How to troubleshoot electronics?

The other day, a customer sent me a question:

“My touch lamp which was working perfectly for some months now fails. In this case what would be the first step to start fault finding with a multimeter?”

[OYVIND]:

For troubleshooting, I usually start by measuring voltages around the circuit.

I try to find points out that should have a certain voltage, then measure it.

When I find a voltage that does not make sense at a certain point, that’s a good place to continue investigating.

I look at the components that should create the voltage there, then try to figure out why the voltage is wrong.

After a while, I usually find the faulty part by using this strategy.

I used this strategy this repair my drone:

https://www.build-electronic-circuits.com/how-to-repair-electronics/

Keep On Soldering!
Oyvind @ build-electronic-circuits.com

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