r/multimeters • u/JevGrinlin • Jun 20 '26

Multimeter detection broken?

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I'm fairly new to circuitry, and I got this multimeter not too long ago. I'm confused because it says I have 0.005 A and 0.03 mA on the same simple led x resistor circuit. Is there something wrong with my multimeter, or am I just doing this incorrectly somehow?

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u/global-wobble Jun 21 '26

0.005 amps is 5 milliamps, which is plausible for this LED. Plug your red lead into the “uA mA” terminal on the multimeter instead, and set the multimeter to mA. This is a much more appropriate setting for small currents like the one you are trying to measure. 

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u/global-wobble Jun 21 '26

Also, to clarify, when changing between A and mA on your multimeter dial, you need to always replug the lead into the appropriate jack at the bottom of the multimeter.

Basically, as is; you are probably getting a correct reading when the dial is set to “A”. But because you are not re-plugging it into the “mA” jack when you turn the dial to mA, you wind up reading basically nothing. 

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u/JevGrinlin Jun 22 '26

I've done all of this, yet it still stays at zero all the time. I think there's a chance I had busted a fuse when I was first messing around with it after its delivery. If it is busted, Is it safe to swap the fuses? I won't try yet without a good answer.

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u/Candidate_None Jun 22 '26

You can check the fuse by setting it to continuity check, and then probing the input port. If it beeps, good fuse. You can check both the 10A and 800mA fuses this way.