9 replies to this topic

[amarcd]

Hi,
In relation to a previus post i made regarding running a race mini without an alternator, i may just give it a go. As an easy check on the battery rather that take the top off the sealed battery box would a clamp meter work to measure the voltage?
http://cgi.ebay.co.u...=item48371fef4b

Thanks

[Bungle]

message the seller and ask if it works on AC (mains) or DC (battery) power or both

[Shifty]

Don't clamp meters measure ampage?

[Bungle]

i have a cheap AC tester that lights up with the presents of voltage with out touching something live

[Bungle]

EACH METER DETECTS AND MEASURES THE ELECTRICAL FIELD AROUND A WIRE, WITHOUT DIRECT CONTACT, AND HAS THE FOLLOWING FEATURES;

*
DIODE TEST
*
LCD DISPLAY
*
AC CURRENT - 0.1A TO 1000A
*
AV VOLTAGE - 1V TO 750V
*
DC VOLTAGE - 1V TO 1000V
*
54mm JAW OPENING
*
AUDIBLE RESISTANCE 100m 0HM TO 20k 0HM
*
CONTINUITY TEST 50+25 0HM WITH AUDIO TONE
*
INCLUDES CARRY CASE
*
TESTING LEADS
*
BATTERY

DC VOLTAGE - 1V TO 1000V

it should work

[amarcd]

I have ordered it now. It would be great if it works with out having to use the probes to actually touch on the battery terminals or bare wires.

[Shifty]

I'm fairly certain that it won't!!

I know the clamp meter I've got at work won't, it will measure the amount of current being drawn by a heater and if you know the voltage you can then work out the wattage of the heater.

It will also detect if a phase is down or a circuit is broken. I've also got one of the pen type as well and that just detects if theres power there.

[HARBER07]

It won't work. Will put money on it. It will measure voltage by using the test leads only. The clamp part will only measure current, and only AC current at that.

[Dan]

DC current clamp meters cost a lot of money, you are very unlikely to get one for this price. But current isn't what you want to measure and I'm not sure that any meter can measure voltage indirectly. A volt pen will only give you an indication of the presence of a corona, it can't measure the voltage.

[Wil_h]

Clamp meters only measure current, as stated above, voltage will be measured with probes. I personally use a LEM HEME 2040 for similar measurements, but these are more like £350.

The best thing to do would be to put a couple of 4mm banana sockets on the battery box to use as monitoring points.

Personally I never check mine, but as I have a seperate starter battery I already have easy access to a socket to stick a meter on if required.