Introduction

Every fixer should know their way around a multimeter, which has just north of a zillion uses for testing electronic components and circuits. Follow along to master the three most basic functions of a multimeter.

Part 1: Testing Continuity

Part 2: Measuring Voltage

Part 3: Measuring Resistance

To learn how to use your multimeter to make advanced measurements such as current and capacitance, check out this guide.

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    • A continuity test tells us whether two things are electrically connected: if something is continuous, an electric current can flow freely from one end to the other.

    • If there's no continuity, it means there is a break somewhere in the circuit. This could indicate anything from a blown fuse or bad solder joint to an incorrectly wired circuit.

    • Continuity is one of the most useful tests for electronics repair.

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    • To begin, make sure no current is running through the circuit or component you want to test. Switch it off, unplug it from the wall, and remove any batteries.

    • Plug the black probe into the COM port on your multimeter.

    • Plug the red probe into the port labeled with a V symbol (in this case, the right port).

    Why do we need to make sure that no current is running through the circuit?

    When there is another parallel branch with 24VDC power and 4-20mA output, the value of the resistance measured comes as zero. Whats the reason?

    Fraz -

    The way that a meter measures resistance is by sending a small current across the probes and then measuring the resulting voltage. So, another current will disturb your digital multimeter's (DMM) reading.

    nicO -

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    • Switch on your multimeter, and set the dial to continuity mode (indicated by an icon that looks like a sound wave).

    • Not all multimeters have a dedicated continuity mode. If yours doesn’t, that’s okay! Skip to step 6 for an alternate way to perform a continuity test.

    I want to search the resistance of gold and see if I have some

    Joel Stegner -

    What does a sound wave look like?

    Greg Janssen -

    Gold is highly conductive near zero resistance which is why they use it in conducters. Use "specific gravity" type tests or "mass spectromatry" type tests for elements.

    Sound looks like sine waves with various amplitudes and cycles per unit of time.

    MidnightWolf -

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    • The multimeter tests continuity by sending a little current through one probe, and checking whether the other probe receives it.

    • If the probes are connected—either by a continuous circuit, or by touching each other directly—the test current flows through. The screen displays a value of zero (or near zero), and the multimeter beeps. Continuity!

    • If the test current isn't detected, it means there's no continuity. The screen will display 1 or OL (open loop).

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    • To complete your continuity test, place one probe at each end of the circuit or component you want to test.

    • As before, if your circuit is continuous, the screen displays a value of zero (or near zero), and the multimeter beeps.

    • If the screen displays 1 or OL (open loop), there's no continuity—that is, there's no path for electric current to flow from one probe to the other.

    • Continuity is non-directional, meaning it doesn't matter which probe goes where. But there are exceptions—for instance, if there's a diode in your circuit. A diode is like a one-way valve for electricity, meaning it will show continuity in one direction, but not in the other.

    • To check for this, reverse what the probes are touching and check for continuity. If the multimeter shows continuity, then it's possibly a diode.

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    • If your multimeter doesn't have a dedicated continuity test mode, you can still perform a continuity test.

    • Turn the dial to the resistance mode.

    • If your multimeter has manual ranging, set the resistance to the lowest setting.

    • Resistance is measured in ohms, indicated by the symbol Ω.

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    • In this mode, the multimeter sends a little current through one probe, and measures what (if anything) is received by the other probe.

    • If the probes are connected—either by a continuous circuit, or by touching each other directly—the test current flows through. The screen displays a value of zero (or near zero—in this case, 0.8). Very low resistance is another way of saying that we have continuity.

    • If no current is detected, it means there's no continuity. The screen will display 1 or OL (open loop).

    You mentioned that if your meter screen displays 1 or OL

    But what happen if it shows other numbers

    Like 5.5 or somewhat?

    ddplc -

    It means you have current flowing which would indicate a good path or circuit. Also means you have a power supply connected which I think was mentioned earlier in the article to disconnect all power supplied, as in a.c., d.c. Especially in a vehicle as running tests on computer module circuits with the vehicle battery connected can damage a computer module circuit..

    Henry DeVito -

    I'm very pleased to have discovered these directions. Interestingly, I tried the two probes on different sections of a screwdriver – resistance showed very high. Is that possibly because of chrome coating on the screwdriver?

    James O'Neil -

    May not be a chrome coating at all even if it looks like it. The screw drivers "resistence" is the result of what alloys are used in the shank of the screw driver ... ie ... tin, zinc, carbon, etc.

    MidnightWolf -

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    • To complete your continuity test, place one probe at each end of the circuit or component you want to test.

    • It doesn't matter which probe goes where; continuity is non-directional.

    • As before, if your circuit is continuous, the screen displays a value of zero (or near zero).

    • If the screen displays 1 or OL (open loop), there's no continuity—that is, there's no path for electric current to flow from one probe to the other.

    What does it mean when I first get 1 then the meter jumps to all kinds of numbers and there is no beeping?

    Choymae Huie -

    Most likely you have bad contact with whatever you are measuring.

    MidnightWolf -

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    • The next four steps will show you how to measure voltage.

    • Plug the black probe into the COM port on your multimeter.

    • Plug the red probe into the port labeled with a V symbol (in this case, the right port).

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    • Switch on your multimeter, and set the dial to DC voltage mode (indicated by a V with a straight line, or the symbol ⎓).

    • Virtually all consumer electronic devices run on DC voltage. AC voltage—the kind that runs through the lines to your house—is considerably more dangerous, and beyond the scope of this guide.

    • Your multimeter may be auto-ranging or manual ranging. An auto-ranging multimeter (such as the iFixit multimeter) will automatically determine the best measuring range. All you have to do is set what kind of measurement you want to take.

    • If your multimeter is manual ranging, you'll also need to set the correct range for the voltage you expect to measure.

    • Each setting on the dial lists the maximum voltage it can measure. So for example, if you expect to measure more than 2 volts but less than 20, use the 20 volt setting.

    • If you're not sure, start with the highest setting.

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    • If your multimeter is manual ranging, skip to the next step.

    • Place the red probe on the positive terminal, and the black probe on the negative terminal. The multimeter will display the measured voltage.

    • Reversing the probes won't do any harm; it just gives a negative reading.

    • Skip the next step, which describes how to measure voltage using manual ranging multimeters.

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    • Follow this step to measure voltage with a manual ranging multimeter.

    • Place the red probe on the positive terminal, and the black probe on the negative terminal.

    • If your range was set too high, you may not get a very precise reading. Here the multimeter reads 9 volts. That's fine, but we can turn the dial to a lower range to get a more precise.

    • If you set the range too low, the multimeter simply reads 1 or OL, indicating that it is overloaded or out of range. This won't hurt the multimeter, but we need to set the dial to a higher range.

    • With the range set correctly, we get a reading of 9.42 volts.

    • Reversing the probes won't do any harm; it just gives us a negative reading.

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    • The next three steps will show you how to measure resistance with your multimeter.

    • To begin, make sure no current is running through the circuit or component you want to measure. Switch it off, unplug it from the wall, and remove any batteries.

    • Remember that you'll be measuring the resistance of the entire circuit. If you want to measure an individual component such as a resistor, measure it by itself—not with it soldered in place!

    • Plug the black probe into the COM port on your multimeter.

    • Plug the red probe into the port labeled with an Ω symbol (in this case, the right port).

    Be careful when testing ohms on the circuit board, the best test is to remove the part so you are only testing the part not the circuit around the part. Transistors, resistors, caps need to be removed or at best one leg of the part. One time I had a burn open resistor, then I tested the resistor with my Ohms test I got some resistor reading. This was caused by back feed in the circuit.

    John E Reese -

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    • Switch on your multimeter, and set the dial to resistance mode.

    • Resistance is measured in ohms, indicated by the Ω symbol.

    • The iFixit multimeter is auto-ranging, meaning it will automatically determine the best measuring range.

    • If your multimeter is manual ranging, you will need to set the correct range for the resistance you expect to measure. If you're not sure, start with the highest setting.

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    • Place one probe at each end of the circuit or component you want to measure.

    • It doesn't matter which probe goes where; resistance is non-directional.

    • If your multimeter is manual ranging:

    • If your multimeter reads close to zero, the range is set too high for a good measurement. Turn the dial to a lower resistance range.

    • If you set the range too low, the multimeter simply reads 1 or OL, indicating that it is overloaded or out of range. This won't hurt the multimeter, but we need to set the dial to a higher range.

    • The other possibility is that the circuit or component you are measuring doesn't have continuity—that is, it has infinite resistance. A non continuous circuit will always read 1 or OL on a resistance test.

Jeff Suovanen

Member since: 06/08/13

427144 Reputation

132 comments

EASy and helpful indeed

Trever Mazibuko -

Thank you! Never find instructions so easy to follow.

kuruvar -

Iwant to know hw to test caperstas

kapambwe sikazwe -

Great stuff!! Thank you.

warwick -

Super guide, many thanks for posting!

Alan -

Thank you. Very easy and good training

Badar Omar -

Very helpful for beginners, thanks for these clear instructions!

AndyBlaser -

great article. thanks

James Magenga -

thank you !!! for this info!!!

Sufian Hamouda -

i did not know i can do this.

jeez -

Thanks a lot this is very clear and helpful!

dillinger0893 -

Thanks Jeff. I just purchased a cheap mm. All instructions were in Chinese. Your help made sense of it all, so easy.

David Bennet -

Iwant to knw hw to test power suply

kapambwe sikazwe -

great, thank you for good description.

hzaim2001 -

Brilliant thank you

Liam Breen -

It takes an intelligent person to write simple instructions. BRAVO !

dave -

It truly does.

Shane Blanchett -

so nice Bro...Thanks a lot...

akramul haque apollo -

Love the resources on the Pro site.

Shane Blanchett -

Very good instructions

Md Kamruzzaman -

Nice guide.pl add some additional examples to have better understanding for beginners.Thank you

sugashankar -

Nice guide. Pl add some additional practical examples. Thank you.

sugashankar -

I'm doing exactly this and mine won't read any voltages, but it will read resistance. I've tested it with multiple batteries that I know work, but I only get a read of 0. What might be the problem?

Juan Partida -

Very good lesson, helped a lot. Thankyou

mark cole -

This is the best and easiest lesson on using multimeter. Thanks a lot!

Seong Lee -

Thank you, Haven't used one of these is ages; this was a great refresher!

GON Compactor -

thanks for a very easy tutorial, it is very helpful!

bonjie montaflor -

The basics. Soooo important. Well done, short and concise.

chris teter -

Nice and straightforward guide - thanks buddy.

Mel Gavin -

Most helpful thank you!

jodianderson34 -

Had multimeter for a couple years, never knew how to make it beep!

Mike Weatherl -

Thank you for these great instructions. The instructions that came with the multimeter were not helpful for a beginner, and these really helped us diagnose our problem.

Roger Lemaster -

Thank you for the great instructions. My question and the reason for my looking online for info on using a multimeter was to find out what the various resistance readings mean on a digital tester. I am checking out a defrosting element in my refrigerator and got a reading of 12 or 15 ohms. The information I was reading said a 15-100 ohms meant the element was OK, another book said if medium resistance was found it was OK.

By going online I was looking for the answer as to what is low, medium and/or high resistance ranges are.

I did enjoy your instructions, they were easy to understand.

JM -

I have used a meter for a long time. Never had instructions so clear and easy to follow. Thank you very much.

The pictures are also very clear and helpful.

Rick Lewis -

Beautifully put. I truly appreciate the lesson. I've learned something of impirtance. Thank you.

rickeybenn -

it really useful for begginer

erwin torres -

Thanks you for the lesson :)

Mark Diamond -

Hi,

das ist wirklich sehr anschaulich aufgebaut und benutzerfreundlich, vielen Dank dafür!

Wer jetzt noch genau wissen möchte wie Multimeter funktionieren und worauf Sie beim Kauf achten sollte der kann gerne noch auf https://multimeter-tester.de schauen und weiter lesen.

Ich wünsche euch noch einen schönen Abend und einen bestmöglichen Start ins neue Jahr.

LG

multimeter_tester -

Thanks you for the lesson :)

mrmannan05 -

A great introduction for a beginner like me.

Joe -

Hello . and thank you good read.

conrad -

Easy to understand...thank you

chip -

Thanks and had help me a lot

sinoncesar -

Had help me a lot. Many Thanks

sinoncesar -

Thanks, I think I've got it.

rama jama -

Simple and precise. A life saver as I couldn't find the "manual" - one page sheet. Greatful!

rudy2828 -

Wow I love this I can now read a resistor thanks keep on the good work

Adeyefa -

Great stuff this was helpful.

joel7269 -

Thanks , sometimes need too refresh with the basics.

Kurt Webster -

It is very nice demostration

Lokesha -

Sir can i get a book about basics of auto electrical and electronics or soft copy.

Lokesha -

Very informative! Easy to understand.

David Flatt -

Well written.

Neville Amaral -

Simple and easy thanks

kudakwashekatena -

I have been searching a tutorial on getting started with trouble shooting an automotive parasitic draw. I have no background in different types of functions of a mmeter such as continuity, voltage, and resistance, your tutorial was a must have. It gave me an understanding of just the basic terminology of the more advanced tutorials. I give it a major thumbs up, excellent tutorial thanks a million !!!!!!

camotrucker87 -

Easy to follow description. However, I am having trouble diagnosing a microwave diode. Seems I can't do that directly with a multimeter. Is that correct?

Rose - May 9, 2017

rakile -

Thank you, the instructions that came with my multi meter were clear as mud. Your mini course was very clear and concise.

t_wellman -

Thank you. This was very helpful to me. Very clear and easy to understand....

John Cascella -

Thank you so much, it is so easy to understand the way you explain.

nodzgreat -

thankyou very much.

keith -

Thanks for supportive/useful post

Suman Ponmathan -

Very Helpful.,thanks

Rey Mombay -

Excellent please give us more of the same, primarily to help with understanding of the subject matter at a basic level.

mike payne -

Excellent and elegantly simple guide.

Stewart Shackleton -

Thanks you so much for this.For me as a beginner,I didn't find difficulties in reading this but its fruitful one.

Jhed Saldavia -

thanks a million

claude.staples -

It was just awsome.Before your tutorial it just was looked like some alien device to me and now I think it's having very simple working principle. I am now pretty confident to work with it. A very big thanks.

Biswarup Majumdar -

Indeed awesome. Lots of thanks for such a generous sharing of knowledge. Be blessed

prince -

very helpful,thanks

silvester -

very simple and accurate

daniel -

Awesome thanks.. I knew you could use this for a lot of things but not this much.

Lynn Comstock -

I have a problem with my multimeter (Mastech MY74), the first thing I did was stupid, haven't read the user manual and tried it on a live socket and now it doesn't want to work. I have changed the fuses (600V, 0,4A and 10A), but it still doesn't work. Does anyone have an idea what else could have went wrong and how to test it?

Best regards

Rebius Noir -

Very useful. I liked the statements like ‘this will not harm the multimeter but will show negative reading ‘. For non science folks like me, these questions crop up often so this guide takes away the anxieties.

Ninad Kajale -

Nice article with great illustrations.

Apart from measuring DC voltage, resistance and continuity, they can also measure AC voltage, DC current, transistor and Diode checking, which I learnt from here https://circuitdigest.com/article/how-to...

merchan -

Following the KISS method of instruction!

Very well done!

JD Stewart -

marvellous explanation for a layman good luck& thanks

Ajmeet kaur -

Excellent guide. Very well explained and easy to use.

Simon Watts -

Dead easy. Very impressed.

Mark Sanders -

What to say except that you are the best !!!

Samir -

Good information. Thank

Masthan S -

Thanks a lot. :) My fear with multimeter is gone now. I am able to measure with confidence.

Jaya Saxena -

Can multimeters be used to measure salinity in water?

Ella Post -

Jeff, thanks for your step by step multimeter guide. I have also written https://bestmultimeterreviews.org/ similar article in my blog. But, your article is much better than me.

Ciffakla Notam -

Simple, easy to understand, well presented. Very helpful thanks.

Nicholas Topley -

Literally helped me passed my physics test; thank you!

KATE HUT -

Thank you very much !! Nicely explained and very easy to read with the pictures provided

larykir -

Tanks very much….Its really

Austine Taiwo -

you put a lot of effort in making this tutorial. I appreciate it.

hurshell -

Thank you. Very clear and thorough.

Choymae Huie -

Thank you for the helpful information, simple for novice to understand.

mark long -

Very helpful :) Thank you.

john schulz -

Very helpful… Thank you

Rhon -

Very helpful, thanks.

Daniel -

Cool keep up the good work and thanks

Pete Garcia -

Great for beginners, thanks

Mark -

thanks for a very easy tutorial, it is very helpful! pl add some additional examples to have better understanding for beginners.Thank you

sateesh

Challa. Sateesh -

Thank u for the precise description,very very useful for beginners.

A MAZUMDER

Arunava Mazumder -

thanku for guide!!!

sencotech khan -

I studied multimeter in my 11th grade and since then, haven’t been around these things for a long time! I was glad to go through the above instructions and as my nephew has been studying physics as well, I was able to guide him through some subjects which really gave me a good day and made my nephew happy. Thanks a lot.

Charles Brown -

thanks for this info.

daud john -

Very good explained well. Thank you.

Colm Gibson -

Exceptional directions and explanations for each step. Even an inexperienced user (such as myself) can understand and follow the instructions. So hard to find such detailed instructions for those that “want to be in the know”!! Kudos! You deserve 4+ Stars :)

Elaine Shapiro -

We thank you for the information

zenyao masilela -

I was always confused about electricity and how to test it but your instructions have given me a better understanding of it. I now have a place to go to for future reference. Thanks.

davidleithead -

thanks for the lucid description of the three phases of testing an electronic item; good job!

Jayaraman Raju -

An excellent guide. Thank you.

Kevin Dyck -

Thanks, that's helpful to me

Congrats for showing us the best way use it

Abdul Ndove -

Excellent guide Thank you!!!!

Hubulaoo kunafufafaaa -

Easy and simple to understand!! Thank you

John -

Show us the hard stuff like MX10 android box main board how to test thank u

alf -

Well. .. thank you, this is awesome

protyp Kariba -

thank you very much

Sisay alemayehu -

Well done. You've explained it in detail and was completely understandable. Tm

Todd Martens -

Good Content …………..Easy to Learn!

https://www.multimeter-uses-hindi.com

Shah Jahan -

When testing a Tweeter the multimeter reads OL on the resistance scale. What does this mean?

walkad@internode.on.net -

Really helpful

Richie boateng -

Very simple and easy to understand. Thank you very much for your help, now I can use a multimeter now.

Lala Hetman -

Very informative ; Thank you ?

Abdus van harte -

Thank you so much for making it so simple to follow. Because before I new what I was doing I got the all wires mixed up on my car battery. And I nearly melted my fingers to the wires. So thanks again c foley… craigfol659@gmail.com

Craig Foley -

Very good explained! Thanks.

Ove Aarstad -

easy to understand

Adriaan Cooke -

Thanks for teaching me

mokatsi phalamotse -

Thanks very helpful

Kenny Miller -

Thanks. Very Helpful

Kenny Miller -

Thank you so much easy and healpful

Goodluck Minja -

Thank you! Great how to advice for a beginner!

bobtruck7140 -

Knowing how to test continuity safely and quickly will both increase confidence near electronics — is that circuit LIVE? — and significantly decrease repair time.

nicO -

Thanks for the very detailed guide, good content and quality pictures.

AC is not dangerous, even V's aren't. Everyone must get worried about A's.

Sadly, you didn't include how to measure A (amperage or current), which always causes troubles to measure, to learn and understand.

Nicolas Pascual -

Hi how can I test a signal transmission through an ffc or fpc cable using a multimeter

silasbiwott74@gmail.com -

That was a really clear and concise tutorial. Thanks.

Just one request. Could you do ones on other capabilities of a DMM, please? For example, measuring ampage, testing doids and LEDs.

Cheers Wal

William Robertson -