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How to Test the Resistance of a Control Thermistor

Resistance is a measure of how much electrons scatter within a wire. All materials exhibit a change in resistance with temperature since electrons move about more at higher temperatures and move about less at lower temperatures. A thermistor is a special type of resistor that shows large changes in resistance with temperature. Thermistors are typically used in applications where the temperature needs to be measured electrically. The resistance of a thermistor can be measured using a digital multimeter.

Things You'll Need

Digital multimeter

Instructions

- 1
  Plug the red measurement probe into the positive terminal on the multimeter and the black measurement probe into the negative terminal.
- 2
  Select the resistance function by rotating the dial on the front of the multimeter to the appropriate position. Bring the two measurement probes into contact with one another in order to check that the multimeter is working correctly. The multimeter display should read less than 1 Ohm.
- 3
  Bring the measurement probes into contact with the thermistor terminals. The multimeter display should show the measured resistance. The resistance of a thermistor at room temperature is typically around 5000 Ohms.

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