What setting on a digital voltmeter should i be using to read DC current, what is the symbol? I am trying to trouble shoot my 36v trolling motor system to see if my onboard charger is topping off the batteries correctly.
What setting on a digital voltmeter should i be using to read DC current, what is the symbol? I am trying to trouble shoot my 36v trolling motor system to see if my onboard charger is topping off the batteries correctly.
Ranger Z521 Mercury 250 Pro XS
It should be a straight line, with three broken lines below it.
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Thanks guys. I was in the proccess of googling the info, but the BBC actually was faster than me.
BOOM
Select 10 amps on the dial. Put the red probe in the 10A socket and the black probe in the - socket. Be advised the meter is now a direct short so do not try to read voltage, just put it in series with the load. Consider it a piece of wire taking current to the load that is telling you how many electrons are running down the wire, UP TO 10 AMPS.
Current varies by the point in the charging cycle and will be less than one amp on a charged battery. Could measure 0 on a Dual Pro or NOCO charger.Originally Posted by Gambler Bob Rourke
Voltage is much more useful than current when testing a charger because if the current isn't there you can't get the voltage rise. But 99.99% of the time, if the green light comes on the charger is working.
If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity,
nothing else matters.
Pretty sure i got a bad multimeter. Tested the batteries and only getting 8.5 volts on all 4 batteries, then tested a 9 volt battery and was only getting 6.2 volts. Then swithced the meter to read AC and tested a 110 outlet and the outlet tested at 70. Headed back to the store.
Or it could be a bad battery inside your multimeter too. Most, at least my Fluke 77's, have an internal 9 volt battery and when they get low the multimeter can do some weird stuff.
2008 Z520/Yamaha 250
I returned it to the store, and the new one worked good.
Huzzzhaaa! Good deal.
How does that pertain to a checking a 36 volt battery/trolling motor wiring ?
If done properly it will tell you how many amps are going into the battery. If done by those instructions, and you are running a 15 amp charger, it may give you a good light show.
I'm not sure if Bob wanted to know the volts it each battery, which would be why he wanted the DC symbol, or if he wanted to know the output of his charger which Billnorman1 was trying to describe.
Basically i was just trying to find out how good the batteries i have are. All 3 batteries are size 27 duralast batteries w/ 185 RC rating and they are only 5-6 months old, i have also topped them off with distilled water about 1 month ago. At the tourney i was fishing last Saturday i was getting a low voltage alarm from the Stealth 1 voltmeter installed in the boat, this is the 3rd time i have gotten this alarm fishing, the voltmeter will read about 34.4 volts when the alarm starts to go off, and you can defenitely feel a loss of power at the trolling motor.
I went out to the garage today to check the Stealth 1 voltmeter and it is no longer working, so i bought a multimeter today. I figured before i call Stealth 1 to speak with Danny, i would need a multimeter too trouble shoot over the phone. I only have 38.3 volts fully charged, i can remember when i first bought the batteries that the Stealth 1 voltmeter would read between 40.8v-41.2v fully charged. Honestly not sure if it is the batteries or the charger not charging to its full potential. The green lights on the Stealth 1 do turn green in under 1 hour after fishing all day.
Since you state you're trying to trouble shoot your 36v tm system, I'm assuming it isn't charging the batteries. Sounds more like you have ran the batteries below 8 volts. If so, your on-board charger will not bring them up to full charge. You will have to use a regular battery charger to bring them past 8 v and then, your on-board will bring them all the way up. Normal reaction when you are having this problem - You've charged your batteries, and went to the lake and your batteries were dead in a couple hours (or less).
I checked the batteries and each battery reads between 12.5v-12.8v fully charged with the green lights on and all together they checked 38.3 volts. I would say the charge lasts 4 hours before the low voltage alarm goes off, and loose substantial power at the trolling motor. The first time i got the low voltage alarm i tested the batteries before i charged them and they were testing about 11.8 volts a piece. I have never seen them get run down to anywhere near 8 volts.
If one of your batteries is only reading 12.5V when charged, that is a problem. 12.65V is fully charged for those batteries, and 12.5V is only around 80% charged. Battery voltages taken shortly after the charger shuts off are going to read incorrectly high due to surface charge. You need to let the batteries set overnight before measuring.
If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity,
nothing else matters.
Thank you, i was unaware of that. I did check the batteries within 5 minutes of unplugging them. So suppose the readings may not of been accurate.
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