I made a simple circuit with two regular 1.5V batteries in series, a small resistor, and an ammeter, all also in series. No matter what current setting I put my ammeter at, it wouldn't measure any current. My particular model has a poor connection, so I set it to the continuity test function and touched the ends together, adjusting the connections until I got continuity. Also, measuring voltage worked just fine, so I'm sure the lead connections to the meter aren't the problem.
I decided I needed some other indication of whether current was flowing, so I added a small red LED in series. With no ammeter (batteries - resistor - LED), the LED lit up just fine. When I break the circuit and add the ammeter in series, it still measures no current, and the LED also stays dark, so when it says there's no current I believe it.
Has anyone encountered anything like this? Any ideas for how I can measure current in a simple battery circuit? This is really frustrating -- I thought it would be really simple stuff.
I decided I needed some other indication of whether current was flowing, so I added a small red LED in series. With no ammeter (batteries - resistor - LED), the LED lit up just fine. When I break the circuit and add the ammeter in series, it still measures no current, and the LED also stays dark, so when it says there's no current I believe it.
Has anyone encountered anything like this? Any ideas for how I can measure current in a simple battery circuit? This is really frustrating -- I thought it would be really simple stuff.