measure my voltage?

[_DjScrew_ 5,000+ posts]

what kind of tool do i need to find out how much voltage is going through my electrical system?

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[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

DMM would work. DMM = digital multi-meter

 

[_DjScrew_ 5,000+ posts]

yea i have one. what should i set it to and all that?

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Set it to Volts DC (V DC), and to whatever the first # is that's higher than 14.4 in that section of the DMM.

 

[_DjScrew_ 5,000+ posts]

alright .. and just touch it to my batt or something? ... thanks for the help squeak //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[squeak9798 5,000+ posts]

Depends on what you want to measure. If you want to find out what the input voltage to your amp is; you'd measure at the amp's power/ground terminals.

 

[_DjScrew_ 5,000+ posts]

sounds simple.. thanks //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[95Prober 10+ year member]

so by touching the amp terminals, you'll get what power reading is coming from the battery. but what if u touch the batt. terminals? would ya get the same reading?

 

[Nightskye 10+ year member]

To be doubly sure, measure the voltage at the alternator also. If there's a large difference in readings, that indicates your current path is not efficient.

 

[maylar 10+ year member]

so by touching the amp terminals, you'll get what power reading is coming from the battery. but what if u touch the batt. terminals? would ya get the same reading?

If everything is good, yes. That's where experience comes in doing troubleshooting. Never make assumptions.

If the voltage directly across an amplifier's terminals was 10 volts and across the battery was 12.5 then something's wrong with the wiring to the amp. If you only measure the battery and assume the amp is the same because they're wired together you've made a bad assumption.