Autel PowerScan PS100 Electrical System Diagnostics

Product Overview

The Autel PowerScan PS100 is the best electrical tester for reducing diagnostic time in all 6- to 30-volt vehicle electrical systems. After a simple hook-up of the tool to the vehicle's battery, technicians can quickly and safely perform a wide range of electrical tests.

Key Functions

• Determine at a glance if a circuit is positive, negative, or open—no need to reconnect clips between battery poles.
• Test for continuity using the built-in auxiliary ground lead.
• Depress the power switch to deliver positive or negative battery current directly to the probe tip, enabling component function testing without jumper wires.
• Instantly test for poor ground contacts without performing voltage drop tests. The tool includes short-circuit protection via an internal circuit breaker that trips when overloaded.
• Trace and locate short circuits efficiently without wasting fuses. The long cable allows testing along the entire vehicle length without constantly searching for suitable grounding points.

Features

• Performs comprehensive services: power injection, measurement, ground testing, polarity checks, continuity testing, and component activation.
• Easy-to-read AVOmeter displays voltage, current, and resistance at your fingertips.
• Flip the power switch for an instant hot/ground lead to power components like cooling fans and relays.
• Simultaneously use the hot and ground leads to activate components directly in hand.
• Instantly identifies positive, negative, and open circuits.
• Quickly detects bad ground contacts and locates shorts without blowing fuses.
• Checks continuity of switches, relays, and diodes instantly.
• Protected by a resettable circuit breaker.
• Built-in flashlight enables work in dark environments.
• Audio tone indicator supports no-look menu navigation once users learn the tone assignments.
• 20-foot (extendable) cable provides excellent reach for full-vehicle diagnostics.
• Extremely easy to use and highly reliable.

Component Identification

1. Probe Tip – Contacts the circuit or component to be tested.
2. Head Lights – Illuminates dark or nighttime work areas.
3. Red/Green Polarity Indicator – Identifies circuit type:
   • RED lights up when the probe tip contacts a positive circuit.
   • GREEN lights up when the probe tip contacts a negative circuit.
4. LCD Display – Shows test results.
5. Circuit Breaker Reset – Resets the tool after a circuit breaker trip.
6. Power Switch – Delivers positive or negative battery current to the probe tip for component activation and testing.
7. Mode Button – Selects work mode: AC voltage, DC voltage, resistance, or tone.
8. Speaker – Emits a beep when the audio tone is enabled.
9. Auxiliary Ground Lead – Serves as a ground reference during testing.
10. Adaptor – Connects the tool to the vehicle battery.

Work Modes

The Autel PowerScan PS100 offers four diagnostic modes, accessible by pressing the Mode Button to cycle through each:

DC Voltage

In this mode, touch the probe tip to a circuit—the LCD displays DC voltage with 0.1-volt resolution.

AC Voltage

In this mode, touching the probe tip to a circuit displays maximum voltage, minimum voltage, frequency, and duty cycle on the LCD.

Resistance

In this mode, the LCD shows the resistance between the probe tip and the auxiliary ground lead.

Tone On/Off

Quickly press the Mode Button to toggle the audio tone:

• A short high beep indicates the tone is ON.
• A short low beep indicates the tone is OFF.

Customer Review: Autel PowerScan PS100 in Automotive Diagnostics

By Kawayi on 11 Jan, 2017
I am an automotive tech by trade and bought this to use in troubleshooting electrical shorts in automobiles. I have used the power probe in the past but the Autel has one particular feature I was interested in. This has a kinda scope feature that can really be useful when troubleshooting sensors on the fly along with a very bright and easy to read screen as well as an ohm meter—it had me curious as to how good it is. So far it has been very useful and works well; I don't need a separate meter for certain testing and it has been accurate in testing.

I did find a strange operation about it though. When probing a circuit that, let's say, has ground to it then when activated goes hot, the PS100 shows the circuit go to hot (12 volt) but also shows ground as well. Pretty strange—but I don’t know if it’s meant to do so. The tool itself seems well built, but the cable to me seems a little thin and not as thick in gauge as the power probe.

All in all, I think it's a great tool for the features and price point. I only hope it lasts just as long as I expect—or will it fail too soon? I will update in the future as to its durability and operation.

What’s Included in the Autel PowerScan PS100 Package

• 1 × PowerScan PS100
• 1 × Rugged blow molded case
• 1 × 20ft. extension cable
• 1 × Probe tip
• 1 × Battery hookup clips
• 1 × Cigarette lighter adapter
• 1 × User's Manual