I should have mentioned that this is mostly for tracking down a voltage
drop during the conditions where the voltage drop is present. If you
find a low voltage you can use the pin to probe into the wire core and
check voltages along the way back to where the voltage is found good.
Then you have narrowed down the problem area.

This process allows you to check most voltages with everything still
hooked up and even running.

Any kind of sharp pin will do and I actually prefer safety pins since I
can keep 1 or 2 clipped on my volt meter leads so I always have them
when I want them.

The pin makes a small enough hole in the insulation that there is no
danger of a short to some external metal when you are done.

Mark

neil N wrote:
> Neat trick.
>
> I'll have to remember that one!
>
> Neil.
>
> On Sun, Apr 20, 2008 at 7:00 PM, Mark Drillock <drillock@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
>>  I would at least
>>  check the connection inside the wiring box on the firewall. The black
>>  wire from the key should have a splice in there that you can find. Find
>>  it and use the hat pin trick to see if that is where your problem in.
>>  The hat pin is used to poke through the wire insulation to inner metal
>>  wire on each side of the connector to check if the voltage is the same
>>  on both sides. It is isn't then the connection is the problem.
>>
>>  Mark
>>
>>
>>