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Date:         Fri, 21 Oct 2011 20:05:30 -0500
Reply-To:     Larry Alofs <lalofs@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Larry Alofs <lalofs@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Multimeter help for the idiot
Comments: To: Courtney Hook <courtneyhook@shaw.ca>
In-Reply-To:  <A65497510B73418C83887F8C41A58848@MainComputer>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

There are a couple of possibilities. The current draw may be too low to show up on the 200 ma scale. If the reading is very low, you can change the range to 20 ma or maybe even 2 ma. There may be a fuse in the meter that is only for the current ranges. It may be burned out from some previous mishap; it happens very easily. Was the voltmeter on your dash working during your test. If the voltmeter has no battery of its own it should stop working when you disconnect the battery. If your multimeter conducts as it should when set to a current range, the voltmeter should again start to work when you put the multimeter in the circuit. If possible try these things and report back. Good luck, Larry A.

On Fri, Oct 21, 2011 at 7:03 PM, Courtney Hook <courtneyhook@shaw.ca> wrote: > I was trying again to see if I had any current draw so did some internet sleuthing to help me figure this out. I can rebuild engines fine, tune motorcycles, etc, etc, but when it comes to multimeters I am an idiot. I think I did it right, but want some backup on this. I put my MM between the + terminal on my new battery and the + cable. I then set my RadioShack MM to the notch marked 200 DCmA which also had a solid line beside it with 3 dots under it. I then took the reading, and it said 00.0 ??? I reversed the leads and it then said -00.0 > Does that mean I have no current draw at all?? I am lost, because I have a small digital volt gauge plugged into the lighter that MUST be drawing something?? >  The MM reads voltage across the battery fine, at 12.74volts, so I think it's working fine. What am I doing wrong?? > Courtney >


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