Access Auto Repair Information Online: Using ChiltonLibrary
Two online resources for auto repair information are available at Lewis & Clark Library: AllData and ChiltonLibrary. AllData must be accessed from within the library’s network, which will not be available at our Helena location until the main building reopens. Fortunately, ChiltonLibrary has similar data available and is accessible to anyone with an Internet connection.
Our mission for this tutorial: Locate and print a wiring diagram for the clock in a 2002 Subaru Impreza. (This clock has not worked in my car for ages!)
Click the green icon for Gale ChiltonLibrary.com. The password is simply the word discovery.
You can’t go much further without entering the year, make and model of your vehicle, so make sure to have that information handy before you select them as shown below.
Next click the Select button below the dropdown menus. A new page loads (see below) listing the types of information available for the selected vehicle. Click the Repair link for most relevant information.
What’s shown on the following page depends on which vehicle you have selected. There will be a table of contents on the left with topics such as Diagnostic Trouble Codes, Fuel System, and the one we want – Wiring Diagrams. Click that link for a list of available wiring diagrams; it’s fairly comprehensive. We want the one for the clock, so click the Clock link.
Since wiring diagrams are images, they are stored as PDF files which can be displayed, downloaded and printed from any computer. Click View Image to load the wiring diagram in a popup window, as shown below. An easy keyboard shortcut to print on most computers is Ctrl P for Windows and Command P for Macs.
Now, I don’t know enough about cars to be able to interpret this diagram, but luckily this vehicle has a link to Basic Diagnostic Procedures under Wiring Diagrams as well. That PDF file provides a key to the symbols and abbreviations found in this vehicle’s wiring diagrams.
From here, you can navigate using your browser’s back button or the navigation links at the top of the screen. To start over with a new year/make/model, click Select Vehicle in the top left corner. You can view additional instructions for using Chilton Library here.
In memory of my dad who would have been 84 years old this month. We love and miss you always. <3
