LEDs reading voltage when disconnected?

I just hooked up some ditch lights from caliraised LED, and they read ~1.7V when the circuit is off. I even disconnected both wires from the positive and negative terminals to see if the voltage was still coming through the terminals somehow. When disconnected, the terminals read 0V, but the connectors on the lights read 1.7V. I hooked them back up with the circuit off and the multimeter says that they're drawing no current, yet somehow hold a charge. Do LEDs store electricity or is this a problem? Not looking to have the battery drained so any insight would be greatly appreciated.

 

1.7 VDC sounds like the forward voltage. Diodes do not store voltage so make sure you have your meter in series with the lamp and on the ADC setting.

 

Isn't voltage always measured in parallel with the circuit element being measured? I believe current is measured with the multimeter in series with the circuit element. I'm not familiar with the term ADC, at least not on multimeters. I just have it set to the DC voltage mode.

 

Voltage is always measured across two points whereas current needs to be measured inline. VDC / ADC = volts / amps DC. Not trying to make you feel bad but I have had experience with people trying to measure current across points or with the meter set to amps alternating current.

 

Yeah, I definitely get that. Multimeters can be pretty confusing when using them for the first time, and it's always good to assume somebody is new to using one. I know I'm on the correct settings and am measuring correctly, it's just pretty odd. Maybe I can clarify a little bit. The lights are hooked up to an auxbeam switch panel, so the terminals where the lights attach can be turned on/off. With them on, the lights come on as they should, and the terminals read ~12V. When they are turned off, the difference between the two terminals is 1.7V, while the other 7 sets of terminals in the off position are at 0V. I disconnected the two light terminals, measured the voltage across them and got 0V. However, I measure the voltage across the two disconnected spade connectors on the lights and get a reading of 1.7V as if they are backfeeding power. If I attach the ground spade to the terminal, then measure for amps across the positive terminal to the positive spade connector with the circuit off, I get 0 Amps as it should be. I'm just baffled on where the 1.7V is coming from.