1. Test voltage in parallel (connect to the circuit at two points but don't interrupt it, because voltage is equal in parallel circuits).
2. Test current in series (interrupt the circuit so the current flows through the multimeter before continuing through the circuit, because current is equal in series).
3. Test resistance with the component being measured disconnected from any power sources. The multimeter has its own power source for testing resistance.
4. Always start with a high measurement setting (so your display is 0) and adjust down one notch at a time until you get the right value. If you start too low with a current measurement, you can blow fuses inside your multimeter and/or cause a fire and/or ruin your hardware.
If you had to ask this you should NOT be messing with anything electrical. Yu can start fires and kil people of you do not know what you are doing. And ohmmeter should NEVER be connected to ANY live circuit. An ammeter MUST be inserted between the circuit nd one of its' power leads, but you MUST use the correct rating of ammeter or you can blow it up. A voltmeter needs to be paced across the part of the circuit you want to heck, but again it MUST be set to a correct range to avoid damage to the circuit or the meter.
In addition to edf203's sound advice, you may also measure the voltage drops across components.? For example, with 50 ohm and 150 ohm resistors in series across a 9 volt battery, place the test probes on both leads of one resistor and note the voltage, then repeat for the other resistor.
The voltage measured across the 50 ohm resistor will be about 2.25 volts, and about 6.75 across the 150 ohm resistor.
No not really, there is a difference for different meters:
- voltmeter -> has to be included parallel to the wire. It is because the voltmeter find the potential difference across a thing, therefore it is added parallel to the circuit.
- ammemter -> it has to be included into the circuit.
- ohmmeter -> it can also be included into the circuit.
Our shop teacher plugged an expensive high-precision ohm-meter into the wall outlet to measure the internal resistance of the generator at the power station. Burned it to a crisp.
Some people just shouldn't mess with electricity until they know what they are doing. He was one. You are another.
Yahoo answers is entirely ******. What does this have to do with computer programming an design? No computer programmer will ever need to test a circuit board, even if they might know how everying works. It is ridiculous that a programmer will ever test in this fashion.
To answer your question explicitly: NO they do not have to be inserted in the path to read amps, volts, or resistance. There are a number of companies that manufacture clamp-on meters.
Here is a link to one of these products:
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-digital-c...
The bottom line is, never try to test resistance (ohms) in a circuit that has electrical power on it. Because it will ruin your meter.
