You want to use the volt meter to read voltage........a good test source is the car battery.....We might have to do a continuity test, all we will need for this is the meter....touch the leads of the meter together and you have continuity, apart and you do not.

What brand and model volt meter do you have? I might be able to find a manual online for it and help with the settings.

 

Actron CP7674

 

In theory I should set it to DC power correct? The source is the battery of the car which is DC. The other question is if I should set it to 1000V under DC.

 

Set to DC VOLTS. There shouldn't be a "DC Power" setting at all.

Set it to a range that's bigger than 12 volts so it doesn't over-range. A 1000V range is probably too high & your meter probably has something like a 20v or 50v range.

Many meters have a "auto-range" function which you can use too.

 

Try this: http://www.actron.com/publish/2005/0...lish_16290.pdf

Zoom in and to the right just a bit, go to the bottom of the third "column". It tells you where the leads plug in. I'd set it to "20" and then connect the leads to the car battery (as a check/test to be sure it is correct).

In the fourth column about half way down (#4) it has the "resistance" measurement. Zero resistance means you have a "good connection" between two points. Use the two leads of the meter....touched together and you should have zero resistance (= continuity from one contact to another......so if you have the switch out of the car, use the diagram I posted to check from "pin to pin" for resistance/continuity.

Hope this helps......let us know and we can get back to the car