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service electrician training
- Thread starter shputnik
- Start date
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kentirwin
Senior Member
- Location
- Norfolk, VA
Could some one recommend books, training websites pertaining to commercial service work?
I did commercial/industrial service work for a few years back in the 90's. I don't know that you're going to find any kind of training materials that will be of much help. My training then consisted of 20+ years of ojt.
fmtjfw
Senior Member
- Location
- Fairmont, WV, USA
Could some one recommend books, training websites pertaining to commercial service work?
You need to understand how the system you are troubleshooting is supposed to work before you can figure out why they don't working.
I'm always picking up old electrical books (Sams, Audel, textbooks, ...) at yard, library, and Goodwill sales. They often have a wealth of information. Check with your local electrical instructor(s) at vocational schools or 2-year colleges for recommendations.
petersonra
Senior Member
- Location
- Northern illinois
- Occupation
- engineer
Some of the more "interesting" troubleshooting calls I have been to have been stuff that have resolved either by Ohm's Law or similar basic electricity.
Learning to read drawings helps a lot too. A fair number of electricians I run across that have had troubleshooting problems don't seem to be able to follow drawings very well. A fair number of the troubleshooting calls I have been on boil down to this issue. I think some people look at a drawing and just don't see what it represents.
Most times when people think it is a "bad ground" or "noise", it isn't.
I would guess that well over half the service calls we do for "PLC programming" problems turn out to be maladjusted or failed limit switches.
Learning to read drawings helps a lot too. A fair number of electricians I run across that have had troubleshooting problems don't seem to be able to follow drawings very well. A fair number of the troubleshooting calls I have been on boil down to this issue. I think some people look at a drawing and just don't see what it represents.
Most times when people think it is a "bad ground" or "noise", it isn't.
I would guess that well over half the service calls we do for "PLC programming" problems turn out to be maladjusted or failed limit switches.
Bacchus
Member
- Location
- East Coast
This is a tough one. The best way to learn is through an apprenticeship. There's very little out there in book knowledge for what you are asking for. You could look if you cared to at some of the products that are out there, but I would think that would be too difficult because there's too many products on the market, like thousands of them. Some things you may never use while others you'll use daily.
I apprenticed with a company that did mostly industrial (translation: lots of pipe bending with ridgid), but we also did quite a fair share of commercial work and only a little residential. The first 2 years was nothing but learning supplies so you were a go-for for at least that time. Learning products and their names and their sizes and where they go, etc... I did a great deal of service work cutting holes in panels for pipe and whatnot, all under a watchful eye of a mechanic. Sounds easy, but without a lot of calculations one mistake can ruin a whole panel.
The only place to start is at the bottom -- and was I way at the bottom. I have some war stories for you all.
BTW, it's easier to go from where I am to residential but it's not as easy as it looks. As an electrician I am top notch. As a mechanic getting things done the easiest and quickest way in residential, not so much.
I apprenticed with a company that did mostly industrial (translation: lots of pipe bending with ridgid), but we also did quite a fair share of commercial work and only a little residential. The first 2 years was nothing but learning supplies so you were a go-for for at least that time. Learning products and their names and their sizes and where they go, etc... I did a great deal of service work cutting holes in panels for pipe and whatnot, all under a watchful eye of a mechanic. Sounds easy, but without a lot of calculations one mistake can ruin a whole panel.
The only place to start is at the bottom -- and was I way at the bottom. I have some war stories for you all.
BTW, it's easier to go from where I am to residential but it's not as easy as it looks. As an electrician I am top notch. As a mechanic getting things done the easiest and quickest way in residential, not so much.
fmtjfw
Senior Member
- Location
- Fairmont, WV, USA
ALWAYS WORK SAFE. Diagnosis of a problem may require you to take measurements while the equipment is energized. Wear proper PPE, use meters with proper CAT rating, use genuine insulated tools. You NEVER want to see the inside of a burn unit. If others tell you "you are a sissy", remember you are the smart one. Once you diagnose a problem you should not do any repairs while the equipment is energized. There may be 1% of the time that energized is justified.
When you are doing service work and the problem is not immediately obvious don't try to carry the whole thing around in your head. Especially if it is complicated find or make a diagram and list each step in your search. As time goes on it will be easier but this method will help you in the beginning.
Use a Low-Z (low impedance voltmeter) and/or a "Wiggly". A standard DVM with high impedance will lead you astray because it will indicate voltages where wires are "floating" and acting as antennas for stray voltages.
Think outside the box. Consider the wiring for two 3-way switches in a circuit that doesn't work properly (light comes on only for 1 out of the 4 position possibilities of the switches). In one case the answer was -- a switch is broken.
When you are doing service work and the problem is not immediately obvious don't try to carry the whole thing around in your head. Especially if it is complicated find or make a diagram and list each step in your search. As time goes on it will be easier but this method will help you in the beginning.
Use a Low-Z (low impedance voltmeter) and/or a "Wiggly". A standard DVM with high impedance will lead you astray because it will indicate voltages where wires are "floating" and acting as antennas for stray voltages.
Think outside the box. Consider the wiring for two 3-way switches in a circuit that doesn't work properly (light comes on only for 1 out of the 4 position possibilities of the switches). In one case the answer was -- a switch is broken.
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