Kawi2strokes.com Forum

I need backup clarifying the analog Ohms reading from the shop manual, using the H2 rectifier as an example.
Im trying to convert the value in the manual to what a digital multimeter with auto scan would show.

When the manual states the value at Rx10 should be 20-35 then to get the actual ohms (Rx1) the value ranges are multiplied by 10.
Is it correct to say then the value on the digital meter with auto range scan should be 200-350 ???

Hmmmm. I think what they're saying is use the Rx10 scale, and the actual resistance should be 20-35 Ohms. But for a regulator or CDI unit, there are much better tests than resistance measurements.

On top of that, the resistance values they give you can be specific to analog meters in the Rx10 scale, and give you very different readings on a digital meter.

If you have a running H2, with the regulator installed, measure battery voltage at idle with the headlight on, and then rev the engine to around 3000 or so. The voltage will probably be around 12 or 12.5 at idle, and should go up to a stable reading around 14 or so when revved. If it doesn't rise, the regulator isn't passing current to the battery. If it continues to rise, like to 16+ volts, then it's passing all the alternator output to the battery without regulating.

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If it surges, that's normal, upshift.

Thanks Jim - I didn’t realize I couldn’t use the Rx10 values for digital - I assumed they were interchangeable with a slight conversion. I thought maybe there was something wrong with the meter. Don’t laugh, I actually went to radio shack and brought a few raw resisters with various ohms just to check if my meter was good. I guess the amount of current fed from digital is different and maybe turning something on (transistor) or half way on inside. Oh well, maybe Ill get an analog to play with... aside from that there are better test methods, is there a value chart for digital???

I don't like to use resistance measurements for things like diodes and transistors because they can vary so widely. Checking a meter against known values like you did when you checked your Ohm meter with resistors is not silly, it's the way one verifies that his equipment is working properly.

You hit the nail on the head when you mentioned the difference in current being applied to make the measurement. With pure resistances, it wouldn't matter, but with semiconductors it does matter, as does the voltage the meter has available. Try measuring the resistance of a single diode sometime, in the direction it conducts, using different meters, and you'll see the problem.

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If it surges, that's normal, upshift.

I know one thing about my digital meters, because I see it when I test. digital meters I use, have a small amount of difference in actual reading, from the meter itself.

I will explain what I see, and what I do, and hope for a more educated answer for it from you out there.

I have seen my meters come up up with a small difference in readings frm other better quality meters. So, I took the initiative and check the meter before using it on the circuit tested, by connecting both probes together, and reading what I would call the "internal running ohms" the meter uses to run.

If I have a set spec of say, 100.29 ohms resistance, and the part/circuit is in good shape, I will get a different, slightly higher reading, of, say 100.32 ohms. When I cross the probes together by themselves, the difference in readings is the difference in the reading I got from the part, and the printed specification.

I assume this is what the meter is creating just to work, as the part seems to work just fine and reads right on spec with an analog meter.

Any of that make sense?