Testing a Wall Outlet With a Voltage Meter

Electrical outlet connections and internal wiring can degrade over time and make the outlet unable to draw power from the electrical main. If any of the wires break, electricity cannot flow through the circuit. Using a voltmeter or a multimeter is the simplest diagnostic tool for determining whether an electrical outlet is drawing voltage and can power a device plugged into it.

Instructions

- 1
  Connect the two test probes to the voltmeter. The red end should go in the "Volt" socket, and the black into the "COM" socket on a multimeter; on a simple voltmeter, these sockets are marked with a "+" and "-" sign. These are positive and negative polarities respectively.
- 2
  Set the voltmeter to measure AC voltage, indicated by a "~" symbol. The waveform represents the oscillation of AC polarities. If your meter has variable range, set it to the highest range.
- 3
  Hold the test probes by their rubber insulation and insert them into the left and right outlet receptacles. Because this is an AC circuit, there is no set polarity so the position of the leads does not matter.
- 4
  Look at the reading on the voltmeter; you should see a reading of 120 volts, with a 15-volt deviation in either direction.

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