How to test a 9v AA AAA C or D Battery with a Cheap Multimeter

This is the type of multimeter that you find at Harbor Freight, Walmart, or Target. It's fine for batteries but not much more.
I included some links so you can check out the prices and see a bit more about them. I would recommend spending at least $50 if you think you will be using it often and doing more than test batteries. The better meters are safer and have resistance when testing batteries (more accurate) also they will be auto-ranging. That means you do not need to turn the dial all the time.

The one I'm using in the video is a Cen-Tech, P35761
The black one you saw is an ESun DT830
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[daver]

Just got this for free at harbor freight. I got this specifically for testing a drawer full of batteries to see which ones are good and which ones aren't. Thanks for explaining the basics on how to do that. I appreciate it!

[neilwilliams]

batteries have an internal resistance. You need at least a 100 ohm resister to get the ACTUAL voltage reading.

[sarsaparillasunset]

if you don't have a resistor, load your batteries into a TV remote control, that oughta put some load on it. Then measure the voltage on the battery terminals while they're in the remote control.

[dougier]

Use a resister around 100 Ohms to draw the battery you'll get a better reading.
And thanks for a very clear, good instructional video

[GAG]

This is a classic example of a crappy multimeter, your meter showed 1.8 volts for a AAA battery, there is NO WAY that AAA is putting out 1.8 volts DC, that meter is grossly inaccurate, which is what I found when I got one of those Cen Tech meters, it was so inaccurate it was almost useless. Spend a little bit more money and get a better meter.  Battery testing without a load doesn't tell you much, some batteries will test OK with no load, but bad with a load, so add a little resistor (about 100 ohms) or get that meter with a dedicated battery tester built in.

[raygun]

The other Cen-tech model 90899 has a 9V(25mA) on the dial for this very purpose. It puts a load of 370 mΩ and it should read 25mA.

[blrgr]

Bad Bad Advice. One should know how to use a multimeter before "teaching" someone else how to use one. the "audio" function he is referring to on the better meter is a diode tester. forward and reverse voltages are not gonna be the same due to circuit protections in most good batteries. One should only test batteries with a battery tester or a meter with a battery testing function. Read your manual for you meter to understand how it works and how to get good readings from it.

[somesharunvn]

Without Load its impossible to confirm whether the battery is good or not..I would say reading closer to 1.4V on a common multimeter can be considered as a good battery. I had a bad battery which is not functional anymore read the voltage as 1.26V in multimeter, but when i applied a 100mA load the voltage dropped to 1.01V which is below the nominal threshold voltage of 1.1V. As a result the battery was not operational!

[GAG]

Those cheap multimeters from Harbor Freight can sometimes be way off, they often give those away, at least they used to, I had one that was so far off on low voltage DC that I spent a lot of time trying to find a problem, and in the end the problem was with the meter.

[bigsky]

I actually got one of these at Harbor Freight for free, just by buying another item. Works great in a pinch.

[Backfire]

waiting for you to show the use of the other volt meter... Glad I had fast forward... wow

[steveking]

If it doesn't matter which side you connect for positive and negative, why did it read 8.76 (negative) and 9.18 (positive)???

[scottlund]

I came here as my D batteries were showing 1.8 to almost 2v, same as the strong working AA's, but none of the D's would give much light at all when used in the 2 cell flashlight I needed so I came here to reconfirm I did it right..I did, but my old cheap meter and the D size results really messed with my head as it did not work and I am glad it was not an important reason and need at the time. worked great for AA alkaline and 9v though.

[tomatoes]

Going to return mine. This video made my mind up and probelry saved me from getting a shock ! Thank you .

[clm]

I thought you are suppose to put in on the 10A sign (and change the red wire to the upper hole)?

[AileenPT]

Finally I found a video that explained the different settings!  The video was clear so I could read your multimeter settings.  Thank you :)

[lucidbarrier]

Do you know what the cutoff voltage is for the battery? At what point do you replace the 9v battery?

[nhlakancube]

Your video is clear and simple, thank you for that.. was testing the 12v car battery 👌🏽👌🏽

[helenbabbo]

Thank you! Simple and clear to follow!

[adebcfc]

Thanks Adam, was totally confused with all the settings on mine, now I know, just keep it on 20 (DCV) :-)