I want to test certain sensors in hopes to find a bad one that might be the problem to my stalling, problem is. I dont know how to use it! Theres all of these different settings and I dont see one for 12 volts. It came with directions, but when I read them its like listening to a doctor talk. Any help? Oh yeah, check out my new sticker for the 850.

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Set it to 20 DCV (20 Volts, DC+Direct Current). Plug black lead into ground and red lead into what ever you're wanting to check. If there is voltage you should get a reading somewhere around 12.

Standard tests for your meter would include voltage(DC direct current 12Volts,AC alternating current 120/220V), current (AC,DC), and resistance (ohms), etc. The different tests would be done by turning your dial on the meter to the corresponding test. Since yours is not an auto ranging meter you must adjust the dial for the correct range for the test. You can go with the highest range and dial the meter down. Most of your tests would have the black lead COM, and the red in the V ohm mA port. Symbols on the meter:
m - milli
u - micro
k - 1000 thousand

eg. Let's say I wanted to test the voltage at the battery. I would plug the leads into the meter as described above, place red to positive terminal and black to negative terminal.
Turn dial to DCV 20 since I know the car should be approximately 12 volts. If I had the leads reversed on the battery it would read a negative number.

Refer to manual for more specifics.

Dude,

Have we EVER laughed at you?
Come onnnnn...
:) <---- This is JUST a smile, alright? Not a laughter!

BTW,
Love your new sticker.
:)

When in doubt always select the range that is the next highest above the value you want.

As you want to test in the 12v DC region, and there is no specific 12v DC selection point on this meter, you select the 20v DC range and read the resultant value straight off the LCD.

Remember to connect the red lead into the middle of the three large red terminals where it is marked V etc. and the black lead into the 'common' socket otherwise you will get a - sign in front of the readout.

Happy metering!

Thank you very much guys, this was helpful. :57: :57:

we won't laugh, bro. but if there is a huge fire, please post. i'll bring the ribs for the bbq. :grin: love the sticker. how much hp did your 850 get with that mod? i'd like two, please. :grin:

:grin: :grin: :grin:

The WICKED man, strikes again!

Not yet, but i'm getting close :P

For christs sake be careful with that electrickery mate :haha:

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand that makes TWO... WICKED men, at work.
:)

Well I had to use it the other day when I realized my battery died it had 8 volts in it and I was able to use my tool so thanks guys for explaining to me how it works. :gitara:

damn, no ribs guys. next time.

8 volts is low. Any reason that you know of, why it died?

While your battery was well and truly in battery heaven if it registered 8 volts on the multimeter, keep in mind a multimeter does have limitations and is capable of causing real damage to some fragile electrical components (or indeed the meter itself) in the hands of an inexperienced user.

For example, a battery may have one cell that is on the way out even though the multimeter shows the battery voltage to be in an acceptable range (i.e. battery apparently O.K) but the battery will not turn the vehicle over due to this faulty cell which, under stress, actually becomes a faulty link in the transmission of electrical supply. This can be both frustrating and confusing.

The correct way to establish if a battery does have a faulty cell is to measure the voltage across the terminals while the battery is under a heavy discharge condition (i.e using a discharge tester), and this will cause the apparent initially acceptable voltage across the battery terminals to drop quite noticeably, showing the battery is actually faulty whereas the multimeter didn't - and couldn't.

While the multimeter is an extremely versatile and handy instrument and has many practical applications, they also have limitations - so please remember a multimeter is only a "jack of all trades - master of none" type instrument.

Most local Advance Auto or AutoZone stores will check out y our battery for free, and it only takes a couple of minutes. They will usually wheel out their tester and hook it up, which puts the battery through all sorts of test and they will usually give you a print out of the results (also including the cranking amps of the battery, which is quite important for starting purposes, even if the battery registers 12V on the multimeter). The cranking amps can drop below a useful level in a battery that is about to die even though it may register still holding 12-14V.

But for the most part the amperage capacity is basically what Volgrrr is referring to I believe, as the battery needs to dissipate to truely calculate the amperage capacity of the battery.

Thus far, i've had the opportunity to use many types of multimeters. Mostly borrowed, though i have a FLuke, the bugger almost always is not around when i needed it. HAHA.

But i believe, while Volgrr may have done a full research and udnerstand the issue well, the use of a multimeter (in as far as the daily chores for the job is concerned) is sufficient for me... for now, of course. God knows what i'll need tomorrow.

:)

We use them alot at work (well I dont use them much but others do), so I got my dad one of those digital oscilliscopes, which is quite handy for checking just about anything electrical (as it is also a multimeter). Only problem we have is that no one knows how to use the blasted thing (it does way too much)...haha

I still prefer my good ole multimeter :)

And a multimeter is for me also me old buddy. I was just pointing out they do have limitations.
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I will have to agree with you. 8 amps... doesnt matter, it was bad, NOT "GOING" bad.

You're a little short on the amps required!!!!!
:grin: :grin: