The Lethal Strike

WOW....

I had no idea the amount of the severity of high pressure hydraulic lines. I had a basic understanding that the contents under pressure could cause some injury to the skin, even to the point of losing fingers or entire body parts, or worse! I was thinking about posting some pictures with this blog but decided against it, NASTY!

The Lethal Strike video i thought was done well and informed in a way that almost scares you into taking the proper precautions when dealing with high pressure lines. It definately opened my eyes to the dangers and I can garuantee the next time im working with high pressure lines, even if there is no pressure built up, I will be remebering this and being extremely cautious. The one thing that really shocked me is at that amount of pressure leather gloves or the like would be penetrated as well as the skin of your hand or body. Even amounts as low as 100 PSI can cause hydraulic injection.

Im glad i watched this video, and I almost feel like any mechanic or hydraulic repair individual should most definately watch this video or be informed of the dangers before attempting to mess with this stuff. The only regret i have is not watching this sooner in my mechanical career. I have been in hydraulic line repair and even had one burst on me on a D4 Cat. Luckily my hands were not in the line of fire.... evidentally i got pretty lucky.

Mercedes Benz

This last week was spent mostly in Ye Mercedes Benz disassembly. By the end of the week we had the motor completely taken apart down to a bare block. One thing I spent a bit more time on studying was the fuel injection system and fuel injection in general. I feel I have a greater grasp of how these different systems work but would love to get even a greater understand I all of the different types of systems. Below are some pictures of the tear down.

Class/shop: 19
Work:25

Dive in!

This week consisted of a few new thing learned with using the scan tool to see the graphing of electric motors. I can definitely see the use of this tool being a huge advantage in diagnosing. I've used them before he never used them to the full capacity as I was able to do this week.

We were also able to drive the dodge 3500 around the block a few times after the new injector pump and fuel pump were fixed.... That could be a fun truck!

My highlight of this week was getting started on the Mercedes Benz disassembly. We were able to find quite a bit of info on the tear down process. I'm excited to reassemble and follow procedure on all aspects. This thing had got close to 900 lbs/ft web it's operating! Dang!

Reverse Polarity

This past week was alot of fun being able to use what i know and create a circuit that took alot of thinking, brainstorming, and testing. Using a switch, 2 relays, and a "door lock type motor" we were able to reverse polarity to get the motor to operate properly. We didint have a 2 way rocker switch so we ended up burning up a couple fuses in the process but were were able to find out just how to connect all of the components in correct sequence. Exciting...

Lab hours: 22 Hours
Work Hours: 18 Hours

DC Motor Video

Below is a video i found about DC motors that explained well how the brushed DC motor works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-YXBxzKx7g&feature=related

One think I for some reason was confused with is the brushes. I wasnt aware polarity was changed as the rotor turned. It makes sense now...

Week 1

Getting back into class was pretty exciting for me after spending the summer learning about Anaerobic Digesters and working.

This week we dove back into electricity in a few different ways. I spent alot of time on the Truck Lightening system learn boards and was able to connect the lights in correct circuits to work. A few more things need to be connected to get it working fully which is something I will do in the following week.

I also spent some time creating a relay circuit with a bulb, 9V battery and test leads. Being able to create a circuit from scratch is something that seems somewhat basic but can really help in diagnosing or chasing down electrical problems. Trying not to get lost in the web of a wireing harness by getting back to the basics of a circuit will cut down on diagnosing time and frustration/confusion.

Hours
Class/Lab: 28
Work Hours: 13

Vanderhawk dairy

Run off the digester!