Step-by-step guides for testing batteries, fuses, outlets, relays and more.
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. How to test a solder joint with a multimeter comes down to one narrow question: with the board de-energized, does the meter show a low-resistance path through the joint? A continuity check can show that a joint conducts. It cannot show that the joint is mechanically…
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. How to test a breadboard with a multimeter comes down to continuity mode: set the meter to continuity, leave the board unpowered and empty, and touch the two probes to two holes that should share a connection. A beep means the metal inside the board joins…
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. What is a multimeter display? It is the screen that shows the value a meter is measuring, the unit for that value, and a set of small symbols that describe the function, the range and the meter’s status. The display answers one narrow question: what number…
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. What is a multimeter jack? It is the socket on a meter’s front panel that takes the plug at the end of a test lead, and each jack belongs to a group of measurements. The manufacturer’s manual for each model says which jack serves which function,…
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. How does a multimeter measure resistance? It sends its own small, known current through the part, reads the voltage that appears across the part, and divides that voltage by the current. The quotient is the resistance, found with Ohm’s law. The same idea explains why the…
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. How does a multimeter work? A digital multimeter turns the quantity you measure into a voltage that a converter can read, then shows the converted value as a number. For voltage, the meter scales the input down with a resistive divider. For current, it passes the…
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. What is a multimeter range? It is the largest value that one setting on the meter can measure. A 20 V DC range, for example, reads direct current voltages up to 20 volts, and a reading above that limit shows an overload indication instead of a…
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. What is a multimeter fuse for? It guards the current input against one predictable error: a short created when the test leads are still in the current jacks and the meter is connected across a voltage. Ratings differ between models, so each meter’s own manual is…
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. What do multimeter test leads do? They carry the meter’s input to the point you touch, so the meter can read what is there. Each lead has three parts that matter for the job: the cable, the probe and the tip. Each part also has to…
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. What does counts mean on a multimeter? It is the highest number a digital display can reach before the meter moves to another range, so a 4000-count display runs from 0000 to 3999 on the range in use. Counts describe the display’s resolution, meaning the smallest…