How To Use a Multimeter (For Beginners)

hey everybody and welcome back to another episode of Meg's how-to videos where today we're gonna discuss how to use a multimeter now before you can use a multimeter you need to make sure you understand what you're trying to measure there are three common measurements volts amps and ohms well let's start with volts what are volts well volts is the measurement of voltage and voltage is the derived unit of electric potential - electric potential difference and electro-motive force to help you understand just remember this simple equation it takes 1 volt to push one amp through 1 ohm resistance now there are two different voltages currents alternate current and direct current let's start with alternate current I'm sure you have a few questions to ask like where would you find alternate here and how would you measure well a good place to find that alternate current is within the wires that run through your house or building now to test for measure that alternate current grab a multimeter then locate a wall outlet using the multimeter place the negative lead in the comp port and the positive lead in the port labeled with the V 4 volts turn the dial to AC which is usually labeled with a B squiggly line next to it now there are all different brands of multimeters but they all pretty much do the same thing with mine all I have to do is turn the dial to V and press select to change it from DC to AC when testing a wall outlet make sure to wear a pair of insulated gloves this will help prevent you from grounding out the circuit here in the US the standard wall outlet measures 110 to 120 volts placed a negative lead into a large hole located on the left side this is the negative set and the positive lead into the small hole located on the right side this is the positive side if you're wondering what the bottom hole is for this is your case Brown you can also test it to see if it is working by placing the negative lead into the bottom hole and the positive lead into the hole on the right side you can see by this reading the case ground port is working next let's measure direct current which can be found in batteries here I have two 12-volt batteries one from a truck that has been sitting in my garage and another battery from a car that has been sitting outside in negative 30-degree weather to test these batteries place the negative lead into the cop Court and the positive lead into the port labeled with a V for Bulls found on your multimeter next turn the dial to DC which usually is labeled with a feast solid line and dotted line underneath it on this multimeter all I need is to turn the dial to the beep place the negative lead on to the negative terminal of the battery and the positive lead on to the positive terminal your reading should be above 12 volts if it is less than the battery needs to be charged or replaced let's move on to amps now amps is the measurement of ampere which is the quantity of electricity carried in one second by a current to measure amps grab your multimeter place the negative lead into the comport and the positive lead into either the milliamp or 20 amp ports the difference between the two ports is that the milliamp port has a built-in fuse to help protect your multimeter but you can totally measure up 2.2 amps anything over will blow the fuse with the 20 amp port there is no fuse to protect your multimeter but it can measure up to 20 amps if you're not sure about the amount of amps you are measuring but you know it is at least less than 20 amps use the port labeled 20 amps you can always switch ports later to get a more precise reading to demonstrate I will be using a light ball rated at 5 amps from a car's headlight since this light bulb was designed to run off a battery and not a wall outlet we will be turning the dial on the multimeter 2 amps DC voltage which usually is labeled a with a solid line dot line underneath with mine I just need to turn it to do a and leave it on DC once you have the multimeter set up connect the positive lead to the positive turn on the battery then connect the negative lead to the positive prong on the light bulb after that connect another wire from the negative prong on the light bulb to the negative terminal on the battery this will complete the circuit allowing power to flow from the battery through the multimeter through the light bulb and back to the battery besides the light bulb turning on you can see that we are reading roughly 5 amps which means this light bulb is good last but not least it's time to learn about ohms alms is the measurement of resistance and resistance is the difficulty to pass an electric current through a conductor we can measure almost with the multimeter by placing the negative lead into the comport and the positive lead into the port labeled with a horseshoe symbol this is the symbol for ohms next turn the dial to ohms for this example I will be using a vehicle speed sensor which is rated at around 325 thousand ohms to test this vehicle speed sensor place one lead on to each of the two prongs here you can see we are getting roughly the 325 thousand ohms which means this sensor is good another test we can do is test the continuity continuity is the electromagnetic force between electrical connectors carrying a constant electric current in short terms it's the act of testing resistance between two points now before you check for continuity make sure whenever your testing is otherwise unplug we're disconnected from its power source to demonstrate this test I will be using this wire besides pressing the Soundwave button do not change any of the settings on the malting next take each lead and place one on each end of the wire that beeping sound means that we have continuity now see what happens when I cut the wire there is no longer any continuity this test can help tell us if we have a short or break in the wire well there you have it now you know how to use a multimeter to test for volts amps and ohms if you enjoyed this video please click on the like button below that can subscribe to my channel to see more how-to videos this video helps you up or do you have an idea for another how-to video please leave in the comments below but until next time god bless and good luck [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]

Channel: MAGS How To Videos

Views: 882,029

Rating: 4.8319049 out of 5

Keywords: MAGS, How To, Videos, How To Use a Multimeter, Multimeter, Voltage, Test, Volts, Amps, Ampere, Ohms, Resistance, Continuity, AC, DC, Alternate Current, Direct Current, Test Batteries, Battery, Wires, Wire, MAGS How To Videos, How To test Voltage, How to messure voltage, How To Test Amps, How To Messure Amps, How TO test Ohms, How To Messure Ohms

Id: ciyWwcKmPC4

Length: 7min 22sec (442 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 06 2018