Hi...My battery slowly (.01 volt per 10 seconds)discharges with ign off. alternator charges 14.28v @ 2500 rpm, voltage drops to 10.28 while cranking, alternator charges 42 amps. I checked self help area and I need to do a milliamp draw test. I have an inexpensive craftsman multimeter...here's the question...is an ammeter generally included in the Multi...?
I didn't want to start a new thread for such a lame question...
any help will do...tnx
oh, I disconnected the TSSM, bettery tender pigtail and the neg cable, but left the + cable on...battery drains on it's own
All of them I've seen lately do include an ammeter and most are protected in case you connect it wrong. The jack for the leads are generally marked as "V" for volts, "COM" for the black lead and the two seperate jacks marked as "mA" and "xA" for current, "x" being the limitations of the meter, generally 10 or 20 amp, the red lead goes into the appropriate current, "A" jack.
Current is mesured in series, meaning you disconnect the battery positive or negative wire and connect the leads of the meter between the battery terminal and the wire you disconnected. More than one wire on the terminal, check each individually with the meter. put the meter on the appropriate range and connect the leads to the appropriate jack. Start on the highest range if it doesn't have auto-ranging. Hope this helps.