Any Electrical Wizards Out There?
I just spent 4 days at a racetrack campground and our house battery drained each night. I just figured it was time for a new one but it charged up on the way home and held the charge for 2 days so far...
Forum Discussion
Calisdad wrote:
tenbear the ammeter didn't get a reading because it didn't read below 1 amp. I'm really not following your statement that the 1.4v reading is meaningless. Are you saying current is NOT flowing thru the circuit? Because I did use an ammeter (albeit a cheap one) and it didn't give a reading one would have to assume it was less than the meters capabilities, or the meter didn't work- which it does (I tested it on an extension cord, separated and running a light bulb at the time).
Current is flowing thru the circuit. The voltmeter placed across the fuse contacts makes a circuit with the meter in series with the circuit powered through the fuse. If no current was flowing thru the circuit you would measure zero volts.
Edit: The current flowing thru the circuit is very small. If the resistance of the circuit was smaller, meaning that more current would be flowing, the meter would indicate close to the applied voltage, 12+ volts. Ohms law - current thru a resistor = voltage / resistance. Your DVM probably has a resistance of over 1000 ohms so the current would be 1.4/1000+ Amps. Very small.
The current you measured with the extension cord is AC. The current flowing thru the fuse is DC. Is your clamp-on ammeter a DC meter or only an AC meter? Usually an AC/DC clamp-on meter would be more expensive.
