Measuring AC/DC current
WARNING: Y
OU MAY DAMAGE THE METER OR BE INJURED IF THE FUSE BLOWS WHILE CURRENT IS BEING MEASURED IN A
CIRCUIT WHICH EXHIBITS AN OPEN CIRCUIT VOLTAGE GREATER THAN
250 V. T
HE
20 A
TERMINAL IS FUSED
. A
SEVERE FIRE
HAZARD AND SHORT CIRCUIT DANGER EXISTS IF YOU APPLY A VOLTAGE WITH HIGH CURRENT CAPABILITY TO THIS TERMINAL
. T
HE
METER CAN BE DESTROYED UNDER SUCH CONDITIONS
.
Follow these steps to measure current:
1.
Rotate the range selector to the desired Ampere position.
2. Press
DC
Ω
/AC
(
(
(o)
)
)
button to toggle between DC and AC Ampere.
3.
Plug the black probe into your meter's COM terminal and the red probe into your meter's mA or 20 A
terminal.
4.
Remove power from the circuit under test and then break the circuit at the appropriate point.
5.
Connect the meter in series with the load or circuit under test.
Notes:
•
If you do not know approximately what the current is, connect the circuit to 20 A input terminal first to see if you
have a safe level for the mA input terminal. Use the mA input terminal for current up to 400 mA.
•
When measuring current, the meter's internal shunt resistors develop a voltage across the meter's terminals
called "burden voltage". This voltage drop is very low in your meter, but, it may affect precision circuits or
measurements.
•
If you set the meter for DC current, - appears or disappears to indicate the polarity of the measured current.
Measuring Capacitance
Follow these steps to measure normal capacitance:
1.
Discharge each capacitor before testing by shorting its leads together. Use caution when handling some
capacitors, as they can be charged with considerable electricity.
Caution:
If you attempt to measure the capacitance of a charged capacitor, you might damage your meter.
2.
Rotate the range selector to the desired CAP range.
3.
Insert the discharged capacitor into the CAP + and - clips connectors. Your meter displays the
capacitance
value.
Note:
for polarized capacitors, be sure to insert the negative leads in the - clip.
Measuring Resistance
WARNING!
N
EVER CONNECT THE TEST PROBES TO A SOURCE OF VOLTAGE WHEN YOU HAVE SELECTED THE OHMS FUNCTION AND PLUGGED
THE PROBES INTO THE
V/
Ω
TERINAL
. B
E SURE THAT THE CIRCUIT UNDER TEST HAS ALL POWER REMOVED AND THAT ANY
ASSOCIATED CAPACITORS ARE FULLY DISCHARGED BEFORE YOU MAKE A RESISTANCE MEASUREMENT
.
Follow these steps to measure resistance:
1.
Rotate the function selector to the
(
(
(o)
)
)
Ω
range.
2.
Press the DC
Ω
/AC
(
(
(o)
)
)
button to toggle between resistance and continuity.
3.
Connect the probes to the device you want to measure.
Notes:
•
If the measured resistance value exceeds the maximum value of the range selected. "OL" displays to indicate
overload and the bar graph flashes.
•
The resistance in the test leads can diminish accuracy on the lowest range. The error is usually 1 to 0.2 ohms for
standard pair of test leads. To determine the error, short the test leads together and read the resistance of the
leads.
•
For resistance of approximately 1 M
Ω
and above, the display might take a few seconds to stabilize. This is
normal for high resistance readings.
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