What is a Bad Ohm Reading? Decoding the Numbers
2. Context is King (and Queen!)
Okay, so we know ohms measure resistance. But what’s considered a bad ohm reading? This is where things get interesting because it’s entirely dependent on what you’re testing. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer here. Whats bad for a light bulb might be perfectly fine for a heating element.
For example, if you’re testing a heating element in your oven, you’d expect a relatively low resistance, maybe a few dozen ohms. If you get a reading of infinity (or “OL” on your multimeter), that means the circuit is open — the element is broken, and electricity can’t flow. Definitely a bad reading! Time for a new heating element!
Conversely, if you’re testing a switch that’s supposed to be off, you’d expect to see a very high resistance, ideally infinity. If you see a low resistance, that means the switch is leaky and might be conducting electricity even when it’s supposed to be off. Again, a bad reading!
So, before you declare an ohm reading “bad,” you need to know what the expected resistance is. Consult a schematic, a repair manual, or the component’s datasheet. These resources will give you a baseline to compare your reading against. Think of it like diagnosing a car problem — you wouldn’t just randomly replace parts; you’d look for clues and pinpoint the issue.