How to Change From an Ammeter to a Volt Meter
- 1). Build a simple electrical circuit containing an ammeter. Connect the battery's positive terminal to the ammeter's positive probe with a lead. The ammeter's positive probe connects to the ammeter socket marked "A" or "+." Connect the ammeter's negative probe to the light bulb's positive terminal. The ammeter's negative probe connects to the ammeter socket marked "COM" or "--." The light bulb's positive terminal has a label of "+." Connect the battery's negative terminal to the light bulb's negative terminal with a lead. The light bulb's negative terminal has a label of "--."
- 2). Disconnect both probes of the ammeter from the circuit, leaving an open circuit between the battery's positive terminal and the light bulb's positive terminal. Close the circuit by connecting the open lead from the battery's positive terminal to the light bulb's positive terminal.
- 3). Turn the selector switch on the voltmeter to the setting with a straight line marked "V," indicating you wish to measure the voltage of a direct current, or DC, circuit. Choose the setting with the highest range if your voltmeter has more than one DC voltage setting.
- 4). Touch the battery's positive terminal with the voltmeter probe that connects to the socket marked "V" or "+." Touch the battery's negative terminal with the voltmeter probe that connects to the socket marked "COM" or "--."
- 5). Read the voltmeter display, and turn the voltmeter selector knob to the next highest setting until the voltmeter shows a reading. A voltmeter provides the voltage of the circuit in units of volts.