Ive bought a multimeter that has very limited instructions so I need some advice.

I want to check if any current (or how much) is being drawn from my battery when my beetle is turned off as I am having trouble with it going flat over a weekend.

The multimeter has settings for (I think) AC amps & DC amps but they are only represented by symbols, so which one is which?

Also what range should I set it to and what are the symbols for the different units?

I have attached a pic of the dial so you can see what I mean.

Cheers
Brendan

[ Edited on 17-4-2006 by Special Air Service ]

its the v with the straight line above it and about the 20 volt range

The common is the, lets call it negative or black wire. and plugs into the "com" hole

The red lead will plud into the 10A setting first.

AC amps is the "~" symbol
DC amps is the other A symbol. +'s and -'s

Set the dial to the blue 10 first and see if there is any movement. Click down from there.

Remember the meter is in series for reading current

Barry

Thanks guys, I'll give it a go now.
Cheers
Brendan

just use a test light between earth terminal of batt with earth wire removed and chassis.

Black lead in "COM"
Red lead in "10A"
Switch setting on blue 10 A side.

Pull each fuse and bridge out the fuse receptacle with the 2 multimeter leads.
Do them one at a time and write your results down replacing each fuse as you go.
If you have one draining the battery you will probably get the same load from the main fuse (big red wire) as well as the offending fuse circuit.

Brendan

Thanks for your help so far, here is what I have found.

Ok so my multimeter reads 0.20 amps with it (the meter) set to 10A. There is also a small 20 underneath the decimal point if this is important.

The power is being used by the CD player for memory etc.(disconect it and the reading is zero). So I need to know if this is the correct amount it should be drawing?

Also I noticed a faint crackle coming from one of my speakers the other day while the CD player was turned off, so I measured the voltage on the speaker cables (with power off) & I got approx. 6 volts, is this normal?

Keep it coming guys

Cheers
Brendan

not sure how much current draw the memory of the stereo should be but it shouldn't drain the battery within a weekend... to do this it should be alot more amps than what you have measured.
I have left my beetle for about a month without starting and only drain is the stereo and have had no trouble with a flat battery... there is something else draining it.

You may have a short circuit in one of your speaker wires etc... Depends who did the wiring...
I have seen some terrible wiring jobs on Stereo-
CD players etc... Its best to use connectors that cannot
short out to the body/chassis anywhere...
PVC tape in the summer gets all goey & sticky & can fall apart & come off the wires...
.2 amps seems way too high for just the memory in Your CD player.... I'll measure mine later & check...
To stop Your battery from discharging....
undo the memory wire until You find the fault...

The battery in My Lancer went flat about 2 months ago & I haven't been able to use the CD player/radio due to not knowing the CODE!!! Will have to find out next week..!!
cheers

Lee Noonan 68AutoBug

Agree with above statements........ also worthwhile to get those complete car audio cable kits, rather than misc wire......did mine only recently, heres some resources

Heres some how to links...
best how to install car stereo
http://www.caraudiohelp.com/how_to_install_a_car_amp/how_to_install_a_car_amp...
Multimeter self help
basic
http://www.acmehowto.com/howto/homemaintenance/electrical/multitesteruse.php 
very thorough
http://www.multimeterwarehouse.com/usingamultimeter.htm 

jaycar sell a little manual on multimeters for about $10 that will tell you EVERYTHING!

cheers

[ Edited on 17-4-2006 by Scarlet ]

Thanks again to every one, as I am the one who did the wiring I am absolutely certain it is without fault so it must be something else.

Seriously I am about to disconnect and start again, all joins are soldered and shrink wrapped but will check everything & get back to you with how I go. I'll also check the readings I get from the wifes car (pulsar without owner wired stereo) just for a comparison.

Oh yeah there was one thing I failed to mention, I checked the battery and had to put about 400mls of water into it (its less then 6 months old) does this indicate anything?

Cheers
Brendan

400mLs over six months? No it doesn't sound bad, perhaps you need to check it more often? Good luck either way.
-Staggers.

the other thing you could check is components.... is your head unit ok?.... is your amp?....rusty ground?

Brandan,
that sounds like a lot of water to Me....
although I usually buy the sealed batteries...

Its not a bad connection if You soldered and shrink wrapped all the leads.... thats how I did all the wiring on My Beetle...
Yes, its certainly a strange one....
speaker shorting out??
wires incorrectly labelled??
the wires are usually well labelled ...
CD player has seperate earth....

Best of Luck

Lee

OK so I've had the CD player disconnected for a few weeks (been pretty busy) and the battery has been fine so I hooked it up agian this arvo and now I've got no speakers,verything else on the head unit works just no speaker action. Checked all the connections and al semmed OK so the head units out & going into the shop tommorrow along with the Video Camera & our printer (its been a bad week)
Cheers
Brendan

Well... i guess you have narrowed the problem down :duh

CD Player / Head Unit is officially shagged. So I guess I will see what happens when I stick a new one in $$$$$. Any recommendations on a decent head unit for a beetle, had alot of trouble with skipping no matter how I mounted the last bastard.
Cheers
Brendan

i like the the kenwood ones for price

the new vdo stuff looks and sounds pretty good

I went to JBHIFI & strathfield and bounced off each other.... gotta Sony CDX-GT350s... which is excellent...has 2RCA outs at the back, and an input for MP3 player at front... works well with amp...all equaliser/sound balancing doesnt just add noise.... For$280 from starthfield... kenwood and pioneer are only $30-$50 more expensive, with pretty much the same stuff EXCEPT they offer better compatibilty with ipods...... don't go for a speaker//head unit package... AND dont buy too cheap, cos they are always nasty... I reckon I gotta bargain.... it was marked at $400... hope this is helpfull