MadTinkerer
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I think you are confusing two different tools. There is the load pro leads and the power probe 4. Two great tools but completely different.
Powerprobe IV
- Thread starter BFHtime
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I think you are confusing two different tools. There is the load pro leads and the power probe 4. Two great tools but completely different.
I picked up a PP IV. Never owned one in the past, and never really needed one to diag. My fluke meter and long leads have served me well for years. I would borrow a PP 2 from a co worker every now and then when i needed to power something up when my leads where not long enough. but beyond that i never really saw it as a diagnostic tool. But what really sold me on the IV was Power Feed Mode. You get resistance, battery voltage and tip voltage all on the display at once. Great for doing voltage drops and checking resistance. Plus with the tip being removable i can still use all my fluke leads and ends with it. Just got it about a week ago and haven't really used it much but with the 25Ft leads and always knowing you have a good ground and what true bat voltage is it should cut down on diag times ?
Just got a power probe iv and have been playing around with it a little. Wish there were more detailed u tube videos of people using it. I am pretty leary getting around any wiring with an ecm hooked to it. I was reading where the hook has the hot shot feature which looks like what the load pro does. doesn't seem to be on the power probe iv. Like anything I have learned , I feel more comfortable learning by watching someone that knows how to do it then by reading it in a manual. guess I'm in no hurry and will just keep watching for new posts on u tube of using the power probe iv. Sure who ever does it will be getting a huge amount of hits if they get more detailed then just general stuff without close ups of what they are really putting the settings and tip on. HINT , HING , HINT
SuzukiGS750EZ
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Just be safe and use it on an isolated circuit for the time being. You can check for voltage with it at and away from a computer, just don't shoot 12v up a wire if you don't know where it goes. But play around with it. A good example is a friend called me and said her car was over heating. I turned the AC on and no fans. Took power probe and checked for 12v at fan. Nothing. Put 12v to fan, they turn on. Unhooked fan relay and checked with powerprobe. Worked. Reconnected harness and wiggled. Fans come on. Super simple.
mainline.electronics
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If anyone is thinking about buying a power probe hook then in my opinion its pretty useless.
For one the thing is too big.
Its too slow like someone else said in the forum its so slow it wont even detect a 12v pulse such as turn signals.
On powering up a small motor you have to make sure you turn the trip current all the way up otherwise the inrush will trip it out making you think the motor is drawing too much current.
Loadpro ? although never having had one seems to just be a resistor 25 ohm ? in a case.
So go buy a cheap multimeter, switch and resistor and you have a loadpro.
For one the thing is too big.
Its too slow like someone else said in the forum its so slow it wont even detect a 12v pulse such as turn signals.
On powering up a small motor you have to make sure you turn the trip current all the way up otherwise the inrush will trip it out making you think the motor is drawing too much current.
Loadpro ? although never having had one seems to just be a resistor 25 ohm ? in a case.
So go buy a cheap multimeter, switch and resistor and you have a loadpro.
signcrafter
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Loadpros are "just a resistor". Not positive on the ohms but think you are right or close. But the loadpros are a resistor in a nice package. They are nicely built and the tips are a really nice design. The tips are hollow so they will sit nicely on terminal pins unlike most lead tips that are pointed and move all around. Can you make your own loadpro for under 10 bucks, sure. But it's not going to be as nice of a package as the loadpro and probably won't be as nice to use. I'm a huge fan of making my own tools, have posted many tools I made myself by looking at the tool you can buy and making something similar for myself. But I felt loadpro offered enough value for the price that I didn't bother making one for myself. Also, I bought it along with the book. The book is worth it's weight in gold for anyone.
khp
Member
I have the Powerprobe 4 and the Loadpro ( I actually have a previous version of Load pro which is called teslite). I would save your money and keep the pp3. Go and buy a u-scope with AC adapter, 10:1 adapter. The uscope is very handy is looking and measuring signals. I use mine more than the Picoscope. The feature of the pp4 for measuring voltage drops in circuit is cool but the loadpro will do the same thing. The fuel injector mode of pp4 only works on cars. Won't work on diesel injectors as per pp. But my liittle uscope does and everything else I need.
FigureItOut
Well-known member
Those are the reasons I've been waffling back and forth on buying the Load Pro, with or without the book, or just making one. I thought I'd use a potentiometer to vary the "load". Nice to hear the LP is a good buy from someone who also seems to have considered making their own.
How would you describe the book? Is it more of a step by step kinda thing, or does it more delve into the principles behind the process? One review said it could be useful to someone with very little knowledge or a more advanced user, would you say that's accurate? I work in auto electrical but have some gaps in my knowledge.
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signcrafter
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If you work in auto electrical I would just buy one. The thing that stopped me from making one is trying to put a resistor in a set of leads and make it a nice package that is easy to use. I couldn't come up with a "case" to put it all in like the loadpro has that puts everything right at your finger tips in a sturdy package. You can solder in a resistor and maybe use some heat shrink to make it more sturdy but you still need a button to activate the load. For the price I just couldn't come up with a way to duplicate it that I thought would be as nice to use. Plus my meter and leads are my go to tool when it comes to electrical so it was worth it to me to buy vs. build.
Here is one of my electrical projects that I did build, http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=241265&highlight=relay&showall=1. It's a relay circuit tester and they are more expensive to buy, although I just checked and I think they have come down in price. But it's something I don't use often so I decided to just build my own. It was a fun project and I've used it a few times now and it's a really nice tool to have around.
As for the book it is VERY well written. It basically covers everything and is written so that beginners will understand but also so that seasoned mechanics will get a lot of new stuff out of it. I go back and re read the book about once a year and will go back and read certain parts all the time. The author has his own way of testing that looks at things different then most do. It took me a little to fully grasp his method but once I did it is a really neat way to look at things. He really knows his stuff and he was able to write this book so that it really conveys his knowledge. I'm not one to be able to sit down and read a book, I have ADHD or something and when I read a book I get distracted easy and have to re read everything 10 times. But I can sit down and read this book and I can actually absorb the info. Here is his youtube channel, https://www.youtube.com/user/bivideo7. He does have some videos about the loadpro vs powerprobe and snap on that he gets kinda passionate in but his other videos are very informative and should give you a little idea about the book.
Bennylava
Well-known member
I own the power probe 4. I love it. Would buy again. Life would **** without it, working on cars and fixing electric stuff.
Brownsfan
Well-known member
Trust me on this. Buy the load pro leads. I use a meter most of my testing. In my area they are worth it. So much corrosion in wiring around here. They have helped me diagnose properly where shops the car went to before wanted to replace modules or entire harnesses unnecessarily. Win win. I make money and gain a customer for life. I was going to buy the PP4 but decided against it because it just didn't seem to be that much of an upgrade over the 3. I really only use the 3 for testing lock/trunk/window motors.
FigureItOut
Well-known member
Ordered this morning. I've also considered a PP3, but I'm happy using a little SLA battery I have in my cart, just jump it to ground and I have that PP function covered. I'll end up with a PP at some point though I'm sure, probably when I catch a killer deal on one.
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Brownsfan
Well-known member
Now that the 4 is out and the price has come down the 3 has gotten even cheaper. It is very handy in the circumstances like testing wires say in the back of the vehicle and you have to trigger something up front because of the 2 distinct tones between power and ground. It has its place. I actually have 2. One in the van and one in the shop(well home garage now).
I got a chance to play around with a PP4 for a couple hours when one of my students brought one in and asked if i could show him what he was supposed to be doing with it.
Overall it's a very impressive tool and i would recommend buying it IF one already had a good meter and knew how to use that to replicate most of the PP4 functions 'the hard way' anyway. If one didn't have a good meter or the basic electrical knowledge of how the PP4 did what it was doing, I'd recommend working on that first. A power probe can be operated on a range that goes from 'dangerous' to 'amazing' depending on your own electrical knowledge.
Even I was a bit confused by one mode. I don't understand how it can calculate the resistance of a portion of a live/energized circuit just by measuring voltage drop if it doesn't know the total resistance of the circuit. Can anyone explain that to me?
Anyway, here's the manual. If most of it makes sense to you, you'll like the PP4 right away. http://www.powerprobe.com/images/extraInfo/PP4_Manual.pdf
Overall it's a very impressive tool and i would recommend buying it IF one already had a good meter and knew how to use that to replicate most of the PP4 functions 'the hard way' anyway. If one didn't have a good meter or the basic electrical knowledge of how the PP4 did what it was doing, I'd recommend working on that first. A power probe can be operated on a range that goes from 'dangerous' to 'amazing' depending on your own electrical knowledge.
Even I was a bit confused by one mode. I don't understand how it can calculate the resistance of a portion of a live/energized circuit just by measuring voltage drop if it doesn't know the total resistance of the circuit. Can anyone explain that to me?
Anyway, here's the manual. If most of it makes sense to you, you'll like the PP4 right away. http://www.powerprobe.com/images/extraInfo/PP4_Manual.pdf
SuzukiGS750EZ
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Is it comparable to a meter in terms of accuracy? I usually lug around my meter/load pro and my pp3 master kit. It would be nice to have all the functions I need in one tool. Can it do what the load pro does?
jmac219
Active member
I was also curious. Can the power probe IV do the same thing the Loadpro does???
Does anyone use the PPECT Mode in the PP4?
Combined with a Power Probe ECT2000 to send a signal through a suspected broken wire. Scan along the wire with the PP4 and it will let you know where the broken wire is.
I wonder how well this works, it was left off in the PP Hook.
If that works well they should have kept PPECT mode and ditched the relay mode on the hook because they are easy to test with a few alligator clips and a mulitimeter. Also they could have left the Hook looking just like a 4 and call it a 5 instead of a hook far as I'm concerned.
Oh well know one knows why they do what they do. They could have left the cords interchangable from past models to so I don't have to cut new plugs off and build my own 20 ft leads.
The 4 reads voltage and ohms under a load so you can calculate amps with that info if you just need that for some reason. voltage / resistance = amps.
Combined with a Power Probe ECT2000 to send a signal through a suspected broken wire. Scan along the wire with the PP4 and it will let you know where the broken wire is.
I wonder how well this works, it was left off in the PP Hook.
If that works well they should have kept PPECT mode and ditched the relay mode on the hook because they are easy to test with a few alligator clips and a mulitimeter. Also they could have left the Hook looking just like a 4 and call it a 5 instead of a hook far as I'm concerned.
Oh well know one knows why they do what they do. They could have left the cords interchangable from past models to so I don't have to cut new plugs off and build my own 20 ft leads.
The 4 reads voltage and ohms under a load so you can calculate amps with that info if you just need that for some reason. voltage / resistance = amps.
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