To test the cord’s ground, push the red probe into the small hole on the female end of the cord. Begin by unplugging the extension cord from the wall and turning the meter’s dial to the Ohm setting. It’s smart to use your meter to occasionally test old extension cords because damaged cords can shock you or start a fire. Check your meter’s manual for what the meter will display when the reading is Out of Limit, Over Limit or Infinite Ohms. With one meter probe touching the ground outlet and the other probe deliberately touching plastic, the meter is describing a condition in which resistance is so high, it can’t read it. The switch is bad if the meter doesn’t beep with the switch flipped to On. The switch is good if the meter beeps with the switch in the On position. Connect the meter across the switch contacts and flip the switch up and down. The symbol for continuity on the meter’s face is a wedge shape that indicates noise waves radiating out from a point. If it doesn’t, the switch is faulty and should be replaced.Īnother simple test is to rotate the meter dial to the position for continuity. Now flip the switch On and the meter should read less than one ohm. At first this doesn’t seem to make sense (you would think the meter would read zero ohms), but the meter is telling you that when no internal contacts are touching inside the switch, the resistance across the open contacts is so large that the meter can’t read it. This means Over Load or Over Limit the resistance is so high that it can’t be measured. With the switch turned off, you should get a reading of O.L (you may also get other readings, such as 99999 or a symbol like this I or even this: L). Now touch the meter’s probes to the brass screw terminals on the side of the switch–it doesn’t matter which probe touches which screw. To test a single-pole switch (the simplest kind it has two brass screws and one green screw). The 7 Best Smart Light Switches for Total Control.Plug the black probe into the COM jack and the red probe into the red V jack. Skip this step if your meter has auto-range (you can tell you have an auto-ranging meter if you turn the dial to the Volts AC (Vac) setting, the word "auto" appears on the screen). Rotate the meter’s dial to the Ohm setting. Loosen the switch terminal screws, unhook the wires from them, and remove the switch. Before disconnecting the wires, label them or take a photo with your phone to ensure you reconnect them correctly. First, turn off the power to the switch, remove the cover plate, and unscrew the switch from its wires. Got a faulty ceiling light? Here’s how to determine if the problem is with its switch. If it doesn’t, the outlet is improperly wired or perhaps the ground is missing call an electrician. Next, remove the black probe from the outlet-leave the red probe in place-and insert the black probe into the small, rounded hole (ground) below the two slots. A properly functioning outlet should produce 110 to 120 volts. Insert the black probe into the longer slot (neutral). Push the tip of the red probe into the shorter (hot) of the two vertical slots on the outlet. Then turn the rotary switch to Volts AC (Vac), which is also indicated by a wavy line on the dial. Plug the black probe into the meter’s black COM jack, and the red probe into the red Volts jack. Here’s how to determine if the wall outlets in your home are delivering the correct voltage, which in most modern homes is 120 volts. Because of the potential for electrical shock performing this test, exercise extreme caution. Read the digital display or analog dial for voltage measurement.Voltage reading from an outlet in a modern home will vary from, typically, 110 volts to slightly more than 120 volts. Touch the other side with the black probe. Hold the probes by the insulated handles and touch the red probe to the positive side of a DC circuit or either side of an AC circuit. (the measurement scale is set too low, the meter's internal fuse may burn out.) For example the setting should be higher than 120 for a 120V wall outlet. The meter should be set at the top end of the voltage you are reading. The dial may have options from 10 to 1000 on the ACV side, and 5 to 1000 on the DCV side. To measure direct current, a battery for example - use DCV or V-.Ĭhoose the range setting. To measure alternating current, such as a wall outlet for home appliances use ACV or V~. Turn the selector dial or switch to the type of measurement you want. Red goes to the positive (+) and black to the negative (-). Your measurement will not be accurate enough to solve some of the very rare home electrical problems but good enough for government work! Measuring Circuit Voltage Super High-Tech Tip: If you need to check a regular wall outlet (110 VAC) for voltage, plug in a hair dryer or night-light.
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