need tutorial on multimeter......

[monstaru]

this is the one i have

http://www.iequus.com/item.asp?cid=60&pid=4320

i just bought it.i am pretty ignorant when it comes to electrical,but now is the time tio fix that,.......along with my taillight,and license plate lights on the new bumper.i just want to test those things and make them work.it is the testing that i am having problems with.i read the instructions , and it tells all of the tests that you can do and how to hook up the leads to do it.but you have to know what all that stuff means to use it.... help

[NorthWet]

I have a little experience with DMMs... like a couple of years of Electronics Tech training... I MIGHT be able to answer your Q's.

 

Mostly, you will be using the DCV (direct current Volts) section and the Ohms/resistance section. Depending on what you are doing, you will probably be checking to see if you are getting voltage to a component (light/whatever), so set it on 20V in the DCV section, ground (typically) the black probe, use the red probe to check for voltage. DMMs are pretty forgiving, so black and red can be interchanged without any worries (voltage might read negative, though).

 

To check a component for continuity, use the ohms section, and pick a setting that kind of matches your expected reading. DO NOT check for Ohms/resistance on a powered circuit, as it is possible to do nasty things to the meter, and the reading may not be valid anyway. (It is possible to do resisitance checks on powered circuits if you know what you are doing.)

 

Pat

[monstaru]

like i told you when we met pat, your a rock star......i actually was doing it right for the test......yet it appears that i may have to dig deeper.i looked at a diagram for my brat and it states that there should be a black ground, and there is not....i have two red on both sides.i checked for the striped wire ,as i had seen on the diagram ,not that i could see with a trouble light.i will look in the daytime i guess.i checked the lights themselves with a battery and they work.it's gotta be in the harness..........

[NorthWet]

Striped wires are a female-dog to identify/distinguish without adequate, even lighting. And then they will put a red/white and red/grey wire in the same harness, and expect you to tell the difference after 20 years of aging (both the wire and your eyes! ).

[monstaru]

isn't that the truth........i just don't understand why my grounds are not black......

[TomRhere]

Striped wires are a female-dog to identify/distinguish without adequate, even lighting. And then they will put a red/white and red/grey wire in the same harness, and expect you to tell the difference after 20 years of aging (both the wire and your eyes! ).

 

Truer words have not been spoken!!!

 

Ummm Pat, are you sure them there ain't Brown/Yeller wires stead of Red/White uns?!?!? Sure look to be Brown/Yeller to me.

 

EDIT:

Just returning thread back to rightful topic.

 

That DMM is good for the general around the house/car stuff and will do you good. I prefer the Fluke brand myself, but I do abit more stuff than your backyard mechanic. And yeah, you want to be sure to have it set to voltage and not continuity when checking live circuits. Just ask my co-worker about the time he checked continuity on a LIVE 480VAC 3-phase fuse.

Needless to say, his DMM didn't look to good afterwards.

[paulpicard]

I don't want to hijack the post, but I've got a similar prob at the rear of my 84 wagon - suspected bad ground at the left brakelight as well as no gas gauge. But I can't identify the correct ground wire for either circuit from my Haynes b&w wiring diagrams. So I'll listen in to this one

[NorthWet]

...Ummm Pat, are you sure them there ain't Brown/Yeller wires stead of Red/White uns?!?!? Sure look to be Brown/Yeller to me.

.

Gall Dang It!!! yur rite! fer got bout them yeller wires!