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Get a digital meter and here's a basic polarity lesson
Posted by JohnK (more from JohnK) on Tue, 27 Jan 2004 14:33:19
In Reply to: Did i kill my volt meter? (and disconnect of battery), thereuare, Tue, 27 Jan 2004 09:58:03
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Technically, you should connect the meter negative to ground and the meter positive to battery negative. Ground is always the lowest potential(voltage) and hence negative.
Jim is right about putting a jumper in parallel with the meter to carry the interior light current until the relay shuts off. Any metal conductor will do, even a kitchen spoon...OK, a scrap of copper wire with clip at each end is better. Gauge (wire thickness) is not critical. Any hardware store or auto store will have a small spool of wire.
The real issue:
Your meter has a max current of 250 milliamps or 1/4 amp. Since a 3 watt dash bulb carries 250 millamps, you will probably continue to blow meter fuses even with the jumper wire. Watts=Volts x Amps. As Mr. Spock would say, "Only after you have eliminated the battery drain, will the meter be capable of measuring the current flow to detect a drain." aka catch 22
However, a decent digital meter with a 10 amp or so capacity is the way to go. With a digital meter, it doesn't matter which way you hook it up. If you get the polarity reversed, the meter display will simply put a minus sign infront of the reading. Sears, Pep Boys, Radio Shack have some for about $30. The Sears one will also read dwell, so you can test your AIC and fuel injection. While you're at it, a book at Radio Shack on how to use a meter and basic test procedures isn't a bad idea, they are written on the level of Electricity Merit Badge.
posted by 208.208.152...
Posts in this Thread:
- Did i kill my volt meter? (and disconnect of battery), thereuare, Tue, 27 Jan 2004 09:58:03
- when in doubt - CHEAT, johnf, Tue, 27 Jan 2004 16:52:22
- that's not cheating, that's a current shunt! (nm), JimBlake
, Wed, 28 Jan 2004 15:21:41 - Re: very good tip n/m, JohnK, Wed, 28 Jan 2004 06:07:59
- Re: very good tip n/m, JohnK, Wed, 28 Jan 2004 06:07:56
- Get a digital meter and here's a basic polarity lesson, JohnK, Tue, 27 Jan 2004 14:33:19 <-- Viewing This Message
- When disconnecting battery....., Bill N, Tue, 27 Jan 2004 12:27:34
- Re: Did i kill my volt meter? (and disconnect of battery), JohnK, Tue, 27 Jan 2004 10:14:18
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