Am2 fault finding help!!!

[smileroutkast]

hello everyone

i have recently had my results back from my AM2 fault finding retake and i have found out that i have failed it. i had no problems with my AM2 at all apart from the fault finding. i rarely get a chance to fault find on site so this is a grey area for me and i struggle at it! any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated, i bought a book online and it was of little help so anything from anyone who thinks they can help would be of great help to me

thanks

 

[ian3012]

right smiler... i'm guessing am2 is like level 2 2330?....if you're struggling with fault finding, it's because you haven't got your head around the circuits..

try drawing the (eg) upstairs lighting circuit for your house .... then go to each switch and ceiling rose, and see if you can match your drawing to the actual wiring...(get a good supply of rubbers.... ) ....after a million alterations... and if you get clever, you'll probably be able to imagine whats going on in the loft too, without going to look... you'll be able to do this after you realise how to check for continuity with a meter....( i'd wait til your mum's gone out tho'...)

you have to put hours of effort in...but if you don't think you'll ever be able to do this, you're just one of those lads who struggles with it in your head... no shame in that, there's plenty of us around son.

the only way after this, is to build yourself a lighting rig at home... with a one way and a two way light etc, you could even get yourself a fan isolation switch and a fan for xmas... you'll learn faster this way...and eventually you'll be able to form pictures in your head, of whats going on faultwise

i know it sounds boring .... but there is no quick fix....keep practising... the more you practice, the luckier you'll get. Guinness

 

[Dean182]

Which part are struggling with? Theres two parts in AM2, the Rectification or the Diagnosis? Alot of guys struggle because they get worked up and feel pressured. A few guys went into panic mode when i did mine.

 

[smileroutkast]

thanks guys! i struggle with both of them, the first time around i only got half of the faults correct and the same with the second time around, so at least i know im doin something right rather than being totally clueless. i struggle with fault finding in general, cuz we have our own testers on the firm i work for who do all the fault finding and stuff. so its very rare that i get a chance to work with one, i cant remember the last time i did if im honest. i dont know where to start when i get in there, and if im honest im not totally sure when i do find a fault, wether its right or not, when i think about it away from the exam it seems so simple. but when im in there its like a nightmare! any tips would be great, on where to start or the best way to go about it, or jus any knowledge of fault finding in general would be insightful to read from people who have been in the same situation before...

 

[the doctor]

hi,

not an expert on AM2 by any means but there only 3 faults that can exist

open circuit

short circuit

crossed wiring

so lets say a typical "job card" reads "report of fluorescent light not working"

1 isolate the big board

2 take lid off flu

3 set ohm meter to ohms or "bell"

4 stab in on the lighting breaker and L terminal to get reading/bell

5 if no bell, switch the switches till you get bell- if you do line is proven

6 stab on neutral in board and N at light- no reading/ bell - open neutral

the two faults you find in real life are either open or shorts......

the only one that could catch anyone out is the crossed wiring as it would be rarely found. here a brown leaving the mains ends up as a blue at its destination and vice-versa

does this help you out?

best wishes

alan

 

[kme]

I, who know NOTHING of the AM2, other than what it is......

Fault finding is weird. Ian3012 and Doc are both correct in what they say. Make yourself small mock-ups of a cct; or try to get your boss at work to let you go on a "fault-find" with one of the sparx. Do not be afraid to ask questions - its the only way you`ll learn

Generally, it is a logical thought process. Why does this happen? Why do I get "blah" reading on my meter? What can cause it?

Think of it like a flowchart. Somewhere between the start (CU) and the end (equipment that doesn`t work) is a problem. What sort of problem can it be? Different problems will display different symptoms. Learning to link one to the other is a key point in fault finding. Everything comes back to logical thought process. As Ian says, if you cannot mentally visualise it, draw it, or write it down.

HTH

KME

 

[Lurch]

A general note on fault finding in the real world - "it has always worked fine until last week" means "it's never worked since the day it was installed so you've no chance of ever fixing it or working out what the hell is going on with the odd wiring so you might as well just go ahead and rewire it all".

Also, always make the user show you what they're doing, they will switch switch A to operate appliance appliance A for 10 years, then start using switch B for no reason whatsoever and swear blind that it's the same switch they've used for the last 10 years.

 

[oldtimespark]

The first method of fault finding I was taught was the " half-split " This method splits the circuit in half an example being a dol stop/start circuit with 6 stop buttons.

Is easy to then split the circuit in half again and test for continuity try a web search for a better explanation

 

[smileroutkast]

thanks everyone! anyone else with any thoughts feel free to post a reply, im eager to learn the fault findin process and wana know how to do it inside out!

 

[das_ist]

i recently passed my am2. only got one fault wrong out of the whole lot.

bearing in mind you only have a continuity tester. best thing is just to think about how the circuit works and trace it with the tester.

and on the other section your only looking for things so shouldnt need to test at all.

 

[smileroutkast]

how did u go about discoverin the faults? any kind of insight would help loads! like what was ur process you went thru to find them? i have my retake soon and wana gain as much knowledge as possible!