Allen,
Didn't one of the elves suggest this item several months ago..good show. I'll be the parent here!!READ THE DIRECTIONS! If its an analog meter..the kind with the needle or pointer and the dial face with millions of tiny numbers you should put on your specs.
The RED lead would be positive and the BLACK would be negative. These would only apply when using a function that was polarity sensitive, such as reading DC voltage. If you touch them to the wrong poles, it's OK, the meter just deflects bass-ackwards and you change.
Your right about setting it to DC. I think the numbers you mentioned are resistance values (ohms). Look at the dial face and you should see some notation indicating DC voltage. Start out with your tests AT THE BATTERY, not in the engine compartment.
Put the meter on DC and stick the red lead to the positive post and black to the negative post. The battery should be about 12.6 volts, so knowing that, look at the scale where the needle points and "reverse" figure it out. The needle should pass through one of the scales with a 12 on it or near it.
That is the scale you will use. Now you can see how it works. This was done with the rig off. Now have a friend start the rig and rev it up. Do the same thing again, but you should see much higher voltage now..maybe high 13's. If this is the case, the generator is working.
The meter will help with all kinds of things. Read the pamphlet that came with it, and every chance you get, use the meter. It is probably fused so you can't really hurt it.
When you start dinking around in the engine compartment, and the truck is running, it's too easy to get something tangled up in a fan, or stick a finger where it doesn't belong. Get comfortable with the meter first.
If your meter is not analog, but is digital, delete this post-post haste! Have fun with your new toy..go get those amps and volts!
Stuart
