Repairs, chapter 0: does the continuity tester work?

Self-tutoring about appliance diagnostics and repairs: the tutor mentions some ideas about using a continuity tester.

You hear the phrase “continuity tester” often in the context of repairs of electrical items. Yet, what is one, really? Moreover, how do you know if it works?

In my experience, a continuity tester usually refers to the “Ohms” setting (denoted by Ω) on a multimeter.

I haven’t used the one here in a long time; the other day I dug it out, wondering if it even still works. It’s digital: turning it on, then turning to the lowest setting in the Ω region (200Ω), I saw a 1, meaning “infinite resistance”. That’s a good sign if the probes are just touching air.

Next, I wondered: “Does it always say 1 or will it detect low resistance (aka continuity)?” For instance, the reading when the probes are touching ends of a conductor should be close to 0, or at least under 200Ω.

How, then, to test if the meter can detect low resistance (aka continuity)? Touching the probes to each other should result in a reading less than 100; depending on how clean the probes are, and how well they contact, the reading may be close to 0. Then, it’s confirmed the meter can detect continuity.

Jack of Oracle Tutoring by Jack and Diane, Campbell River, BC.