Wireless transmitter eases electrical diagnosis

A small, wireless transmitter may simplify electrical diagnosis in your service department. Here's why this method may become a more-common test technique.

Voltage is electrical pressure; current is electrical volume. Measuring these values with the appropriate meter is the foundation of effective electrical diagnosis.

However, field experience has shown that poor access to electrical connections and components often discourages — or completely thwarts — these vital measurements.

The result is costly guesswork and mistakes. Simply put, the harder it is to reach, the less likely it is to be tested and tested thoroughly.

Equipping a meter with extra-long test leads is one way to access hard-to-reach electrical connections and components.

A regular supplier may have these products. If not, then one potential source is Automotive Electronics Services.

This company has been making custom leads for me for more than 20 years. Thanks to these extra-long leads,

I have been able to make many electrical measurements safely from the driver's seat — especially during road tests.

Another option is a meter with a wireless, remote display. Here, a technician connects the meter to the circuit or component — but leaves the meter resting in place near the test point's location.

Then the meter transmits its measurements to a detachable, palm-size display. A tech can carry this remote display to the driver's seat or some other spot in or near the vehicle.

As far as I know, this capability is exclusive to the model 233 / A test kit from Fluke Corp.

A more-recent option, however, is measuring voltage or current with a wireless transmitter and a modern cellular telephone.

For example, Lang Tools offers wireless test kit, number 13810.

A fairly compact wireless transmitter is the heart of this setup. Lang's transmitter technique resembles Fluke's format in two ways.

First, the user connects the transmitter to the circuit and leaves it in place — close to the actual test point.

Second, this approach either eliminates or minimizes the need for extra-long test leads.

A tech can plug voltmeter leads into industry-standard terminals in the face of Lang's transmitter.

For current (amps) measurements, this kit includes both a low-current and high-current "clamp."

Either current clamp slides right onto the wireless transmitter itself, thereby eliminating another test lead from the procedure — very simple but very slick.

Lang provides a wireless app for both Apple and Android cellphones. Download the app into a cell; then synchronize it to the transmitter per the user's instructions. It's just like synchronizing a cell to other wireless devices.

Now the transmitter broadcasts test results to the cell while it's measuring voltage or current on the vehicle.

This means the screen of the cell serves as a large, bright, functional meter face during an electrical diagnosis.

At this time, I favor the cell display for several reasons.

First, operating the Lang wireless app doesn't seem to have shortened the life of the phone's battery.

Second, maneuvering the cell to various, high-visibility locations on dashboards and instrument panels has been fairly easy. So, this has simplified safe road testing for me.

Third, I have found that I prefer the visibility — readability, if you will — of even the most-basic iPhone over previous displays.

Furthermore, voltage or current measurements are even easier to see when using a larger-screen iPhone or Android product.

Once again, this is particularly helpful during road testing — not to mention when working in poorly lit service bays. (The easier we make the task, the more often the task is performed.)

Last but not least for now, I have used common twist ties or wire ties to temporarily secure the wireless transmitter to brackets, hoses, harnesses, crossmembers, etc.

An unexpected challenge, however, has been remembering to retrieve the device before returning the vehicle to its owner.