gmrulz4u Posted June 23, 2003 Report Share Posted June 23, 2003 How would I go about measuring the RESISTANCE between my Battery and Alternator using my Digital MultiMeter? THANKS! I hope this is a simple question? :? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slade901 Posted June 23, 2003 Report Share Posted June 23, 2003 You can't really measure resistance between battery and alternator. You can however measure voltage and amps. First measure the voltage of the battery by setting your multi-meter to volts setting and connect the leads to the positive and negative post of the battery. Note the voltage reading. It should be between 11.2 to 12.8 volts. Now, start your car and let it run. Rev the engine for a few seconds and then check the voltage reading then. It should be between 13.6 to 15 volts if the alternator is working fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chronic139 Posted June 24, 2003 Report Share Posted June 24, 2003 sure you can measure resistance. Get an ohmmeter, connect one end to the positive alt. connection and the other to the positive batt. connection. The higher the ohms, the more resistance. I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ismellrealbad Posted June 24, 2003 Report Share Posted June 24, 2003 a regular multimeter should be able to give you resistance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmrulz4u Posted June 24, 2003 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2003 Just great, I hate when I get a few different answers! Hmmm...anyone else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slade901 Posted June 24, 2003 Report Share Posted June 24, 2003 Electrical wires usually have around 0 - 0.03 ohms more or less and there is not much resistance you can measure out of it. You can set the Digital Multimeter to "Resistance" or "Ohms" setting if you want to know if there is a continuity of the electrical wires though. Make sure you disconnect the electrical wires from the battery to measure "resistance" or "continuity" of the electrical wires. If you measure on "resistance or "ohms" setting and there is power on the line, you could ruin your multi-meter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GnatGoSplat Posted June 24, 2003 Report Share Posted June 24, 2003 Yes, you can measure resistance like the other guys have said. First, put your multimeter in the Ohms setting. If this is manual ranging, put it in the lowest range. Then touch the leads together. They should be close to 0ohms (mine is usually 0.02ohms). Now connect one lead to your positive battery terminal and the other to your alternator positive terminal. Take this reading and subtract the resistance you measured earlier when you touched the leads together. This is the resistance between the battery and alternator. This should not hurt the meter, as you are not completing the circuit. Only if you touched one lead to positive and one lead to ground would you complete the circuit. As long as you're checking positive to positive, the potential voltage is 0V so no harm. Most multimeters are fused and won't suffer permanent damage even if you do accidentally complete the circuit. Believe me, I have accidentally blown fuses in my multimeters a million times and all have taken it without damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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