Schematics and Block Diagrams

Diagram of an automotive MAP sensor's circuit.

Vehicle manufacturers create diagrams of the entire vehicle that can be complex and difficult to sort through. To make things easier, they break them down into system-specific diagrams called block diagrams. Wiring diagrams show the wiring, connectors, and other system-related information. They're like electrical road maps of the wiring routed throughout a vehicle.

Common Electrical Symbols

These are common electrical symbols found in automotive schematics. Schematics contain standardized symbols to represent components in a circuit.

The diagram above contains diodes, resistors, variable resistors, and other symbols illustrating solid-state circuitry. When wires in a schematic cross without a dot, they are not connected.