Hey folks, I'm trying to figure out how to check the voltage of my 250W solar panel with my voltmeter. The voltmeter has a slot for 500mA fused and a max of 10A for the red cable. I tried connecting it and got a spark but no reading on the voltmeter. I'm worried that if I move the red cable to the 500mA fused slot, it'll damage my voltmeter since the solar panel probably generates more than that. Anyone got advice on this?
1 Answer
You want to make sure your voltmeter is set to voltage mode before connecting it to the solar panel. In that mode, it shouldn't pull any significant current, so you should keep the red cable in the center slot. If you accidentally put it in the 500mA slot while measuring voltage, it shouldn't blow the meter immediately – but it's not safe for current measurements! Just be cautious!
Thanks for clarifying! I was worried about frying my voltmeter.