I am hoping to do the same with some luck

I have on several occasions have successfully repaired computer controlled machine before so I hope I can do this with type of issues here

Thanks

[Per Hansson]

There is a nice document here that has a comparison: https://github.com/madires/Transisto...ison-Chart.pdf

But the basic thing is that they are all pretty much the same so long as they have the same processor.
And the venerable Atmega328 is really maxed out so you can't enable all features.
So a version based on the Atmega 644 was released with more memory.
This is the one I would recommend for home bench use.
Here is a picture of one: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testge...10/#msg2530110

[stj]

644 or 1284

[CapLeaker]

There is decent money in ecu repair… I’ve done a few of them. Some successful, others not. If not successful, most of the time it boils down to some sort of parts issue unless you got donors. If you don’t have donor boards your chances are going down quick.

Here are a few tips that I picked up. Look at capacitors, large wattage SMD resistors and corrosion. Had a truck with blinker issues. When I took the ecu apart, I found out that they were using mosfets as switches. As long as the gate drive to turn on the gate of the mosfet is working, the rest should be ezpz.
As for the component tester, I use one from Peak.

[sam_sam_sam]

Originally Posted by CapLeaker

There is decent money in ecu repair… I’ve done a few of them. Some successful, others not. If not successful, most of the time it boils down to some sort of parts issue unless you got donors. If you don’t have donor boards your chances are going down quick.

Here are a few tips that I picked up. Look at capacitors, large wattage SMD resistors and corrosion. Had a truck with blinker issues. When I took the ecu apart, I found out that they were using mosfets as switches. As long as the gate drive to turn on the gate of the mosfet is working, the rest should be ezpz.
As for the component tester, I use one from Peak.

Thanks for the information

[sam_sam_sam]

Originally Posted by Per Hansson

There is a nice document here that has a comparison: https://github.com/madires/Transisto...ison-Chart.pdf

But the basic thing is that they are all pretty much the same so long as they have the same processor.
And the venerable Atmega328 is really maxed out so you can't enable all features.
So a version based on the Atmega 644 was released with more memory.
This is the one I would recommend for home bench use.
Here is a picture of one: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testge...10/#msg2530110

Thanks for the information

[sam_sam_sam]

Originally Posted by stj

644 or 1284

Thanks for the information

[sam_sam_sam]

Well here is what the issue turn out to be with the parking lights

The parking lights / brake light / turn signal lights / reverse lights module enclosure was not wired correctly after figuring out what was not wired correctly I now have the cab brake lights / turn signal lights / parking lights now working correctly

To get the wiring pins in the correct position I broke a few pin tabs and had to hot glue the pins in place for good measure to make sure that would not push out of the connector hot glue is real good for this

The parking lights were not working correctly for trailers pig tail which turns out to be that the relay does not get power to the coil which I still do not know where it get power from to power the relay but I have an external relay hot wired to parking lights in the front of the truck cab for now and he can drive down the road legally with out getting stopped

When I have more time and my son is not using the truck I will do some more troubleshooting on this issue as well

But when I have more money to spend I will probably buy the peak component tester

[CapLeaker]

That is an excellent component tester. Never let me down so far.

[sam_sam_sam]

Originally Posted by CapLeaker

That is an excellent component tester. Never let me down so far.

Thanks for your feedback

[Crystaleyes]

I've had one of the T7 testers for a few months now, which seems ok. The main gripe I have is that the clamp pins lose their grip a bit from constantly removing and inserting the test leads, so it would be a great improvement if it had individual sockets and pins for the three test leads. A mod which I'll probably end up doing.

Another observation is that there are at least two completely different testers on the market within identical casings, as can be seen in the photos. The 2nd one seems to be a better build, but how you can tell just from the front (pic 3) I couldn't tell you.