Good article.
My favorite feature of an old school incandescent test light is that it requires current to illuminate and is therefore a better indicator of a good circuit than a voltmeter or an LED test light. You can get a 12 volt reading on a voltmeter or light an LED through a pretty crappy connection but to light a test light you need a good one. More than once I've quickly found a connection problem in a lighting circuit using a test light that someone had spent hours trying to track down with a meter.
A test light is also the quickest way to test fuses in a fuse box. Turn on the key and the headlights and the light should illuminate when you touch the probe to each end of the fuse. No need to pull the fuses and look at them and because it's so quick to check them it's not even worth figuring out which fuse might cause the problem you're troubleshooting. Just check them all and if you find a bad one then confirm it's in a related circuit.
Next article: how to repair your burned out sensitive electronics from using our test light and poking the wrong bits 
send me an email and you can get a real fuse center
Paul_VR6 (Forum Supporter) said:
Next article: how to repair your burned out sensitive electronics from using our test light and poking the wrong bits
Exactly, I watch for test lights in the shop and ask the techs what the heck they are using them on. Anything in our line of work can be tested by plugging in a computer and testing one of the 47 computers running the brains.
chandler said:
Paul_VR6 (Forum Supporter) said:
Next article: how to repair your burned out sensitive electronics from using our test light and poking the wrong bits
Exactly, I watch for test lights in the shop and ask the techs what the heck they are using them on. Anything in our line of work can be tested by plugging in a computer and testing one of the 47 computers running the brains.
One certainly should be aware of where they're poking a test light but if you know what you're doing they're often the best tool for the job.
APEowner said:
chandler said:
Paul_VR6 (Forum Supporter) said:
Next article: how to repair your burned out sensitive electronics from using our test light and poking the wrong bits
Exactly, I watch for test lights in the shop and ask the techs what the heck they are using them on. Anything in our line of work can be tested by plugging in a computer and testing one of the 47 computers running the brains.
One certainly should be aware of where they're poking a test light but if you know what you're doing they're often the best tool for the job.
I would say that a very high % of the time, the operator of such a tool does not have that knowledge. 
I would say that a very high % of the time, the operator of such a tool does not have that knowledge.
Ok , I do not have the knowledge , please tell me what NOT to do....
newest car I have is. 2005 Chevy Express van ,
I doubt I can screw up my old air cooled VWs !
Thanks
Personally, the BEST thing that was in the article was warning people to be careful because of the computers. You kept the article simple, but most people don't really know much about electricity and they sure aren't going to learn by one small article.
The article was good, don't get me wrong, but with the little learning involved in it, I can foresee some, not all, will learn those lessons the hard way, and most of the computers in vehicles anymore are NOT cheap.
Photography by Carl Heideman
