It is not necessary to call an electrician if you want to make sure that the various electrical systems in your car are working. Trade offers a range of measuring instruments with which you can determine the condition of electrical equipment yourself.
Pilot lamp (with needle probe): With this lamp, you can determine the presence of voltage in the circuit. The brighter the lamp burns, the higher the voltage. A needle probe can pierce the insulation of the wire under test. Clamp on lamp wire attached to bare metal (corps). Caution, the test lamp consumes a lot of power, so for measurements in electronic components (e.g. in control devices) she doesn't fit. In this case, an LED probe should be used.
LED voltage indicator: Depending on the design, using this device, you can determine the presence of direct and alternating voltages from 6 to 700 volts. Voltage indication - optical, using LEDs.
multimeter (combined electrical measuring instrument). Multimeter can measure voltage, current (constant and variable) and resistance. As a rule, galvanic cells are used as a power source in multimeters (own power supply).
Voltage measurement: In order to measure the open circuit voltage of a battery, for example, the negative lead of the meter must be connected to the negative pole of the battery or to the case. The positive lead of the instrument should be connected to the positive pole of the battery or to the circuit to be measured. If the device shows, for example, only 10.4 V, then this indicates a short circuit in one of the battery cells. Check the battery voltage with the starter running - if the device shows a voltage of 5 volts, then the battery is not all right.
Current measurement: In order to measure the current, it is necessary to break the electrical circuit, and turn on the measuring device at the break point. In the course of a number of measurements, when checking the condition of the vehicle's electrical equipment, it is enough to remove the plug-in contact and connect the measuring device between the plug and the contact tongue. Carefully, pay attention to the measuring range of the multimeter. Consumers such as, for example, a starter, consume very high currents; when measuring these currents, the device may fail.
Resistance measurement: Using a multimeter, you can check whether a particular wire or switch conducts current. If the current flows freely, then the device shows zero resistance. If the circuit is broken in some place, then the device will show infinite resistance. In addition, using a multimeter, you can determine the internal resistance of parts and assemblies.
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