Knowing how to test a battery charger, whether it’s for the rechargeable kind used in small appliances or the one that powers your automobile, can be useful for making sure that the device is reloading batteries to a usable level. The procedure for testing a battery charger is similar regardless of the type of battery you’re working with. Connect the positive and negative test probes of a multimeter tool to the corresponding contact points on the charger. The device will then give you a reading displaying the voltage being put out by the charger. 1.Plug your battery charger into a wall outlet. To determine whether or not your battery charger is putting out as much voltage as it’s supposed to, you’ll first need to make sure that there’s electricity running to it. Hook the power cord up to a nearby AC outlet. This will cause the charger to begin channeling electricity, which you’ll measure using a multimeter tool. 2.Attach the test probes of your multimeter to their corresponding ports. Most multimeters come with a pair of detachable colored probes, one black and one red, that are used to measure the electricity running through the poles of a battery or charger. Insert the end of the black, or negative, probe into the port on the multimeter labelled "COM." Then, insert the red, or positive, probe into the port labelled "v". 3.Set the multimeter to "DC." Locate the dial on the face of the tool indicating the different testing modes. Twist the dial until the pointer enters the "DC" range, stopping on the next-highest setting to the voltage of the charger you'll be measuring. This will prepare the tool to test your battery charger, which supplies DC, or "direct current," power. 4.Touch the black test probe to the negative contact point on the charger. If the charger you’re testing hooks up to a battery via a power supply cord, press the tip of the probe against the side of the metal prong at the end of the jack. If you’re testing a receptacle charger like the kind used to reload rechargeable AA batteries, hold the probe to a section of the exposed metal on the side of the charging chamber marked "-". 5.Hold the red test probe against the charger’s positive contact point. Insert the tip of the probe into the barrel at the end of the power supply jack, which is what transmits the live current. To take a reading for a receptacle charger, hold the probe to a section of the exposed metal on the side of the charging chamber marked "+". 6.Check the number displayed on the multimeter’s display screen. This number indicates how many volts of DC power the charger is putting out. Your battery charger needs to be supplying at least an equal voltage (preferably higher) to the batteries you’re charging in order to restore them to their full capacity in a timely fashion.
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