Your brandnew bilge pump blows a fuse every other trip, and your VHF goes dim whenever you try to transmit. An easy way to find the source of your problem without shelling out a lot of money to an expert is to get out your multimeter for troubleshooting boat electrical problems. A multimeter is one of the most versatile electrical tools you can own. BoatUS Magazine editor Mark Corke shows how to use a multimeter to save yourself money by tracking down faulty wiring, testing battery voltage, and calculating power consumption on your boat.

A multimeter can be used to measure three things on a boat: DC current (amps), resistance (ohms), and voltage. Current refers to the rate of flow of electricity running through the wires in your boat. Think of it like a garden hose, where current is the amount of water coming out. When a current is interrupted by something like a bad connection or improperly sized wiring causing a device to stop working, or at least stop working as it should, this is known as resistance — like a kink in a hose. And voltage is somewhat similar to the amount of water pressure in the hose. The more pressure, in theory, the more power the current can produce.

For more on using a multimeter for troubleshooting boat electrical problems, visit https://www.boatus.com/expertadvice/..., https://www.boatus.com/expertadvice/..., or https://www.boatus.com/expertadvice/...

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