By Reuben James | Updated Mar 24, 2022
Unscrew the breaker panel cover with a screwdriver, revealing every circuit’s wires and terminals. Each breaker safeguards a specific circuit by interrupting power during a surge.
For safety, switch off the main power before proceeding. Set your multimeter to the resistance (Ω) mode, typically marked with the Greek letter ω. Verify the meter works by touching the probes together; it should read OL or infinity, then zero when the tips contact.
With the target circuit’s breaker turned off, place one probe on the hot terminal that feeds the appliance, and the other on the neutral terminal that returns to the panel. A reading of OL indicates an open circuit; a zero indicates continuity.
Keep the first probe on the hot terminal, move the second probe from the neutral to the ground terminal. Again, OL signals a break; zero confirms a functional ground.
Repeat steps 3 and 4 for every circuit, ensuring you test each breaker’s hot, neutral, and ground.
Hot wires are typically red or black, neutral white, and ground bare or green/yellow. A multimeter with an audible alert will beep when continuity is detected. Make sure all switches on the circuit are on; otherwise the meter may give a false reading.
