You want to measure phase to phase.

e.g. hot to hot.

e.g. L1 to L2 L2 to L3 and L3 to L1.

On the AC scale - and at the range of voltage higher than
expected.

You might be shorting a leg.

Martin

Lee Michaels wrote:
"SonomaProducts.com" wrote in message
...
OK, I have a multimeter but not exactly sure how to set it. I guess I
can look that up and figure it out. So I place the red wire probe on
the hot lead and put the black wire probe where? No smart comments
please :-)

I am not sure what you are testing. But generally speaking, if testing an
AC outlet/wire, just put a probe on each wire/hole and read off the
multimeter. Make sure your settings are correct on the multimeter first.