Rbuet

My 1995 FSM tells be to measure the resistance between two points. If the resistance is "infinite" go to A, else goto B to trouble shoot further.

My multimeter displays values from 0.00 to 1.00 ohms (0.00 when leads are touching each other, 1.00 when not touching). Which would represent "infinite" resistance on my meter?

I am not "electrical smart", so if I am asking a stupid question . . . so sorry!

bikertrash2001

When you hold the leads together, that represents a short or zero ohms. Infinite resistance is like when the leads are apart. It would be like reading a blown fuse.

Rbuet

Thank you! Now I can continue to follow the FSM flow chart for this darn electrical problem.

Randy93

WHAT????
You have that backwards,zero OHMS is when you are reading a blown fuse.
Infinite is when you put the leads together, meaning no resistance.
OHMS meters measure the resistance from say one end of a spark plug wire to the other.

FICINJECTORS

ron try to send a pm to this member of the forum jfb i think hes an electrical engineer. He seems to know more about ohms law than any one here. maybe he can help you find this problem. Worth a try

Danbo

For the record, Ohms measure resistance.

Zero = no resistance.
infinity = total resistance.

Aurora40

You've got it backwards.

To the OP, does your multimeter have some kind of range or something? Like is it set on MOhms or KOhms or something? If it just reads from 0 to 1 ohm, that's not a very useful multimeter...

Rbuet

The meter is a Sperry 350A. It has 200/2K/20K/200K/2M/20M settings. becuase of my lack of electrical knowledge, I may be using the wrong setting. I think I was using either the 200 or 2K setting.

Ron

colonboy14

FAIL

SAY WHEN

No my friend--YOU have it completly backwards--If you own a VOM go test your theory.

jim_hewett

It's relative...if your bridging a blown fuse... you are measuring continuity across the fuse specific on your multimeter/analog in cont function.... you have no resistance w a blown fuse, its open.
With both leads together what is your intent? Are you measuring resistance or continuity? In Ohm function your
multimeter or analog reads zero which indicates simply no resistance. Cont function will indicate continuity w an audio cue.
Aren't these discussions about how to use your multimeter/analog?
KISS-Keep it simple stupid!
Cheers

Aurora40

Really?

If you think about what he's saying, he's saying the ohms are 0 when the resistance is infinite. And the ohms are infinite with the resistance is 0.

I know sometimes things work out complex like that, but in this case it's quite simple. Ohms = resistance. No ohms is no resistance. Lots of ohms (like infinity) is lots of resistance.

Aurora40

I'd think then the 1.0 would mean 100 Ohms or 1,000 Ohms depending on which setting you had it on. Try cranking it up to 20M and see if it still says 1.0.

SAY WHEN

That would depend on what circuit you are checking --if you are in fact just checking a fuse--the lower settings are fine--if you are checking a circuit with a built in resistor/resistance you would need to have a "normal spec" from a service manual--a coolant temp sensor is a example of a "circuit" with a built in resistor that changes with temperature.

IRAraid

Rbuet,
In your question, 1.00 or not touching is infinite.
Don't feel bad; the only stupid question is the one that isn't asked.
Zero ohms means a dead short (like a good fuse); in other words, the connection is good.
Infinite means open circuit=no conductivity=blown fuse; in other words there is no connection.
These new digital meters are sometimes difficult to interpret. Frequently, 'OC' is displayed to indicate open circuit and '0.0' or some other low number is displayed to indicate a closed ("short") circuit.
An analog gauge might be easier to understand. If the needle doesn't move, open circuit or infinite. If the meter moves all or most of the way over, short circuit or good contact.
PS I'm an EE post doc.
Perhaps some more explanation is needed to put meaning to the words. Please pm me if you need.

Demonic85

jim_hewett

Aurora40...read post 06:13 PM, I never leave a problem unsolved.

RACER 1993

A fuse is a short circuit if it is good-very low resistance

A blown fuse should have infinite resistance-same as holding meter leads about 10 miles apart.

jfb

Ohms is the measure of how well a conductor will pass an electric current. If it does not resist the flow of current, its resistance is zero, or 0 ohms. If it will not allow the flow of current at all, then it has infinite resistance. Very high resistance might be say, 20 million ohms.
Ohms law says that the current in a simple circuit composed of a battery and a conductor, the current flowing will be I (current) = E (voltage) divided by R (resistance). You can see that as R get larger, I gets smaller and as R approaches infinity, I approaches zero.
Commercial ohmeters indicate different things when the probes are apart and the meter has essentially infinite resistance across the probes. The OP's meter reads, "1". My cheap VOM from Harbor Freight also reads, "1". An analog ohmeter, the meter needle stays still and some even have the symbol for infinity on the end of the ohms scale.

LarryK 87

Nice job explaining Ohms Law, but ya did spoil the fun of watching many butcher it. BTW an alternative to the OP's original post, he may have set the Meter to the Diode setting, which will also yeild the 0 and 1 readings as indicated.