The digital multimeter is a very common and very handy part of any electrician’s toolbox. This device, which merges three tools together, can function as an ammeter, a voltmeter and an ohmmeter. As with any specialized tool, the multimeter is only useful whenever you know how to make it work in the Electrical Circuit Outage way that you want it to work. Unfortunately, without applying the proper skills and techniques, it is just another tool sitting in a toolbox. Luckily for most, learning how to use this useful device is very simple, and can have many practical uses for both electricians and non-electricians alike.
Measuring Amps
An amp measures how much electrical current is flowing through an electrical circuit.
Whenever you want to use the multimeter’s ammeter, you will need to start by moving the function switch over to the “A=” mark on the dial. You can then attach your red lead to the “300mA” terminal and the black lead to the terminal that is marked with “COM”. After these leads have been properly attached, you can then attach the ammeter to the device that you wish to inspect. In order to do this, you will need to open the circuit and place the meter between open points. This will result in an amp reading in milliamps, because you are measuring through the 300mA terminal.
Measuring Volts
Volts are a method of measuring the electrical potential of a device or a particular circuit. This, too, can be measured with multimeter by using its voltmeter function.
Just as when you measured amps, start by turning the multimeter’s function knob to the “V=” setting. You will then need to connect the two leads (red and black) to the multimeter. To measure volts, you will need to connect the red lead to the terminal marked as “VΩ.” The black lead will go into the same port as when you measured amps, “COM”. This terminal is frequently referred to as the “common terminal”. After you have connected the leads to the proper terminals, you can measure the voltage of a particular circuit. To do this, connect the red lead to the terminal with higher potential and the black lead to that with lower potential.
Measuring Ohms
Ohms are used to measure the amount of electrical resistance exists in a circuit. It is a unit of measurement similar to Amps and Volts.
Ohms can be measured by using the ohmmeter built into the multimeter that you have used to measure amps and volts. To get started, disconnect all power and wiring from the circuit that you wish to inspect. Afterword, move your function dial to the “Ω” setting. Your black lead should Electrical Installation Salary once again be connected to the common terminal, and your red lead connected to the “VΩ” terminal. When you start, your display screen will show that there is an overload, or “OL”. To get an ohms readout, you just need to connect your leads to the circuit that you want to measure.
Your multimeter, which is essentially a voltmeter, ohmmeter and ammeter in one can help diagnose and analyze the many components of your electrical system. Rather than keeping track of three separate devices, a digital multimeter simplifies things by keeping them together in a single package.
