Workbench Skills Part 2: Measure voltage — is this battery dead?
Black probe in COM, red in V, dial to DC volts, touch + and −: a fresh AA reads about 1.5–1.6 V, below about 1.2 V it is getting weak.
Is this battery dead? Test it with a multimeter in 10 seconds 🔋🔍
1️⃣ SET IT UP: black probe in COM, red probe in V. Turn the dial to V with a straight line — that's DC volts (batteries are DC).
2️⃣ MEASURE: red on plus (+), black on minus (−). A fresh AA battery reads about 1.5–1.6 V.
3️⃣ READ IT: below about 1.2 V it's getting weak (for alkaline AA / AAA). See a minus sign, like −1.15 V? The probes are just swapped — no harm done.
Red plus, black minus!
Read the voiceover (transcript)
- Is this battery dead? Let's measure it!
- Black probe in COM, red in V. Dial to V with a straight line: DC volts.
- Red on plus, black on minus. A fresh double-A reads about one point five volts.
- Below one point two? It's getting weak. A minus sign just means the probes are swapped.
- Red plus, black minus!
- Next: measure mains safely! Follow for part three!
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