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Quite an expensive Voltmeter device , did this from day one OL means ‘over load’ but it isn’t even connected to anything i suspect it is faulty but wanted to find out if anyone else has experienced this and maybe it’s simple
This is a common misunderstanding but OL means open line. It means that what is being measured is not making it’s way from black probe to red probe. You will always see this in diode mode, ohm mode and continuity mode when the probes are not touching each other / not connected. For example when measuring a circuit you may get OL when a resistor is completely blown or when you measure two pads of where a resistor should have been present.
Hi @cristianan If it only displays OL when in the Volts or Continuity measuring ranges and not when selecting other functions such as capacitance or current then as you say the meter has a fault with these two functions. You say that “I have written them a bunch of times and to voltcraft but to no avail… “. I’m not sure if you mean that you just wanted to get technical advice from them or not but as there is a 3 year Voltcraft manufacturer’s warranty on the meter and if the warranty period is still valid I suggest that you contact Conrad about claiming a manufacturer’s warranty repair or replacement. If I am reading it correctly there is also a 2 year guarantee by Conrad on their “electronic items” so you should be covered either way if the meter is less than 2 years old.
If you’re ohming something and it reads “OL” then your loop is open, in other words the path is not continuous (broken/separated) If you’re in the voltage setting and it reads “OL” then the voltage you’re measuring is too high for your meter to read.
That is a safety feature to protect the multimeter from being damaged. You should look at the instructions on how to use the multimeter properly when the OL appears. https://electrouniversity.com/what-does-…
OL is open line. No resistance to measure because the circuit is not complete. If you test across a blown fuse for example in ohms setting. You will get OL is the fuse is blown. And, you would get a resistance reading if it is not. Nothing wrong with the meter. And, definitely not overloaded. You want OL as a reading in many circumstances when testing electrical circuits and components.
“OL” generally means “open loop,” but can also mean “overloaded,” or “over-limit” for voltage & current measurements. If the multimeter is not connected to anything, then OL is indicating an open circuit, which means the probes need to be connected to something. If your multimeter is set to voltage, connected to a device or component, and the screen displays the message “OL,” then the multimeter is “overloaded” and needs to be set to a higher limit or range for a better reading. You can read more info in more detail here.
