How to read a digital multimeter, to measure batteries

A new battery did it!!

garry1p wrote:
The internal meter battery is used for the display and ohm setting only. If the display looks good the meter should be good to go for battery testing.

The meter uses the internal battery to generate a reference voltage. If the battery is too weak the reference will be low, causing a higher than realistic reading.

Replace the battery and retest.

garry1p wrote:
The internal meter battery is used for the display and ohm setting only. If the display looks good the meter should be good to go for battery testing.

Not true.

Replace the meter battery. If you get the same results, you have a bad meter or perhaps bad leads.

When using the meter for checking battery voltage.
On the meter.
1. The red lead plugs into the ohm/V (red) hole closest to black hole on the meter.
2. The black lead plugs into black (COM or neg) hole.

3. Set the dial position on DVC 20 (Black solid line is DC Volts).
4. Place the red lead on the + (pos) side of the battery and the black lead on the - (neg)side of the battery.
5. Meter display should read 12.6 or higher for a fully charged battery.

The internal meter battery is used for the display and ohm setting only. If the display looks good the meter should be good to go for battery testing.

To test the meter rotate the dial to the lowest ohm setting the meter should display "1". Now touch the red and black lead tips together the meter should read "0". If it reads anything higher the leads may be bad, the internal battery is low or meter is defective.

Oh wow, that was too stupid!!!! Thanks guys.

DM-210 Operating Instructions


As suggested...1st replace battery

Replace the battery in the meter.

Yup the wavey line (it is a SINE wave by the way) Is for AC

NOTE... On your six volts leave the pair in series. IGNORE the jumper except when cleaning or changing batteries.. Treat the pair EXACTLY as though they are a 12 volt battery. for that is what they become when the jumper is installed.

Also remember the voltage charges.. NO current in or out of the battery for like 30 minutes or an hour before measureing.

The red wavy line ranges are for AC voltage; the black dash/dotted line ranges are for DC voltage. Those symbols (the wave and the dash above dots) are quite common.

It sounds like you're applying the multimeter properly, but it's not giving you reasonable readings. (The decimal points typically would be turned on and off by the control knob setting, so that part wouldn't bother me too much.) There are a few easy things to check as to why it's malfunctioning: first, maybe the battery in the meter needs replacement. Second, if that's not the problem, it might be possible to disassemble the unit and clean the big switch on the front; sometimes they're pretty easy to take apart, being a few metal contact fingers on the knob and some arcs of traces on the PCB underneath, and cleaning them might restore proper function. Third, if the readings are consistently offset from reality, it may be possible to calibrate the meter against a suitable calibration source if it has some sort of a calibration adjustment internally. That, of course, is assuming that it's working otherwise.

I might also check that the leads and jacks are sound and making good connections. You can check the leads by shorting them on the lowest 200? resistance range; they should read at most a fraction of an ohm. That test, of course, assumes the meter is somewhat accurately metering.