Understanding the distinction between voltage and voltage drop as well as understanding what a load is in an electric circuit are essential troubleshooting concepts for the professional appliantologist to grasp. In my years of working with other appliance techs online here at Appliantology.org, I have found that many, from rookies to seasoned and battle-hardened techs, do not have a firm grasp of these concepts. As a result, many professional appliance techs (I said many, not most) don't know how to effectively troubleshoot electrical problems in an appliance using a schematic in a coherent and strategic way.

For example, if you don't understand electrical loads and voltage drops, how will you apply the standard troubleshooting technique of load analysis when you're analyzing a schematic to figure out why a motor isn't running? Or, another example, if you don't understand the difference between measuring voltage and measuring a voltage drop, how will you apply the time-honored troubleshooting tactic of half-splitting to locate the missing voltage in a circuit?

The video below is a sample from the Samurai Appliance Tech Boot Camp Fundamentals of Appliance Repair Course and explains the concepts of voltage, voltage drop, and loads:

The Samurai Appliance Tech Boot Camp teaches these and other basic skills of the trade in the Boot Camp's Fundamentals of Appliance Repair course and fills in these and other knowledge gaps that many techs have. Whether you're new to the trade or you've been in it for many years but have never had the opportunity (or time) to gain these fundamental technical skills, you can learn them conveniently online at your schedule and pace right from the comfort of your computer. The lessons are a combination of text, video, and audio and most of the lessons have a quiz at the end to test your knowledge and help you think about and apply the concepts to ensure you have a firm grasp of them. Most of all, it's a fun way to learn!