Small current doesn't flow through multimeter set to 200 mA but does when set to 10 A

I wanted to see how much current was going through a regular LED at a certain voltage. It should have been 20 or 30 mA. I set my multimeter to scale 200 mA and wire up appropriately and the LED does not light - no current flows. I then take the lead out of the red socket and plug it into the yellow socket which allows up to 10 A. I switched the multimeter to the 10 A setting. The LED lights and the current registered as "0.01" A which is of course not very accurate, hence me wanting to use the 200 mA setting. Any idea why it's not letting me use the 200 mA setting? My guess is some sort of protection against too-high a current, but this protection should not be getting activated.

Is it possible the 200mA range on your meter is faulty or been damaged in some way.

Norm

Depending on a DMM model, the 200mA range setting is usually fused. Check the fuse.

Bill

Norm said:

Is it possible the 200mA range on your meter is faulty or been damaged in some way.

Click to expand...

That would be my guess too. I'd had two DMMs stop working on their mA ports. Once was definitely my fault - ran a >1A load through it by mistake (tried changing the fuse, but no effect - so likely damage to the circuitry). Second meter was a mystery (haven't tried changing the fuse, but I know I didn't subject it to anything unusual).

It your meter has a continuity measuring feature (often audible), check to see if the port is actually working. If not, you could try swapping the fuse (they usually only cost a coupe of bucks).

+1 on checking the fuse.

fyrstormer said:

+1 on checking the fuse.

Click to expand...

Yeah, it happens now and then, even if you think you know what you're doing (myself included).

It could be the terminals have to be in a different location for 200mA than for 10A.

Do you have a manual handy?

No feed back from OP, which is curious. I'll close thread if he doesn't respond soon.

Bill

Yes, it was the fuse. Thanks very much for the responses. I forgot to report back after changing the fuse. I had the same problem and vaguely recalled solving it before so came back here. I've blown the fuse again!

After all of this time the question was not asked, 'what brand, model DMM are we talking about"?

It's a Precision Gold Academy PG 10B. I've had it since I was a kid; maybe 15 or more years. They still make them, it seems with very little change in appearance.