What cartridge? If it's anything but a very low output MC with a very low internal resistance (e.g., less than 10 ohms), I would not worry about damaging the cartridge with your meter. Even then, the danger is minimal if you keep the measurement brief. Also, you can simply disconnect the cartridge if you remain concerned about that.
VPI JMW 9 wire problem
I just bought a used VPI Aries Scout with the JMW 9 tonearm. It sounded great and everything was working fine until I decided I had to try and optimize antiskate. Perhaps I misunderstood how that was supposed to work because when I rotated the plug to try to add more twist to the wire the wires seemed to slip in the connector and now I don't have my right channel and there is hum.
I'm afraid I may have pulled a wire loose inside the connector or even worse inside the tonearm and I can't find any information about whether this is something I can fix, or if I need to have somebody else to repair it, and who that somebody else might be.
Any suggestions? I live near Seattle if there is anybody local that might help.