{"id":6144,"date":"2020-04-23T15:00:21","date_gmt":"2020-04-23T22:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mitchell11.wpenginepowered.com\/blog\/shopconnection\/then-vs-now-whats-in-a-wiring-diagram\/"},"modified":"2025-05-27T15:06:18","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T22:06:18","slug":"then-vs-now-whats-in-a-wiring-diagram","status":"publish","type":"shopconnection","link":"https:\/\/mitchell1.com\/shopconnection\/then-vs-now-whats-in-a-wiring-diagram\/","title":{"rendered":"Then vs. Now: What\u2019s in a Wiring Diagram?"},"content":{"rendered":"

We regularly get customer feedback from many different sources, and we welcome all of it as it helps guide us as we continually develop and improve our software.<\/p>\n

Recently someone commented on the Mitchell 1 Facebook page, with a question about the wiring diagrams in ProDemand auto repair information<\/a>. He wanted to know why we can\u2019t show ALL of the wiring on a modern vehicle in a single image like we used to be able to do. To answer the question, I\u2019m going to use a 1970 Chevy Impala and a 2016 Chevy Impala as examples.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s look at the 1970 Impala. The first thing you notice is that the whole vehicle\u2019s wiring fits on two pages \u2013 bumper to bumper – Body, Ignition (both 6 & 8 cylinder), Charging, HVAC \u2014 all on two pages. Things were pretty simple back then.<\/p>\n

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Now let\u2019s look at the 2016 Chevy Impala. Sadly, no more V8s. No mechanical fuel pump or window crank handles either.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s first look at a list of the systems that are on a modern version of this vehicle that make up the electrical system. There are over 30 sub-systems that make up the vehicle\u2019s complete electrical system. If we look at the Engine Performance wiring it now takes eight diagrams to show everything: APP Sensor, CKP and CMP Sensors, O2 Sensors, Fuel Injectors, Ignition Coils. Over 60 components in all. The AC system has four diagrams. The Anti-theft has four diagrams as well. Supplemental Restraints has three diagrams. There\u2019s no way to fit everything on two pages any more.<\/p>\n

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The ProDemand wiring diagrams<\/a> are made up of single images that are grouped together by systems. We\u2019ve done almost all that we can to provide some form of continuity across the set of diagrams by highlighting traces within a system on the vehicle.<\/p>\n

Cars of old had very simple electrical systems and we could easily fit everything on one or two pages. Today\u2019s vehicles are more complex and subsequently require us to break things out by systems or the diagrams would be so cluttered that you couldn\u2019t use them.<\/p>\n

The best example that I can come up with to illustrate this is a multi-layer PC board. The image shown below is the eight-layer board of a Snap-on Verus diagnostic platform. Imagine that every layer is a separate system on a vehicle. Looking at each layer (vehicle system) individually would be relatively easy compared to looking at all the layers combined (the whole car). This image shows the \u201csuper-imposed\u201d view \u2014 a mash-up\u2014of all eight layers. It is very complex and difficult to follow an individual trace. The same could be said if all of a vehicle\u2019s systems were on one or two pages.<\/p>\n

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This does make being a technician today much harder than that of a tech 30+ years ago. Today\u2019s Techs need to understand that systems that were once exclusive can now be dependent on and\/or interactive with other systems because of the modern CAN (Controlled Area Network) systems on these vehicles. There are many systems on today\u2019s cars that rely upon another system\u2019s parameters to operate as designed. ADAS-capable vehicles are a perfect example, and as we transition to fully autonomous self-driving vehicles this dependency will be even greater.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s vehicles are becoming more and more complex and the diagnosis and repair of them is even more challenging. This requires techs to be able to think like a car\u2019s computer \u201ccommand center\u201d instead of a car\u2019s individual systems.<\/p>\n

Here at Mitchell 1, we will continue to do all that we can to help service professionals meet these challenges in an ever- changing industry.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Want to learn more about ProDemand?
\nRequest a FREE DEMO!<\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>We regularly get customer feedback from many different sources, and we welcome all of it as it helps guide us as we continually develop and improve our software. Recently someone commented on the Mitchell 1 Facebook page, with a question about the wiring diagrams in ProDemand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8935,"parent":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"shopconnection-category":[1627],"shopconnection-tag":[1185],"class_list":{"0":"post-6144","1":"shopconnection","2":"type-shopconnection","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"shopconnection-category-auto-repair","7":"shopconnection-tag-auto-repairauto-repair-informationmitchell-1prodemandrepair-informationtips","8":"entry"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchell1.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/shopconnection\/6144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchell1.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/shopconnection"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchell1.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/shopconnection"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchell1.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchell1.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8935"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mitchell1.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"shopconnection-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchell1.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/shopconnection-category?post=6144"},{"taxonomy":"shopconnection-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mitchell1.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/shopconnection-tag?post=6144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}