Why does everyone set their multimeter to AC volts when checking DC power supplies?

I was helping a buddy fix his old stereo amp last night and he kept reading 0 volts on a 12V DC line. Turns out he had it set to AC mode on his meter. I see this mistake at least once a month in the repair shop. The meter will show nothing or a weird number if you pick the wrong setting. Has anyone else caught themselves or someone else doing this with a simple voltage check?

2 comments

2 Comments

jade3227d agoOG Member

Wait, you weren't the one who spent 20 minutes troubleshooting a car battery before realizing you were on the wrong setting? Tbh I did that exact thing when I first started helping my uncle with his old truck, felt like a total goof.

jadeg8127d ago

Did you ever figure out a trick to avoid that mistake later? Honestly what finally helped me was putting a piece of colored tape on the multimeter leads so I couldn't miss which slot they went in. Ngl it saved me from looking like a goof more than once.