Does the amperage output of a solar cell change depending on how much light there is?

Question

I have a solar cell that I am conducting an experiment with. It seems that the amperage output is quite low, and my amp meter is not specific enough. Can anyone tell me whether the amperage output of a solar cell increases or decreases with the amount of light availible? My meter doesnt seem to register and change.... however its a cheap meter. Please help! I'm also having difficulty connecting the amp meter solar cell and a volt meter in a parallel circuit. Is there any special way to do it? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Answer 1

The ammeter will short out the array when you connect just the ammeter. You need a load of some sort, like a power resistor. Take the rated voltage and current and divide them to get the value of the resistor. Multiply them to get the wattage requirement for the resistor.

Now put the ammeter in series with the load and connect that to the array output.

Answer 2

Put the amp meter in a parallel circuit and make sure the setting is correct.

  As the brightness increases the amperage out put should increase,once there is adequate light to turn on the cell the voltage should remain constant.