MULTIMETER USE HELP PLEASE

[Smudger55]

I'm trying to test leisure battery having bought multimeter. Reading not as expected thought it would be around 13v but showing. 26a

Must be doing somewhere wrong, im pretty hopeless with these things.

Had recent problems with with power loss without hook up and battery 4.6yrs old.

Photo attached and from control panel, currently hooked up.

 

[pappajohn]

That a clamp type multimeter.
It only reads amps, not volts.

 

[xsparks]

Turn the dial anti clockwise 1 notch and use the leads red to+ black to -. You have it set on amps in the picture.

 

[pappajohn]

Turn the dial anti clockwise 1 notch

Just noticed the dcv setting.
Turn the dial ANTIclockwise 1 click then insert the red and black leads...red to INPUT, black to COM.

 

[xsparks]

When you check the battery remove mains supply and check voltage and once again when drawing current. You'll notice the volts drop away on load. I would suspect you've had the best from that battery.

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[Smudger55]

Thanks both, 13.64 which think is ok.
Now I've unhooked and will leave for avwhilr but solar will skew things.

Why can't i read it with the clamp rather than the leads? Thought that was the idea.
Cheers Smudger55

 

[xsparks]

The clamp meter shows amps not volts. The clamp forms a coil around the cable which creates a field and is converted to show the current flow through the conductor.

 

[xsparks]

Like a lot of items we use on a daily basis we don't necessarily need to know how they work,just how to make use of them. I would of thought that there should have been included an information leaflet on how to use the various capabilities of the meter.

 

[xsparks]

Just in case.

 

[L' Hobo]

Thanks both, 13.64 which think is ok.
Now I've unhooked and will leave for avwhilr but solar will skew things.

Why can't i read it with the clamp rather than the leads? Thought that was the idea.
Cheers Smudger55

I got caught out by this a few weeks ago, I thought if I bought a AC/DC meter, (with autorange) when I clamped it, it would show either one.
It seems, despite what it says on the box, these are mainly for AC work (or so I've been told?)

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[tonka]

Another issue is that the meter looks like an AC (mains) meter so will not do DC (battery) amp readings, you need a specific one for that.

 

[xsparks]

No I think the indicator shows both AC & DC. Self ranging.

 

[xsparks]

No I think the indicator shows both AC & DC. Self ranging. Also the instructions show AC & DC amps.

 

[xsparks]

Plenty of instructional videos.

 

[TheBig1]

They do read both AC alternating current (like the mains) and DC direct current (from a battery). To measure voltage, you need to measure what is called the Potential Difference between two points or wires. One side needs to be connected to the DC negative or ground black wire and the other in this case, the red positive wire. This allows to read the voltage difference between the two wires or battery terminals

Clamp meters detect the flow of electrons in just one wire at a time and so reads the current. Many cheap meters only read AC current and not DC current. Virtually all will read AC or DC voltage

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[Smudger55]

Like a lot of items we use on a daily basis we don't necessarily need to know how they work,just how to make use of them. I would of thought that there should have been included an information leaflet on how to use the various capabilities of the meter.

Thanks, i have the instructions but find difficult to follow, perhaps better read them a bit more.

 

[Smudger55]

Plenty of instructional videos. View attachment 826286

Thanks again i will look at this one

 

[Smudger55]

I got caught out by this a few weeks ago, I thought if I bought a AC/DC meter, (with autorange) when I clamped it, it would show either one.
It seems, despite what it says on the box, these are mainly for AC work (or so I've been told?)

The one i bought i am sure was recommend in a post in the forum, so thought it it was a no brainer

 

[xsparks]

This is a subject that can overwhelm you with information. All you need to know is how to use it. Like the tv remote it works you know how to use it and change the battery how much more does the layman want?

 

[TheBig1]

The one i bought i am sure was recommend in a post in the forum, so thought it it was a no brainer

It is fine for motorhome fault finding and you only need to know how to use a couple of settings as suggested above. 2 wires for voltage is the easy one and the DC symbol is a straight line above a wiggly or dotted one

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[autorouter]

The one i bought i am sure was recommend in a post in the forum, so thought it it was a no brainer

This looks like a great little meter. It will measure both DC and AC amps, with the clamp. There is a 60A range, which can detect changes of 10mA, so it looks OK for measuring the kind of small leakage currents that could cause problems with a battery going flat.

It will measure both DC and AC voltages too, using the two test probes. That is enough to make it very useful. But it can also measure temperature if you plug in the temperature probe that came with the meter. And it has a Non -Contact Detector that will detect a voltage in an AC wire through the insulation. I think that only works for AC voltages though.

I've never had one in my hands to try out, but on paper it looks a good call.