How to measure leakage current with a multimeter
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The multimeter has the ability to simultaneously measure both the voltage and the leakage current. There are two methods for measuring leakage: the voltage approach and the resistance method. The red test lead is entered into the multimeter's V hole, regardless of the resistance method or the voltage method, and the black test lead is inserted into the multimeter's COM hole.
Turn off the power to the electrical device, use a multimeter, and then put the multimeter to the resistance's beeping position to determine whether an electrical device is leaking by the resistance method. The multimeter's test leads are attached to the electrical equipment's casing with one lead, and the live wire and neutral line with the other. If the multimeter beeps, there is a major leak in the electrical apparatus, and the leak's location needs to be investigated.
It is required to gradually increase the multimeter's resistance level until the resistance value is measured if the multimeter is silent. In general, leakage occurs when the resistance value is less than 0.38M ohm, and no leakage occurs when the resistance value is greater than 0.38M ohm.
Close the electrical equipment's switch, set the multimeter's gear to the AC 700V setting (each multimeter's gear may differ; adjust to the highest setting for the present gear), and then measure the leakage of electrical equipment using voltage. The multimeter displays the voltage, indicating that the electrical equipment is leaking, and the multimeter indicates that the voltage is zero, showing that there is no leakage. The test lead is placed on the shell of the electrical equipment, the black test lead is placed on the zero line.
There are certain restrictions on the voltage approach when measuring leakage. It can only monitor live wire leakage; it cannot measure neutral wire leakage. The voltage approach is not advised since the presence of capacitive components in electrical equipment would also impair the measurement accuracy.
