Measuring battery voltage using a multimeter?

I have a multimeter that has OHM, ACV, 9V Bat, 1.5V, DCA, and DCV-- I'm not
sure I know what all these mean. Anyway, what setting do I put it on to
measure the voltage of my vehicle's battery?

Thanks

 

DCV is for DC Voltage. With car off, should measure approx 12v give or take
a few tenths. With car running, approx 13.8 or so.

 

DCV or DC Voltage.

 

Well done. See also the five checks of voltage listed about
one-third of the way down at
http://home.earthlink.net/~honda.lioness/id13.html .

 

Thanks, but now next to DCV there are the following numbers: 10, 250 and
500. Do I set it at 10?

 

Set for the scale ABOVE what you are looking for. In the case of your
meter, set it for 250.

 

Thanks so much Seth. I followed your instructions and I can see that my
vehicle battery is at 10 MA. Which seems correct.

 

No, I think you read it wrong. There is no "MA" when reading "VOLTAGE".
With the meter set to DCV/250, you should have a reading of around 12V with
the engine off and about 14V with the engine running.

 

Oh, okay then, which scale do I use? There are: dB, AV10V, V-mA, and then
somw weird symbols. Yikes!

Nino

 

spend about $10 to $20 extra bucks and get an auto-ranging meter. then
you only have to select V, A, Ω, etc.

never test a battery in "A" mode!

 

As stated earlier, DCV/250

 

Post the make and model of the voltmeter so we can read the manual for
you...

--Gene

 

From the sound of it, he's got an analog meter and is being confused by
the multiple markings on the scale.

I'd suggest getting a simple $10 digital meter at whatever local
electronics or auto-parts surplus outlet...

 

-----------------------------------

DC voltage would be read with VDC, or DCV.

If you set it to an AMPerage scale, you'll 'let the smoke out' of the
meter.

You could practice on a 1.5 volt Walkman battery, to be sure. Use a
lower scale for that if you want.


'Curly'

 

Post the make and model of the voltmeter so we can read the manual for you

Okay, it's a mastercraft 52-0059-8. It came with no manual!

Nino

 

I think that Gene was being sarcastic. I would use the closest thing to a
0-20 Volt DC scale that is available on that meter, being careful of course
to hook up positive to positive, and negative to negative.

Earle

 

You'd be better off with a 052-0060-2 Digital model.

It has many more ranges on it and, although it won't 'auto-range'
(set the range which will display the value best automatically)
you'll be able to get a decent reading on its 20 dcv range.

 

Yeah, as I suspected, it's an analog meter, and you're getting confused
by the multiple scales on the dial.

Graham's right - go pick up a digital model, like the 52-0060-2 ($9.99
according to canadiantire.ca)

 

Actually, at room temperature, a good battery will read about 12.65V with
the surface charge removed. A battery that reads 12V at 70F is near DEAD.

It is very clear that the OP is a newbie. The OP should spend some time at
this Web site:
www.batteryfaq.org , and specifically should see this Excel table:
http://www.uuhome.de/william.darden/SoC.xls
See the 8th column from left.

To remove the surface charge before checking voltage:
Turn on headlights for five minutes with engine OFF. Turn lights off again,
then wait five more minutes. Now check the voltage with engine OFF.

Checking voltage with engine running is a test of the charging system, not
the battery.