multi meter newbie help

[Trojan62]

hi folks,
ive just been given a multi meter and would very much love to know how to use it, ive looked at some sites for some info, but im afarid most of the instructions go way over my head.
can someone give me a few pointers on it use, in layman terms, if u know what i mean.
i love to know how to use it in my shed for testing circuits, batteries, motors, that sort of thing.
basically what im looking for is some step by step instruction.

hope you can help.

regards,

chris m.......

 

[EFLImpudence]

https://learn.sparkfun.com/tutorials/how-to-use-a-multimeter

 

[Taylortwocities]

A very basic question.

Do you understand what volts, amps and ohms are?
You must get that straight otherwise there's no point having a multimeter.

 

[Trojan62]

A very basic question.

Do you understand what volts, amps and ohms are?
You must get that straight otherwise there's no point having a multimeter.

no, not realy, im a complete newbie at this.
any tips.

 

[EFLImpudence]

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/question501.htm

 

[Greenie9657]

Hi Mate

Multi-Meters are pretty good bits of kit.

Basics operations are checking Volts and continuity (end to end test). If you are Insulation testing then you need a tester like a Meggar but those will set you back a fair bit and can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.

Ive been using Flukes (posh multi-meter) for over 16 years and I don't think I have ever used it to check Amps. But you need to know how to connect the test meter in series if you want to check them, but I couldn't see any reason why you would.

Voltages checks are good as you need to know if the circuit you're working on is dead. I always check its live before, pull the fuse, then check and make sure its dead. Don't take it for granted, you never know if a "cowboy" did the wiring.

Continuity (con) checks are as simple as the meter looks for a continuous path from one test lead to the other.
So take a ringmain, disconnect a socket off the wall (power obviously off) if the wiring is done correctly you should be able to get continuity from a live in one of the cables to the live in the other. So the path would go through every socket of that ring, and through the dist board. A meter will usually have a setting on it that will make an audible beep but if it is billy basic you can use the Ohms setting and make sure its pretty dam close to 0 Ohms.

I hope this make sense. There are other applications you can check like temperature, diodes and stuff like that but if you are just a DIYer then you'll probably only ever use Volts and Ohms.

Hope this helps