It's a must-have for any toolbox—but there's a learning curve involved. Learn how to use a multimeter for all of your electrical testing needs.

With this guide, you'll learn the ins and outs of troubleshooting your home and household electronics using a handy multimeter.

Proceed with caution to avoid any belts, fans, or other moving parts, touch the probe ends of the multimeter to the battery terminals – that should produce a reading of around 13.8-14.4 volts.

For all of you who have a multimeter thrown in a drawer or toolbox but don’t know how to use it, these instructions will help in your search for missing voltage.

The problem is, people get confused on how to use a multimeter, and that's where I'm hoping to help. First off, for a meter to keep in the Jeep, don't go getting the $300 unit that does inductive ...

For demonstration purposes, I decided to use my meter to actually test a 200 K ohm resistor. The resistor tested at 197.6 ohms. This was well within the 180 K to 220 K range allowed by the ...

The multimeter should now display a reading of 120 volts or slightly above. You've now confirmed that house electrical power (120 volts AC current) is reaching the switch, coming from the wire on ...

Analog vs. Digital Multimeter. You'll want a digital multimeter in most DIY electrical situations. Learning how to use and read a digital multimeter is much simpler than analog.