Outdoor Power Equipment and Small Engines - battery volt tester

Okay this is probably not the right place but I don't think there really is one :thinker: anyway we are trying to check the voltage of ride on toys battery and chargers. One is Fisher Price one is Peg Perego. After mentioning this for months my husband finally remembers he has one of those volt charger thingys but has no idea how to use it. It has AC and DC and OHMS and different numbers and we don't know what to set it on to check the battery or chargers. (oh it is a craftsman) We don't know which we need to replace. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

On the voltmeter, set it to DC volts. Plug in the charger and put one lead in the hole at the end of the plug, then touch the other lead to the metal outer part of the plug. It should read close to or a little above the voltage rating specified on the charger pack. If so, the charger is working. To check the battery, put the red lead on the positive terminal and the black on the negative terminal with the meter set to DC volts and check voltage. If the voltage equals what the battery specifies, then turn the vehicle on and see what the voltage on the battery looks like when you try to make the vehicle move. If the voltage immediately drops very low, then the battery is bad. Hope that helps.

Thanks for the answer!! ANother question - when you set it , there is a dial that goes around to DC/AC etc. But it has to stop on a number (12, 10, ) etc. Which one do I set it on when I check?

The number would be for the max volts you are going to measure. If the meter has a moving needle and different scales, you set it to a voltage higher than the battery, then read that scale. Say you have a 6 V battery, set the dial to 10 and the needle should move to a little over the 6 on the scale.

If it is a digital readout meter, just set it to the number higher than the battery voltage and it should give you a direct reading on the display.

If you give the model and part number of the meter, I might be able to direct you to the manual.

okay thanks so much. I will check this out.

Okay I am still confused :wall: cause I am not sure where to put the red thingy and black thingy onto the weird plugs they have. Does it matter? And also this is a craftsman digital multimeter # 82025. Hope that helps.

If you don't have owners manual--pick up book at Sears--
How to use a Multimeter---lots of info............

Black into the common or COM or - or negative, red into V or Voltage or +. Do not plug into the 10A, this is for measuring amperage , not voltage.

Check these links out, maybe they will help:

How to use a Multimeter (http://blip.tv/file/138422)

Multimeter Tutorial (http://mechatronics.mech.northwestern.edu/design_ref/tools/multimeter.html)

Multimeter Tutorial (http://www.ladyada.net/library/metertut/)