DMM...'lil actin...Little funny

[petemoore]

Little actin lot funny actually.
 My batteries are reading 13.4 [rechargable]...I got a new Duracell alkaline and measured that [for reference] the Duracell'ss reading 14.84v.
 I noticed something funny when I pulled out a brown black yellow [100k] and the thing was reading 87k...
 The Dmm's manual says there's a low batt indicator on the screen but I don't know where and there's nothing showing other than the normal reading stuff...I wouldn't think I would have to have the DMM 'set' to anything for this battery indicator to work.
 Anyone have this/have any ideas about this...it just doesn't seem normal. augghhhh

[Brett Clark]

Well, since you have some spare batteries, I would change the battery and see if that helps.

In case you didn't know, never try to use a DMM to measure it's OWN battery while it's installed - this can damage the meter. Yes, even at just 9V - because the meter's internal voltages can not "float" to compensate and large currents can flow through the transistors in the input buffers.

Otherwise, you might check if the meter has a calibration trimpot inside. However, on many meters, the trim allows only about 10% variation - and you're about 50% off.

If it's anything other than the battery, I would not trust that meter again for anything safety-critical (high-voltage, ground leakage, etc.).