Measuring battery voltage using a multimeter?
Nino NoSpam
sure I know what all these mean. Anyway, what setting do I put it on to
measure the voltage of my vehicle's battery?
Thanks
Seth
news:TsTpg.116495$IK3.36@pd7tw1no...
>I have a multimeter that has OHM, ACV, 9V Bat, 1.5V, DCA, and DCV-- I'm
>not sure I know what all these mean. Anyway, what setting do I put it on
>to measure the voltage of my vehicle's battery?
DCV is for DC Voltage. With car off, should measure approx 12v give or take
a few tenths. With car running, approx 13.8 or so.
Mike Doyle
DCV or DC Voltage.
Elle
> "Nino NoSpam" <Nino.NoSpam@unsubscribenews@shaw.ca> wrote
>>I have a multimeter that has OHM, ACV, 9V Bat, 1.5V, DCA,
>>and DCV-- I'm not sure I know what all these mean.
>>Anyway, what setting do I put it on to measure the voltage
>>of my vehicle's battery?
>
> DCV is for DC Voltage. With car off, should measure
> approx 12v give or take a few tenths. With car running,
> approx 13.8 or so.
Well done. See also the five checks of voltage listed about
one-third of the way down at
http://home.earthlink.net/~honda.lioness/id13.html .
Nino NoSpam
500. Do I set it at 10?
"Seth" <seth_ler...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:MWTpg.4758$Oh1...@news01.roc.ny...
Seth
> "Seth" <seth_ler...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:MWTpg.4758$Oh1...@news01.roc.ny...
>> "Nino NoSpam" <Nino.NoSpam@unsubscribenews@shaw.ca> wrote in message
>> news:TsTpg.116495$IK3.36@pd7tw1no...
>>>I have a multimeter that has OHM, ACV, 9V Bat, 1.5V, DCA, and DCV-- I'm
>>>not sure I know what all these mean. Anyway, what setting do I put it on
>>>to measure the voltage of my vehicle's battery?
>>
>> DCV is for DC Voltage. With car off, should measure approx 12v give or
>> take a few tenths. With car running, approx 13.8 or so.
>>
> Thanks, but now next to DCV there are the following numbers: 10, 250 and
> 500. Do I set it at 10?
Set for the scale ABOVE what you are looking for. In the case of your
meter, set it for 250.
Nino NoSpam
vehicle battery is at 10 MA. Which seems correct.news:HNVpg.4616$oa1....@news02.roc.ny...
johnin
I have a multimeter that has OHM, ACV, 9V Bat, 1.5V, DCA, and DCV-- I'm not
sure I know what all these mean. Anyway, what setting do I put it on to
measure the voltage of my vehicle's battery?
Thanks
if youres is like this one www.iequus.com/product_info.php?product_id=3310&category_id=1_60 set it to BAT.
Load Test
12V
you can test 2 ways
1. the vehicles battery alone with engine off. place the multimeter
probes on battery "the state of charge on the battery" should read on your multimeter somewhere in the range of 12.3 - 12.6 or higher 12.6 being 100% state of charge
2. Load Test this checks alternater output with a load meaning with the vehicle
at 2000 RPMs and "all accesorys" on like high beam lights on, radio, fan on, defrost, etc... rev engine to 2000 RPM place multimeter probes on battery posts and it should read around 13.9 - 14.4 volts if you got that charging system is working ok.
why do you need to check the Volts is there a starting problem?
--
johnin
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Seth
> Thanks so much Seth. I followed your instructions and I can see that my
> vehicle battery is at 10 MA. Which seems correct.
No, I think you read it wrong. There is no "MA" when reading "VOLTAGE".
With the meter set to DCV/250, you should have a reading of around 12V with
the engine off and about 14V with the engine running.
Nino NoSpam
somw weird symbols. Yikes!
Nino
"Seth" <seth_ler...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:Xjbqg.4810$Oh1....@news01.roc.ny...
jim beam
> Oh, okay then, which scale do I use? There are: dB, AV10V, V-mA, and then
> somw weird symbols. Yikes!
spend about $10 to $20 extra bucks and get an auto-ranging meter. then
you only have to select V, A, Ω, etc.
never test a battery in "A" mode!
Seth
> Oh, okay then, which scale do I use? There are: dB, AV10V, V-mA, and then
> somw weird symbols. Yikes!
As stated earlier, DCV/250
Gene S. Berkowitz
Nino.NoSpam@unsubscribenews says...
Post the make and model of the voltmeter so we can read the manual for
you...
--Gene
Matt Ion
From the sound of it, he's got an analog meter and is being confused by
the multiple markings on the scale.
I'd suggest getting a simple $10 digital meter at whatever local
electronics or auto-parts surplus outlet...
Curly Q. Links
>
> Oh, okay then, which scale do I use? There are: dB, AV10V, V-mA, and then
> somw weird symbols. Yikes!
>
DC voltage would be read with VDC, or DCV.
If you set it to an AMPerage scale, you'll 'let the smoke out' of the
meter.
You could practice on a 1.5 volt Walkman battery, to be sure. Use a
lower scale for that if you want.
'Curly'
Nino NoSpam
Okay, it's a mastercraft 52-0059-8. It came with no manual!
Nino
"Gene S. Berkowitz" <first...@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:MPG.1f135538f...@newsgroups.comcast.net...
Earle Horton
0-20 Volt DC scale that is available on that meter, being careful of course
to hook up positive to positive, and negative to negative.
Earle
"Nino NoSpam" <Nino.NoSpam@unsubscribenews@shaw.ca> wrote in message
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--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
Graham W
Nino NoSpam wrote:
> Post the make and model of the voltmeter so we can read the manual for
> you
>
> Okay, it's a mastercraft 52-0059-8. It came with no manual!
>
You'd be better off with a 052-0060-2 Digital model.
It has many more ranges on it and, although it won't 'auto-range'
(set the range which will display the value best automatically)
you'll be able to get a decent reading on its 20 dcv range.
--
Graham W http://www.gcw.org.uk/ PGM-FI page updated, Graphics Tutorial
WIMBORNE http://www.wessex-astro.org.uk/ Wessex Astro Society's Website
Dorset UK Info, Meeting Dates, Sites & Maps
Change 'news' to 'sewn' in my Reply address to avoid my spam filter.
Matt Ion
> Post the make and model of the voltmeter so we can read the manual for you
>
> Okay, it's a mastercraft 52-0059-8. It came with no manual!
Yeah, as I suspected, it's an analog meter, and you're getting confused
by the multiple scales on the dial.
Graham's right - go pick up a digital model, like the 52-0060-2 ($9.99
according to canadiantire.ca)
TeGGeR®
news:Xjbqg.4810$Oh1....@news01.roc.ny:
Actually, at room temperature, a good battery will read about 12.65V with
the surface charge removed. A battery that reads 12V at 70F is near DEAD.
It is very clear that the OP is a newbie. The OP should spend some time at
this Web site:
www.batteryfaq.org , and specifically should see this Excel table:
http://www.uuhome.de/william.darden/SoC.xls
See the 8th column from left.
To remove the surface charge before checking voltage:
Turn on headlights for five minutes with engine OFF. Turn lights off again,
then wait five more minutes. Now check the voltage with engine OFF.
Checking voltage with engine running is a test of the charging system, not
the battery.
--
TeGGeR®
The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/
nospam
black lead that goes into the meter in the COM position and the end of the
red lead that goes into the meter in the +DCV position. Set the scale
selector on your meter to the closest setting that's above 12 volts. Place
your multimeter on DCV, place the black lead on the negative terminal of
your battery and the red lead on the positive terminal.
prvtlewis