thehackmechanic
Well-Known Member
(I'm going to use my E9coupe.com free spin card to announce my new book. I hope that's okay. After this post, I'll switch to paid advertising. The link to pre-order the book is http://www.bentleypublishers.com/au...o-european-automotive-electrical-systems.html. The coupon code for 35% off list is "FriendOfRob")
My friends, I can finally answer the question about what I've been working on for the past 15 months at Bentley Publishers. I am proud to announce my new book, "The Hack Mechanic Guide to European Automotive Electrical Systems." Although the word "European" is in the title, and some things ARE European-specific, the book covers much of what you need to know to work on the electrical system of ANY vintage or modern internal combustion car.
There is a LOT of vintage content in this book. In fact, I used my '72tii, my Bavaria, my Euro 635CSi and others as the subject cars for much of the battery, ignition, alternator, and fuse box sections. I would have used my E9, but I was spooked by the prospect of driving it in and out of Cambridge.
The book opens with battery basics -- why a fully-charged battery reads 12.6 volts and not 12V, why, when the alternator is charging it, the battery should read about 14V, and how to use a multimeter to test for these conditions so you can know whether a jump-start or a new battery will save you or whether the car will die again in a mile unless you replace the alternator as well.
It then teaches you about how electricity works in a car, telling you enough about circuits and Ohm's Law to let you calculate how much current actually flows through a short circuit so you can understand why wires melt when there's no load device in the circuit to add resistance.
Following that are detailed practical hands-on chapters on how to use a multimeter to troubleshoot common automotive electrical problems related to the alternator, ignition system, and relays present in all cars, including a chapter on finding parasitic drains that can cause the battery to run down overnight.
The book then steps into the modern world and discusses computers, buses, and control modules, OBD-II, the difference between code readers and scan tools, the dynamic analog signals (sine waves and square waves) used by modern sensors, and the tools needed to detect and measure those signals (automotive multimeters and oscilloscopes).
The book closes with eleven detailed chapters on how to test sensors in newer cars such as oxygen sensors, cam and crankshaft position sensors, and wheel speed (ABS) sensors.
The link to pre-order the book is http://www.bentleypublishers.com/au...o-european-automotive-electrical-systems.html.
AND... I have a promotional code for you, my friends, good for 35% off list price. The code is -- and I cannot fully convey the depth of my love for this -- FriendOfRob (case not important, but if I write it here without case capitalization, it looks like "friend-o-frob"). The code will be valid for a while, but not indefinitely.
So be a FriendOfRob (or a "friend-o-frob"), pre-order the book, and never have to lose sleep wondering how to measure voltage drop again!
My friends, I can finally answer the question about what I've been working on for the past 15 months at Bentley Publishers. I am proud to announce my new book, "The Hack Mechanic Guide to European Automotive Electrical Systems." Although the word "European" is in the title, and some things ARE European-specific, the book covers much of what you need to know to work on the electrical system of ANY vintage or modern internal combustion car.
There is a LOT of vintage content in this book. In fact, I used my '72tii, my Bavaria, my Euro 635CSi and others as the subject cars for much of the battery, ignition, alternator, and fuse box sections. I would have used my E9, but I was spooked by the prospect of driving it in and out of Cambridge.
The book opens with battery basics -- why a fully-charged battery reads 12.6 volts and not 12V, why, when the alternator is charging it, the battery should read about 14V, and how to use a multimeter to test for these conditions so you can know whether a jump-start or a new battery will save you or whether the car will die again in a mile unless you replace the alternator as well.
It then teaches you about how electricity works in a car, telling you enough about circuits and Ohm's Law to let you calculate how much current actually flows through a short circuit so you can understand why wires melt when there's no load device in the circuit to add resistance.
Following that are detailed practical hands-on chapters on how to use a multimeter to troubleshoot common automotive electrical problems related to the alternator, ignition system, and relays present in all cars, including a chapter on finding parasitic drains that can cause the battery to run down overnight.
The book then steps into the modern world and discusses computers, buses, and control modules, OBD-II, the difference between code readers and scan tools, the dynamic analog signals (sine waves and square waves) used by modern sensors, and the tools needed to detect and measure those signals (automotive multimeters and oscilloscopes).
The book closes with eleven detailed chapters on how to test sensors in newer cars such as oxygen sensors, cam and crankshaft position sensors, and wheel speed (ABS) sensors.
The link to pre-order the book is http://www.bentleypublishers.com/au...o-european-automotive-electrical-systems.html.
AND... I have a promotional code for you, my friends, good for 35% off list price. The code is -- and I cannot fully convey the depth of my love for this -- FriendOfRob (case not important, but if I write it here without case capitalization, it looks like "friend-o-frob"). The code will be valid for a while, but not indefinitely.
So be a FriendOfRob (or a "friend-o-frob"), pre-order the book, and never have to lose sleep wondering how to measure voltage drop again!
