How to check an outlet with a digital multimeter
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- Опубліковано 7 вер 2024
- I have put together a course that walk you from A to Z with residential wiring.The course was put together with the amateur in mind so it is pretty easy to follow yet powerful and effective. You can pick up the course by visiting www.electricala...
For not being one to ever comment a youtube video I must sayAfter reading others who commented, I as well would like to thank you for taking the time to explain multimeter basics. It's very educating and great refresher for myself. Thanks again.
I looked for a video that clearly explained this to a beginner. This did the job perfectly! Thanks for taking the time to make this.
you are welcome Christian
Excellent video Tyrone. Plenty of additional instruction for the layman. Anyone using a multimeter for the first time would be wise to watch your video first.
Bro. Tyrone Robertson, thank you for the tutorial, keep up the good work, you are providing a great service for the world, Don't STOP!
Thanks for the kind words Sal. It's guys like you that make it worth the time and effort.
Hi Tyrone, great video. Definitely helping me to understand how to use my multimeter. Just one thing, I see that you insert the positive lead into the neutral, and negative into the hot in the beginning of the video, and then the other way around in the second half... I guess the multimeter works either way... but it was confusing to me.
Just got my multimeter. I have watched several videos, but you're the first one to provide THIS useful info. Thanks for taking your time to film this tutorial for us - really appreciate it!!
@Fred Bloggs Incredibly helpful info and terrific timing! Recently got my multimeter and trying to learn as much as possible beforehand.👍 Thanks again TONS!!💥
Great video man! I lost power to half my house, totally confused when no breaker was popped? I watched your video, went out bought a tester, and da da, found the outlet that had a ground wire loose! Sweet beans man! Thanks!
hey did you know that you have coverage on your home policy that if any of your equipment was damaged from that power failure your insurance covers and there was no additional charge for that coverage?
Good video Tyrone. Well explained. I dont do this too often, but from time to time I look for information to double check that I measuring outlets the correct way. Thank you.
Nice explanation of checking ground and polarity, Tyrone.
It's really nice to have a video demonstration from someone who knows what he's doing.
Thanks Pink
WOW! good tutorial. I just purchased a multi meter and learned so much just now and the safety tips was really good too!!! lol... couldn't help but test outlets around the house after watching you!!!
This guy's as cool as it gets... seems so laid back. I appreciate the tutorial... I tested all the outlets in my house and found a few that were wired backwards; and another that was not properly grounded. (connected to microwave... THAT's why we'd get a shock from the outside casing of the unit!)
Thanks, Tyrone!
You are welcome
Thanks for the demonstration! I just bought one of these Flukes, and don't really know much about them. I'm a young homeowner, and want to be able to do more of this stuff myself. You earned my sub, sir!
No problem Phillip
Tyrone this is the second of your videos I have seen, I really like your emphasis on safety and excellent info, thanks
You are welcome camo
Hi Tyrone, great vid, cheers. I'm in England and our outlets are different looking but your vid still helped me to understand a lot about how to use the meter and voltage. Cheers, Dan. Subscribed
This video was right on time! I needed a quick refresher on how to check to see if my water heater was getting amps and this video was perfect!! Thank you, sir.
Very nice Tyrone, I like your Multimeter lesson especially the part explaining the various holes in the outlet itself. The safety tips were invaluable. Thank you.
you are welcome Billy
Thanks for being so clear and very understandable, I learn something new every time I watch one of your videos. Thanks for sharing and God Bless you.
Thanks for this tutorial. Used it right before testing an outlet for the first time.
Excellent video! I appreciate you taking the time to do this.
You are welcome
Very helpful..My dryer stopped working and after viewing video I am going to have the electrical outlet checked before purchasing a new dryer.
If you are checking a AC circuit it does not matter which prong for hot or neutral but if you are testing DC and you reverse the prongs the reading on the meter will have a negative value but it will still be correct. You can google outlet configurations to see the different types of outlet configs. with voltage and curent
Yes it is true for power in all U.S. homes that don't have their own 3 phase. The two legs of the transformer provide 120V hot at opposite poles(180degree phase shift) and the center tap is grounded. Look up single phase 240V or split phase. A 220V outlet in single phase U.S. homes are just two 120's from opposite poles. It only has a neutral if the appliance requires 120v operation i.e. clocks, timers, etc
He provides important safety information in this video.
Thank you. You explain this clearly and give exactly the information I need to do my project.
thanks, needed to test the current for my dryer and had no clue how to do it lol, good stuff man! :)
Crystal clear instructions Tyrone. Thank you for spending the time and helping me understand how I can use my multimeter for checking a 240V outlet. I have one question - What is the acceptable range of voltage that a 240V outlet can give? Mine is showing as 250V and I need to connect a 240V dryer to this outlet.
Excellent video. Simple and well explained. I can use this for testing circuits for appliances to save time.
sometimes for older dryer lines you might not even have a neutral if it's 220v. It's more of a recent code requirement to use 3-wire feeds for dryers. 3-wire or 4-prong plug = black, red (two hots, 220v between two), white (neutral), green (ground). whereas if your setup is older you'll have a 3-prong plug (in which case the curved socket is the ground and the other two are your hots). In the 4-prong plug your neutral prong will be L - shaped and ground prong will be semi-circular.
Very straightforward, easy to follow, good information. Nice work.
Helpful and to-the-point, thank you for the education!
Matt Hamilton you are welcome Matt
Tyrone, Thanks for your help. You stated in a previous video that one shouldn't use a multi meter for testing current and demonstrated the use of a clamp on voltage meter and slide on meter ( as you labeled it) Please clarify for me. Thanks, Brooks
Love your video. Thank you for the upload. You are an awesome person! Look into becoming an instructor and or a college trade teacher. Again great upload, thank you
Thank you for the kind words
Thanks. Your instructional video helped me to learn how to test for AC voltage in my master bedroom outlets.
n o problem grey
you check between the hot side of the outlet and ground. you should read voltage. If you do not the outlet is not grounded.The easy thing to do is use a outlet checker.( The hot side of the outlet is the short opening and the ground is the round opening )
You should be a teacher. If you aren’t already one. Great video. Detailed and the point
Thanks Tyrone, will try this when I get home. Great tips, great explanation, love the PJs.
You are welcome Mayor
Thank you for the clear explanations and the well-produced video.
If you test from hot to ground or neutral you will get voltage if you check between the 2 hot wires you will read 220 volt. So in other words to make it simple find the 2 prongs that you read 220 between and also test both to ground you should read 120
it is true. If you stick one test lead in the hot side of an outlet or anything that's energized for that matter the other lead will be energized. And yes if go between that test lead and something grounded you will get shocked or possibly electrocuted!
Tyrone, as always, another great informative tutorial. Thank you.
Thanks Elmer and you are welcome.
Great information. Thanks! Now I hope you don't mind some constructive criticism but you really could've cut this video down to about 2 minutes and still give us all of the information. That said, this was very helpful and thanks for posting.
Thank you for enlightening me on this issue, Tyrone.
+akbaxb165 No problem
Excellent video Tyrone. Well explained and fun to watch. Love the accent. ;)
+Genki Kids Thank you
Okay thank you. I tried that and it worked just like you said. So it really is two hots
Excellent educational video. Very nicely done!
Good tips, especially probing the neutral side first!
awesome video. Very educational. Tx very much for posting this. This is the 2nd of your videos I've watched.
Chip Hennen thanks chip and you are welcome
With AC circuits there is no negative or positive wire so it does not matter. If you are checking a DC circuit you want to look at which way you test but even then the difference would be if you test one way you will get a positive reading reverse the leads and you will get a negative reading. The number would remain the same ie 24volts or -24volts.
Yes that makes perfect sense and by coil you transformer. But its not a single 240V hot with a neutral on the other end and grounded at mid point. We both agree on that. You really have to look at it on an oscilloscope to see this. Probe a regular 120V outlet and you will see the typical sine wave 60Hz . Then probe one leg of the transformer ground referenced n you will see the same exact wave, do this on the opposite leg and you will see 180 degree opposite. Differentially you see 240V wave
you should always make sure that the test equipment you intend on using is always in top working condition. We depend on these instruments to provide us with accurate and dependable data. With all of that said most meters use the battery for generating the small amount of current and voltage needed to test for continuity. Some manufactures may use the fuses for other meter functions. I would use the meter to test a circuit that I know is live first to confirm proper operation.
Thank Tyron you the man. This Tutorial helped me with understanding.
you are welcome
just to add to the comment above, my multimeter came with about the least understandable instructions I have ever seen (except for the Chinese instructions - they might have been a little more difficult to understand). FINALLY I can use it!
Thanks for the video. You made some Great points that I didn't know.
you r welcome
Very informative tutorial Tyrone, thank you.
It sounds like you checked the outlet correctly the short prong on the outlet is Hot you can place one test lead there and place the other in the neutral which is the long side or the ground the round prong. both the neutral and ground are at the same potential so so it should work either way
Reversing the lead testers is a smart idea!!! Go job
thanks for the demo please keep them coming
this is what i needed, a clear explanation thank you for this video
You are welcome Derek
Thanks. If I want to replace the unpolarized power cord from an older appliance with a newer grounded power cord, should I connect the ground wire to the appliance chassis?
Enigma758 yes
If the ground or neutral is not connected to the system ground or the system ground is not bonded or you have a bad connection then you may have an open ground (NOT GROUNDED) if it is not grounded it can become energized (VERY DANGEROUS) because you have no path or a bad or limited path back to earth. In your situation sounds like either the ground or neutral is open or have a bad connection point and the other does not (potential difference between the 2 conductors) in a situation like this you can read voltage between the 2 NOT GOOD
but in that case, Neutral is OK, only GND be opened, the path back to earth is Neutral
Please help me
+Tyrone Robertson By earth, do you mean planet earth's ground?
+Dark Seid yes and the nuetral ground is in pluto lol
Yes it is a phase shift. Look at in on an oscilloscope. The reason you get half voltage is on either end with respect to ground is because both ends are 120v legs of opposite polarity. Opposite polarity means exactly half of a full 360 degrees. If you measure them differentially then you will see why 120 on an opposite 120 equals 240V. Don't you have an oscilloscope? If not, look it up, plenty of Google images showing exactly this...
I see you used the red and black in both sides...it doesn't matter if the red is in the hot or ground and vise a versa?
+Wil Rey Nope does not matter when testing AC
Normal household AC current swaps direction 50-60 times per second. So it doesn't matter which probe goes to which hole.
What I think you are missing is that it is just one coil. If you remove the center tapped ground point what you are left with is just 2 wires with 240 volt between them. By grounding the coil at midpoint you provide a path for current to flow to ground. from either end of the coil to ground you get half the voltage of the coil. so lets look at it this way. 110 volt you are using half the coil and 240 volt you are using the whole coil. does that make sense?
@6:30 I just discovered my ceiling mount polarity was reversed: the white and ground read a 0V drop, but the black and ground read 124V drop.
Thanks!
Nevermind. I just realized that white is normally neutral. Still, good to know!
thanks for posting Tyrone. good video, got what i came for.
Have a washer machine on the fritz. Going to check the outlet first, just to be sure the problem is not there.
You are welcome Mike
you put one prong on something grounded. if you have a neutral or ground in the box either will work. You take the other prong and test both screws. if the switch is in the on position you will get voltage on both screws. if you do not then the switch is bad. ( this only work for a single pole switch). Would you like for me to do a video on checking switches?
Is the breaker plugged in? if so it is possible the breaker is bad. BTW how did you check the breaker? normally when a breaker trips it is a indication that you have an issue with that circuit and it is not good to keep resetting the breaker by doing so you may damage the breaker. When you replace the breaker the same problem may exist. you have to find out were the fault is on that circuit.
Hi Tyrone. I think you have your leads switched when your testing the receptacle.
Great video. Thanks for the help
Thank you for your time posting this!! so clear
Thanks Tyrone for this video.
Very informative, thanks for sharing your knowledge!
You are welcome Angle
Great tutorial! I've never used a voltage meter before and now I know how - hopefully I won't fry myself.
Ok, thanks for answering.... It has different testers... But it has ACV 750 & 200, I think this is for household current...
Really helpful. Thanks Man!
As far as a review yes you are good at it hanks
Thanks Tyrone. Very helpful.
you are welcome Joseph
How do you test if you outlet is properly grounded? Thanks for this video
simple & understanding.....thk u sir...........
Learned a few things, thanks.
You are welcome Joe
Good one Tyrone! Perfect for guys like me.
Hey man great video and simple for a guy like me.Why is it so hard to break into the trade
Thanks Francisco it's not hard to get into the trade look up you local apprenticeship program.
Hi Tyrone. Thank you for this educational video. Recently I noticed that the sockets on my upstairs room stopped working. Using an electrical tester, which has no digital screen, I tested the sockets. The only light that comes on is the VAC (alternate current). What is the meaning of that?
no it does not matter but the safest way is to put your test lead into the neutral side first the (long slot) and then the hot side the (shorter slot) and when completed remove the lead from the short slot first then the long slot. This has no bearing on the test readings it is just about safety.
Nice 1 Tyrone...thanks for explaining in detail.i get your drift :)
stevie savaloy Thanks Stevie and you are welcome
Good job, much appreciated.
Tom Devine you are welcome Tom
You are welcome and thanks
you are welcome and yes I will do that for you
It can also be represented using some basic triginometry
Thanks for a great video. It is a big help. One question, I noticed that you switch the red and black leads during the video as to which sides of the outlet you put them in. Does it make any difference with a multimeter as to which prong goes into which side?
+Daryl Mosely Hey Daryl, No it does not make a difference when you are testing AC
The polarity is always changing when looking at it from a waveform standpoint. But the current flows from hot to neutral (neutral being your low point of potential) Further more on older appliances it is quite possible to run across a situation where the neutral is attached to the frame of the appliance. In this case if you reverse the plug the frame will be energized. THAT WOULD NOT BE GOOD! BTW like the heavy avatar (Soo much blood)LOL
Hey Mr.Ty..I just looked through your videos and I was wondering if you could do a series of videos on some pipe bending?
perhaps one day
Hi Tyrone, thanks for the video. Do you happen to know if there is an easy way to use a voltmeter/ DMM to find which wire is the hot one? This question is pertaining to a 220V 30A line commonly used for electric dryers. The outlets are both the same size (one is not wider than the other as a typical 120V outlet is) so I cannot directly tell which is hot or neutral without turning the breaker off and pulling the outlet from the wall which is the last thing I want to do.
Good information! Thank you Tyrone. 😃
+Jennifer Heredia Thanks Jennifer and you are welcome.
+Tyrone Robertson Good info... Thanks !
+Ibbygirl you are welcome
Thanks, you just helped me fix my outlet!
cool! you are welcome
Great video
It was really helpful, im installing a villa i tested Jacuzzi out let with voltmeter, the Phase outlet to the Ground outlet is shows zero volt. does it means i have problem with earthing!!! is it that dangerous if i didn't connect properly ????
+twana chalabi is it a gfci outlet if so when you tested to ground did the outlet trip? This may be the reason you did not get a reading. If this is not the case did you read between the correct test points?