I may have blown a fuse In the TV

luvmymanor1 · 07-07-2011, 07:52 PM

quick question... don't want to interupt my own thread. lol... when testing the bargman 7 pin with a multimeter to see if there is power when the engine is off. what should I set the multimeter to? dc or ac? I'm assuming ac right? if so what pins to I contact to tell if there is ample power? thanks

Barb&Tim · 07-07-2011, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvmymanor1

quick question... don't want to interupt my own thread. lol... when testing the bargman 7 pin with a multimeter to see if there is power when the engine is off. what should I set the multimeter to? dc or ac? I'm assuming ac right? if so what pins to I contact to tell if there is ample power? thanks

DC

And make sure the meter is set up to measure voltage! - not current or resistance.

See the Wiring diagrams here:

http://www.etrailer.com/faq-wiring.aspx

I assume you have the 7 pin bargman

Connect your Meters black lead (-) to any metal (frame) on your TV, then carefully put the red lead (+) on pin 4 (+12v battery) -- upper right side of the bargman. Be careful that you do not short any of the pins together in the process. You should see your TV battery voltage (+12v) on this pin if it is hot.

Tim

luvmymanor1 · 07-07-2011, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barb&Tim

DC

And make sure the meter is set up to measure voltage! - not current or resistance.

See the Wiring diagrams here:

http://www.etrailer.com/faq-wiring.aspx

I assume you have the 7 pin bargman

Connect your Meters black lead (-) to any metal (frame) on your TV, then carefully put the red lead (+) on pin 4 (+12v battery) -- upper right side of the bargman. Be careful that you do not short any of the pins together in the process. You should see your TV battery voltage (+12v) on this pin if it is hot.

Tim

ok tested the battery on the TV red to black and I get 14.6 mV and then when I test as you stated above I get 18.9 - 21.6 mV depending on what part of the car I touch with the black end. apparently there is power there but what I'm confused about is why there is more coming from the bargman 7 pin than from the battery itself?

Barb&Tim · 07-07-2011, 10:31 PM

Hmmm, On your meter. you should be seeing V (volts) not mV (miliVolts). Many digital voltmeters will give mV readings even when it is not connected to anything. On the meter, I assume your black lead is connected to the meter Com (common) and the red lead to the Volts?

Tim

Barb&Tim · 07-07-2011, 10:46 PM

Any low Mv reading is something close to zero and should be considered zero.
Go back to your TV battery and remeasure it -- if you have the meter set up correctly it should read somewhere between 12-15V not mV.

Just to give you an idea of a mV is, it takes 100mV to equal 0.1V.

Tim

luvmymanor1 · 07-07-2011, 11:00 PM

this is the meter I got model # ms8232b http://fp.vendaria.com/vpop/VpopView...tle=&pf=t&fr=t

as you can see the black and red wires are permanently connected to the unit... there is no way to connect them yourself.

you can use the small icon on the right of the link to zoom in. I turn the bottom knob to the right (first position right of off) V= Hz% which when set gives me reading in mV for DC. using the function button on top I can toggle to AC in V but DV only comes in mV,,, checked with the manual...

luvmymanor1 · 07-07-2011, 11:11 PM

ok I tested a 1.5 volt battery... the meter toggles from mV to V when I touch the battery ends. abd it in fact read 1.609 V so going out to the TV now to check if it toggles on that reading to V. I suspect it did NOT becouse I remember seeing mV but it could have been right befor contact. checking now. will report back shortly.

Barb&Tim · 07-07-2011, 11:15 PM

Ok, got that. If you have tried everything by the meter instructions to measure your TV battery voltage (right at the battery) and all you are getting are mV readings instead on V readings then i would have to assume that the meter is not working.

I cannot think of anything else to suggest.

Edit: ok waiting for your results.

Tim

luvmymanor1 · 07-07-2011, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barb&Tim

Ok, got that. If you have tried everything by the meter instructions to measure your TV battery voltage (right at the battery) and all you are getting are mV readings instead on V readings then i would have to assume that the meter is not working.

I cannot think of anything else to suggest.

Edit: ok waiting for your results.

Tim

ok sorry for the delay... wanted to check and double check... testing the battery directly with engine off is in fact 12.20 V not mV.... now testing the power on the bargman tests mV and skips around from 0 to 31 mV... turned on the TV and tested the bargman again with ignition running and power tests the same on the bargman... after the car ran for 15 min. the batter tested 14.4 V again not mV... Now its dark out there and I may have shorted in the bargman. could it be that I burned a fuse some where? actually I know that the rear lights on the TV came on once or twise. I tried my best not to touch other prongs but had the flashlight to my neck and the meter on my lap and was on the floor thinking tim said not to touch anything else agrrrr. let me know what you think... dont know what to think now.

Barb&Tim · 07-07-2011, 11:55 PM

Yes unfortunately you might have blown a fuse. I suggest you tackle it in the daylight.

I've got o get a little sleep as i am heading out tomorrow morning with the TM to Myrtle Beach.

I wish you luck with what you are trying to do.

Tim