If a continuity test between two wiring harness points reads infinite resistance, what does that indicate?

If a continuity test between two wiring harness points reads infinite resistance, what does that indicate?

• A. There is a break or poor connection
• B. The path is intact
• C. The wire is too short
• D. The test instrument is faulty

Answer: (A)

A continuity test checks whether there is a complete electrical path between two points. When the reading is infinite resistance, there is no current path between the points—an open circuit. This points to a break in the wiring or a poor/loose connection blocking the circuit, meaning the path is not intact. If the path were intact, you’d read very low resistance since current can flow freely. A wire being “too short” doesn’t by itself cause infinite resistance because the test looks for end-to-end connectivity, not the physical length. While a faulty test instrument could occasionally give misleading results, the standard interpretation of infinite resistance in this context is an open circuit due to a break or bad connection.

A continuity test checks whether there is a complete electrical path between two points. When the reading is infinite resistance, there is no current path between the points—an open circuit. This points to a break in the wiring or a poor/loose connection blocking the circuit, meaning the path is not intact.

If the path were intact, you’d read very low resistance since current can flow freely. A wire being “too short” doesn’t by itself cause infinite resistance because the test looks for end-to-end connectivity, not the physical length. While a faulty test instrument could occasionally give misleading results, the standard interpretation of infinite resistance in this context is an open circuit due to a break or bad connection.