Re: More of My Electrical Info

[jlandry@domain.elided (John A. Landry)]

In a brilliant stroke of genius, "Joseph M. Shaw, II"
<MikeIIDC@domain.elided> blurted out:

>So, what does the 500 mean at this point?  Anyone know what I'm
>looking for as a reading?

Mike,

If you did in fact remove the battery terminals from the battery first, and
then held the Ohmmeter leads tightly to the battery terminals and got a 500
Ohm reading, this is not good.  Try taking the reading with the meter leads
reversed also.  Depending on the context, 500 Ohms can be considered high
or low resistance, but in your case it could mean that you have a short to
some degree.  In a properly performing electrical system, the you should
get a reading of something close to infinite resistance.  One note though,
make sure you are reading the Ohmmeter correctly.  Are you sure it's really
saying 500 Ohms, and not 500 with a "k" after the number?  That would mean
500 "kilo" Ohms or 500,000 Ohms to be exact.

Basically, having low resistance across the battery *cables* (like no
resistance or .5 to 5 Ohms) means you have something shorted directly to a
vehicle or engine ground connected to the positive side of the wiring.
Slightly higher resistance (like 500 Ohms) might mean you have a corroded
short.  The short is there, just burned or dirty and not making clean
contact.  Hook up the battery and current will flow through this short
creating great heat at the sight of the short.

Having infinite resistance or something close to it (like 1,000,000 Ohms)
would be normal.

Keep us posted,

John
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