CHAPTER 7 ■ NINE-VOLT BATTERIES
Testing Battery Voltage
Now you’re going to learn how to test a 9 V battery’s voltage with a multimeter. Robot builders measure
battery voltage quite often. After all, you don’t want your robot starting out on an adventure with weak
batteries.
■ Caution This book presents directions applicable to most multimeters. However, you should always read
and follow the instructions provided with the test equipment you’re using.
Setting Up a Multimeter for Voltage Testing
- Connect the black-colored test lead to the multimeter terminal (hole) marked
COM (see Figure 7-2).
Figure 7-2. Common and voltage test lead terminals on multimeter
- Connect the red-colored test lead to the multimeter terminal marked V.
(Depending on the meter, there may be additional markings alongside the V,
such as W.) - You’re testing for voltage; so turn the multimeter dial to the V or DCV setting.
If your meter is manually ranged (has several ranges in the V section of the dial), choose a number
above 9 (see Figure 7-3). Autoranging meters usually don’t have any ranges on the dial since those kinds of
meters automatically pick the maximum range.