If you don’t hear the continuous sound, check to see if you connected your electrical components properly. You’ll always hear a continuous sound when there’s power flowing in your circuit. To use it, you need to set the dial to continuity mode, which looks like a speaker. The feature helps you identify faulty wires or other bugs easily. Most multimeters come with a feature for testing the continuity of your electrical components or circuity. In electronics, continuity is a measure of current transfer between two electrical components connected together. What is Continuity and How Can You Test it? It doesn’t matter how you connect the leads since the results will still be the same. Adjust the selection knob to point to the resistance section as you connect the probes to the leads of the resistor.
How to Measure Resistanceīegin with plugging the red probe into the port on the right side of your multimeter. You’ll get the precise voltage value on the display if you connected the probes correctly. Proceed with connecting the COM probe to the other side of the electrical components. Be sure to have the red probe connected to the positive side of the electrical component. Set the mode to V with a wavy line to measure AC voltage.Ĭonnect the red probe to the port with a V sign beside it. You should set the mode to V with a straight line when measuring DC voltage. On the device, the V with a wavy line is for AC voltage while the V with a straight line is for DC voltage. How to Measure VoltageĪ multimeter can help you AC voltage or DC voltage measurement. The display can provide you with labels and notifications based on how you want to use the meter. Most multimeters come with an LCD backlight display that makes them ideal for use in dim-lit areas. You can view all the taken measurements on the display of the multimeter. The knob usually points to a number of voltage, current, and resistance calibrations. Most multimeters have a selection knob with an arrow at the front side to guide you when taking voltage or resistance measurements. The selection knob comes in handy when selecting what you want to measure. You’ll use 10A when measuring currents greater than 200mA. VΩ is for measuring resistance and voltage and testing continuity while ♚mA is for measuring the current. Also known as the “COM” port, the “-“ port is for connecting the black probe to the meter. The ports allow you to plug in the probes in the multimeter.
You can connect the red probe to one of the other remaining ports based on the measurement you want to take. You should always connect the black probe to the COM port. One of the probes is red while the other one is black. You’ll find two probes on your multimeter. Discussed below are the four essential sections you’ll find in multimeters. The best one for you will depend on your budget and what you intend to do. Most of them are affordable and useful in measuring the most important values in a circuit (resistance, current, and voltage). Multimeters come with different accuracy levels and functionalities. The DC is widely used in small electronics such as laptops, phones, tablets among many more. DC does not change direction and only travels from negatively charged to positively charged. The AC is for alternative current and DC is direct current.Īlternative current periodically reverses direction and is mainly used in appliances in houses and anything you can plug into the wall. There are two current used to run machines. The first thing to learn before using a multimeter is to understand the current. It can help you know the power left on your batteries. It also comes in handy when determining the amount of current flowing in a circuit. You can use a multimeter to check if the switch is on or if the conducting wire in a circuit is broken. A multimeter gives you useful insights into how your circuits are working. The features include an ammeter, an ohmmeter, and a voltmeter.
As a measurement tool, a multimeter is necessary for electronics since it is a combination of three essential features.