how to use a Digital Multi-Tester-Meter

[Draco]

as above really I have one but no instructions. anyone know how to use one???

[dthebuk]

what do you want to test?

i used one to work out what all the cables did on the radio.

[Draco]

general stuff on the FD and for the odd times to test home plugs etc

[nikp]

Most useful on a multimeter are: (And if you have one) a beeper to tell you if there\'s a circuit - you can use the ameter setting if no beeper, but it\'s more of a pain. And the 20v (Or something that will have 12v in range) setting to check for voltage. Those are the 2 settings I use most often. Can\'t think of any other setting i have used!!

[RobbieRX-7]

To test a Mains circuit such as in the home you need to select AC. The AC setting should have a symbol which looks like a letter S on it\'s side. The mains voltage in the home is 230volts, so you can select upto 500 or 1000 volts AC.

To test a car circuit, you need to select DC. The car circuit is anything upto 14volts depending how good the battery is. So select DC which has a symbol which looks like a line with dots underneath. On my meter, the nearest to 14v is 20v so i select 20v.

To test continuity such as testing to see wether a lamp element is intact, select the resistance setting. This setting is measured in ohms which has a symbol similar to omega http://omega.gamerstown.com/img/omega.gif My meter has a buzzer which beeps when a circuit is complete. To understand it a bit better, join the 2 test leads together and you should get a reading of 0.00 meaning your test leads are intact and have very little to no resistance.

HTH

[kev-yorks]

At the risk of being flamed if you need to ask the above do you really want to be using a multimeter. Some modern electronics can see tens of thousands of volts within there circuits due to the capacitors used and just a static charge can be enough to blow a circuit board chip. With electrics its often the case of if your not 100% sure leave it to someone who does. Sorry to be negative on this one but i\'ve seen too much damage by people who think they know what there doing and if your looking to check domestic electrics your not forced to get a second chance to find out what you\'ve done wrong.
Regards Kevin