Things You'll Need:
- Meter probes
- Pen
-
Step 1
Connect your probes to your voltage multimeter. Probes are color-coded red and black, which will match the two colors on the input jacks. The banana plugs at the end of the probe wires go into the jacks. Insert the black banana jack into the common or negative jack. Insert the red banana plug into the positive jack.
-
Step 2
Turn on your voltage multimeter. Turn the function knob to read either AC or DC voltage, depending on the type of circuit you are going to measure. On some models, you need to set the range dial to the correct setting. For measuring AC voltage in a household circuit, the range will be the 120 range.
-
Step 3
Touch the multimeter probes to the voltage source you are attempting to measure. Be careful by keeping your hands on the insulated parts of the probes. Don't touch any metal.
-
Step 4
Read the numbers on the display if you have a digital voltage multimeter. This is your voltage measurement. If you have an analog meter, determine the number behind the deflected needle. Some analog multimeters have mirror strips behind the needle. This helps prevent parallax error, which occurs when you're not viewing the needle from directly above. Adjust your view of the needle until it hides the reflection behind it. This means that you are viewing the needle from directly above.
-
Step 5
Remove the probes from the voltage source and turn off the voltage multimeter. Write down the voltage measurement.
