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by Vince Virgilio,
EAST Training, Inc. and

Steve Bodofsky,
Steve Bodofsky Productions

Figure 1: Actuators generally fall into one of

n the first two parts of

Making the Connection, we looked at
easy ways to determine
how to connect a meter or
scope to a sensor or
switch, without checking
a schematic. In this, the
last issue of the series,
were going to discuss
how to check actuators or
outputs. These are the
components that do the
work, once the computer
receives and analyzes its
information.
three basic categories: solenoids, motors or relays.
In general, actuators or
outputs fall into one of three categories: solenoids, motors and relays
(figure 1). Well examine each of these
three categories, to see how to check
the signals they receive.

Actuator 1: Solenoids

Figure 2: When testing a one-wire solenoid, connect the positive lead to the feed wire,
and the negative lead to a nearby ground.

40

Solenoids are one of the easiest

components to check electrically. In
simplest terms, solenoids are electromagnets: They receive power and
ground, which energizes the windings
and creates a magnetic field. That magnetic field is what causes the solenoid
to open or close.
Solenoids will usually have either
one wire or two. The one-wire solenoids are fairly easy to figure out: The
wire always provides the power to energize the solenoid, and they ground
through the solenoid housing.
To connect your meter or scope,
backprobe the connector to the solenoid, and connect your meters positive
lead to the backprobe pin. Then conGEARS June/July 2002

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Making the Connection Part 3

ber of circuits. In the end, the
source of the ground is the battery: A voltage drop of more
than 0.1 volts from the negative
battery terminal to the component indicates a dirty or burnt
connection somewhere in the
ground circuit.

DIAGNOSTIC TIP:

Figure 3: A simple hatpin is a cheap and functional alternative to a dedicated backprobe pin.

nect the negative lead to a good ground

surface, preferably close to where the
solenoid mounts (figure 2).
Dont forget that you can still have
a problem in the ground side of the circuit on a single-wire solenoid. If the
positive side of the solenoid seems

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okay, dont forget to perform a voltage

drop test between the solenoid housing
and ground.
And remember, depending on the
component and how its wired, ground
can come from the transmission case,
or it may be provided through any num-

A number of suppliers offer

specialized backprobe pins that
work great for backprobing
wiring harnesses. But you can
save yourself some money by
buying a pack of large hatpins
from a local sewing center (figure 3), or wig pins from a beauty supply house. Either of these
pins works great for backprobing most electrical connectors.

CAUTION: Many techs use piercing probes to connect their meters or

scopes instead of backprobing. That
works, but it can affect the vehicles
warranty. If you do pierce the wiring
insulation a practice we dont really

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recommend make sure you

seal the hole when youre finished, to prevent water from
wicking down through the harness and damaging electrical
components. An easy way to
seal the insulation is with a drop
of clear nail polish (figure 4).
WARNING: Keeping hatpins, wig pins and nail polish in
your toolbox might cause someone to get the wrong idea about
you!
How you check a two-wire
solenoid depends on whether
both wires go right to the solenoid, or if one provides a common connection for several
solenoids.
Figure 4: If youre using a piercing probe, always seal the hole in the wire when youre done. A
If both wires go directly to
drop of clear nail polish works great for that.
the solenoid, connect one meter
lead to one wire, and the other lead to
may have a problem determining which
In that case, you might want to
the other wire. If your meter reads neglead is power and which is ground. In
check out a couple books from the
ative when the solenoid energizes, swap
most cases these connectors feed into
ATRA Bookstore: Testing Electronic
the leads (figure 5).
the side of the transmission, which
Transmissions (domestic and import
But if one of the wires is a common
makes things more difficult because
versions). These books provide a lot of
connection for multiple solenoids, you
you cant trace them visually.
information about testing electronic

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Making the Connection Part 3

transmissions, including pulling codes and
forcing shifts. And they include a picture of
the transmission connectors, with each terminal identified. From there, its easy to
determine which wires to check to see if the
circuits working properly.
CAUTION: Dont forget, just because
a solenoid works okay electrically, that
doesnt guarantee the solenoid is good. It
can still have a mechanical problem, or be
damaged hydraulically. Always check the
solenoids completely before reusing or condemning them.

Actuator 2: Motors

Figure 5: When testing a two-wire solenoid, connect one meter lead to one wire,
and the other lead to the other wire. If you get a negative reading, swap the leads.

Figure 6a: Electric motors, such as this blower motor, create an AC signal when
they operate. If the voltage exceeds 500 mVAC, youll need to replace the capacitor
or the motor itself.

Just like solenoids, motors will usually

have one wire or two. If the motor has one
wire, thats the power feed: Ground is supplied through the motor housing. Just
remember to perform a voltage drop test
between the motor housing and ground.
If the motor has two wires, one will be
power and the other ground. Just like with
the solenoids, connect one meter lead to one
wire, and the other meter lead to the other
wire. If your meter reads negative, swap the
leads.
There are some unusual motors in use,
such as some electric window motors,
which switch polarity to switch direction.
But theyre the rarity, and they probably
wont affect you while working on a transmission.
One thing you should remember to do
when checking an electric motor is to check
it again with your meter set to AC volts.
Motors actually generate an alternating current while operating. That AC signal can
cause a serious disruption to the computer
system. Thats why most manufacturers now
use some type of capacitor on the motor
feed: To filter out the AC created as the
motor operates.
Any more than about 500 millivolts AC
indicates a problem in the circuit (figures 6a
and b). Excessive AC voltage can trigger the
computer or ignition system, and cause the
engine to run rough, stall intermittently, or
cause other difficult-to-find driveability
problems. Too much AC can indicate a bad
capacitor or even a bad motor. In either
case, you should take care of that problem
before returning the car to the customer.

Actuator 3: Relays
Figure 6b: Dont let the high peak-to-peak voltage fool you: Notice that the RMS
voltage is still under 250 mVAC.

44

A relay is a device that allows a small

current to control a second device that
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Making the Connection Part 3

Figure 7: A relay allows a low-current signal to operate a high-current device.

Figure 8: At low speeds, the current for the motor passes through the normally-closed
contacts.

requires a large amount of current.

Commonly used with cooling and
blower motors, relays are even being
used to provide power to the computer
system or transmission on some cars.
Chrysler, for example, uses the EATX
relay to provide power for the transaxle
solenoids.
Well talk about relays as if theyre
two separate parts: The low side and the
high side. The low side is the part of the

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solenoid that the computer or switch

energizes. The high side is the part that
provides a high-current signal to the
motor or device it controls.
Virtually all relays use the same
basic internal schematic (figure 7). The
low side (in blue) is an electromagnet.
When energized, the magnet pulls
against an arm that controls two sets of
contacts for the high side of the solenoid (in red).

One set of contacts is normally

closed; energizing the solenoid
opens these contacts.

The other set of contacts is normally open; energizing the solenoid

closes these contacts.

While not every application uses

both sets of contacts, most relays have
both sets available. A common example
of using both sets is a standard blower
relay, found on most GM vehicles (figure 8). The normally-closed contacts
provide the circuit connection for the
low speeds to the blower motor. The
current travels through a series of resistors, through the normally-closed contacts, and to the blower motor.
When you select high speed, the
blower switch energizes the relay (figure 9). This opens the normally-closed
contacts, and closes the normally-open
contacts. The normally-open contacts
now provide full system voltage to the
blower motor, which allows the blower
motor to operate at full speed.
So how do we use that information
to check the relay circuit? Start by identifying which wires are low side and
which are high side. Many Bosch relays
actually have a schematic molded right
into the housing, making it easy to
identify the two halves (figure 10).
If you dont have a schematic,
check the wire size: Remember, a solenoid allows a low current to operate a
high current. In most cases, the highcurrent side will use much larger wires
than the low-current side; or in some
cases theyll use double wires for the
high-current side (figure 11).

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Figure 9: When you move the switch to high, it energizes the relay. This opens the
normally-closed contacts and closes the normally-open contacts, to provide full
system voltage to the blower motor.

Figure 10: Many Bosch relays have their

schematic molded right into the relay case.

Figure 11: The size of the wires can give you a strong indication of which wires
deliver the low-current signal (green arrows), and which provide power to the highcurrent side (orange arrows).

From there, youll need to know

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on a blower relay, the blower switch
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normally grounded.
Check the small wires to see if you
have power and ground. If so, try disconnecting the wires, and listen for the
relay to click. If the relay doesnt click
when you energize and de-energize it,

its bad.
If the relay clicks, next check
whether you have power to the high side
of the relay. If not, take care of that
problem first. Most relay high side circuits are protected by either a fuse or
fusible link.
If you have power to the high side,
check whether you have power to the
relay output when its energized. If not,
the contacts are damaged or burnt. But
if you have power coming out of the
relay, the relay itself is fine: Any problem would have to be in the circuit its
controlling, such as a bad motor or broken wire to the motor.
So, whether youre checking a sensor or solenoid, input or output, taillight
or computer circuit, one thing remains
the same: The trick to diagnosing the
circuit is understanding how its supposed to work. From there, figuring out
which wire to check is the easy part.

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