Troubleshooting wiring faults is a critical skill if we want to keep systems operating and customers happy. In this course, students will learn a repeatable process they can use to find any open, short, reverse polarity, or ground fault. They will also learn advanced troubleshooting techniques to find pernicious circuit faults like intermittent faults, weak shorts (e.g., ground fault through water or a ground fault through an intelligent module), and how to determine the order of devices on a circuit.

The first day of this course is the same as the Foundations version.

Students will start by learning about the elementary physical forces that allow electricity to exist. Students will gain a clear understanding of current, voltage, and resistance. Building upon that knowledge, students will learn how circuits work and the different types of circuit faults.

After understanding basic circuit faults, students will learn how series and parallel control circuits (e.g., security, fire alarm, HVAC, SCADA, and other low voltage equipment control wiring) work, how these circuits get compromised, and how to find and fix the problem. Students will learn to troubleshoot circuits with and without end-of-line resistors.

Students will learn how to use a multimeter and how to stay safe while doing so.

Most importantly, students will get repeated practice troubleshooting and diagnosing opens, shorts, and reverse polarity on the FS-24-TBS Troubleshooting Station, which has 80 wiring segments between devices where faults can be introduced by the instructor.

Courses are tailored to the audience. When HVAC and building automation techs are in attendance, they will learn 24 VAC troubleshooting and practice metering transformers. When fire alarm techs are in attendance, they will learn how to troubleshoot Class A wiring. Security techs will learn how to diagnose faults on series circuits and how to determine whether contacts are open or closed. Both security and fire alarm techs will practice troubleshooting ground faults through water.

On Day 2, students will learn how to use an ohmmeter (including tone and continuity modes, which are sometimes separate, depending on the meter) and when it is advised to use an ohmmeter instead of a voltmeter. Students will learn to use advanced digital multimeter features, such as manual range, bar graph, and min/max record.

Controls and automation techs who work with 4-20 mA sensors will get to practice reading 4-20 mA sensor outputs. All Day 2 students will learn how to measure current to see if a circuit is overloaded.

Students will also learn how to use other electronic tools besides a digital multimeter, such as analog meters, meggers, and inductive amplifiers with tone generators.

Students will learn how to find a good ground reference and will be introduced to the Portable Ground Reference.

Of course, Day 2 students will again practice their new skills using the FS-24-TBS Troubleshooting Station. Day 2 students also get to practice troubleshooting multiple simultaneous faults.

Additionally, students will learn how to read basic one-line DC electrical diagrams to determine how a relay is configured, using the FS-5-BFT Relay Training Board.

This is an in-person course and incorporates animations, live interactive demos, a custom video game, and hands-on practice diagnosing wiring issues.

The Full Course is a two-day training class, covering basic and advanced topics. The first day of the Full Course is also offered as the one-day Foundations class. Background and more details are available on the overview page.

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Course length: 16 hours
(16 CPD points)

Price: $1000 per student

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Schedule

If you'd like for us to bring this class to a town near you, fill out the form below to let us know.

 

We require a minimum of 6 students for dedicated classes.  If you don't have that many students, you can still attend a public version of our training. Check out our schedule to see if we have anything planned nearby. If not, submit the form above and we'll let you know when we're coming to your area.