WHAT METER TO BUY ?

[little diesel]

I NEED TO BUY A METER FOR MY SHOP. I DONT KNOW A LOT ABOUT THEM SO AGAIN I FIND MYSELF COMING TO MY UNKNOWN FRIENDS ON HERE. ONE THAT I CAN BUY USED IS A "FLUKE 77 III MULTIMETER METER DIGITAL VOLTAGE CURRENT E". IS THIS WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR ? MY PROJECT RIGHT NOW IS A MASSEY 1020 . I NEED TO TEST THE VOLTS AT THE GLOW PLUGS. IF THIS ISN'T WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR COULD SOMEBODY HELP ME OUT AND POINT ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION . THANKS IN ADVANCE !

 

[PILOON]

For shure a Fluke will do the job however generally it is considered a top rated lab unit at 'lab' prices.
For automotive trouble shooting I'd consider it kinda overkill.
Most any multimeter offered by automotive type stores will do what you want.
In fact no need to pay any more than $20-30 for a good unit.

As to your plugs, your fingers will actually tell U if they work OK.
Jumper straight to the battery and touch each one to see if they warm up.

To test with a meter you temporarily remouve the connecter strip and measure each one to ground and it should read very low resistance (like in the 5-15 ohm range each).
No resistance reading=open (aka shot).
Check all contacts for corrosion or bad contacts and clean as required.

Good luck.

 

[CurlyDave]

The Harbor Freight multimeter, which can frequently be found on sale for about $3, is adequate for this task and many others.

I haven't found a job where it isn't "good enough".

 

[kf4uda]

The Fluke 77 is a good meter and will do anything you need around the shop. Fluke meters are top of the line in my opinion but they are not cheap. If you are looking at a used one, inspect it carefully. Look at the leads for any breaks or cracks.

If you are just wanting to check 12VDC around the shop you could do with a much cheaper meter or even a simple test light.

If you are going to use this meter to check AC voltages such as 120 or 240VAC I would suggest buying a decent meter. My life is worth more to me than a $10 meter. You can find some good meters at electrical supply houses. Just tell them what you want to do with it and they can recommend one.

 

[crazyal]

I have two Flukes and while they are great and very durable and accurate, for 99% of my uses a simple Radio Shack special will get the job done. Things to look for are a back lit display, large LCD numbers, and a tone feature (gives a simple tone when testing conductivity). Most multimeters current (amps) ranges will not go high enough to measure common issues that need to be measured on a car, say the output of an alternator so I would rate it as low on the list of useful features. The best thing about a sub $20 meter is if you drop it or drive over it you can just buy another.

 

[Argosy]

Extreme accuracy isn' important so get something cheap. The changes you're looking for in automotive are volts or tenths of a volt. A cheap meter will read that and won't make you cringe if something happens to it like a $200 Fluke.

I do kinda look for ones with rubber cases. They are usually a few bucks more but it seems to be a good investment.

 

[JMynes]

Get one with a clamp-around ammeter. Make sure it measure DC amps, many are only AC. Although you might not need it often, when you want to measure amp draw, it is very comvenient.

 

[Scrambler82]

Does not sound like you will need too much of a multimeter, volts/amps/resistance and continuity.
Sears has great meters with the Craftsman name on it, it has auto ranging which is nice when sometimes you forget to set the proper range of voltage or current,
Check out the complete line of meters and they also have some great add on probes and test devices.

I can not remember the model I use but it is a small compact unit that does everything I need and more that I will never use.

Sears: Online department store featuring appliances, tools, fitness equipment and more

This one has one button ranging and it has a Continuity in with the Diode Test Point, it looks like a speaker with a sound wave.
$32 and if you watch for a sale you may get it for less.
They have plenty but the Meters and Electronic Probes I have service me well.

 

[little diesel]

JUST WANTED TO SAY THANKS TO ALL WHO SENT ME ADVICE ON MULTIMETER S. I HAVE TO GO OUT THIS MORNING AND GET ONE AND NOW I WONT BE SO BLIND TO WHAT I NEED. THANKS AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!:thumbsup:

 

[heehaw]

i know its too late, but worked in electronics for over 30 years, used meters that cost thousands of dollars to $3 each: unless your measuring frequency, capacitance, inductance or some of them other things i am trying to forget about: get a cheap digital meter: the best one i have found was $13 in the auto section of WalMart: but i only found it at one WM store..so i bought a couple extras, for when i drop it..or run over it, or forget where i left it!!!
heehaw

 

[tglass]

The cheaper ones will do what you are doing now, and I thought a cheaper one would be handy too. Anyone that can give any insight on the cheaper non fused meters that are put on the wrong setting on higher voltage/amperage while in hand? Heard they can blow up or cause serious burns..

 

[3930dave]

There was a survey done in Canada that showed 1 in 10 electricians had experienced a catastrophic meter failure. These are guys using meters all the time, although at typically much higher voltage levels than most of us see.

That is part of what drove the development/specification of pro-level test leads with high interrupt (1,000's of amps) capacity built-in fuses.

If you regularly test above 30 volts, make sure your meter has at least the basic approvals for your geography (CSA, UL, VDE.....). I'm pretty careful with instruments, but will admit to blowing fuses. A good habit to get into is pull the lead from the current (I) socket as soon as you are finished taking your current reading -it's easy to forget, and flick the switch to voltage, connect the leads to a voltage source - boom. At low voltages, the fuse goes - at high voltage, I've seen a Fluke 7x years ago that our Marketing VP fried in the field - the centre 1/3 of that meter PCB was charcoal, but the outer case easily contained the energy burst. That was high voltage DC exposure, not something most people get into (good thing) at home, but a lesser meter would be REALLY scary under those conditions.

For testing AC in the house, most people would be better off using an approved tester that just has indicator lights - Go, NoGo, Faults.

Using a cheapie digital meter on a car/truck/tractor can help you figure out a problem providing you always check the meter connection integrity. I've found that the plating on the connectors is so cheap now, that if the meter sits long enough (I'm not talking out the rain), the connection is actually "Open". If doing 12v checks, regularly measure the battery voltage to make sure your meter leads are working properly. You'll find you have to rotate the connector lead in the socket, to regain connectivity, at least for a little while.

Fixing a problem on a vehicle can be frustrating. Replacing parts, and burning time trying to fix a "problem" that is nothing more than a cheap meter not working properly can be addressed by using a large hammer, then followed by going to buy a Fluke. :thumbsup:

Be safe. If you are unsure about a measurement or connection, go find someone who knows more about electrons than you do.

Rgds, D.

 

[little diesel]

HEEHAW .....ITS NOT TO LATE . I GOT INVOLVED IN TEARING APART MY TRACTOR AND DIDN'T BUY ONE YET. DO YOU HAVE A NAME FOR THAT METER FROM WM.? IT MIGHT BE A DAY OR TWO BEFORE I NEED IT.

 

[donais]

i really like my 59 dollar craftsman clamp on meter Sears: Online department store featuring appliances, tools, fitness equipment and more meter that thing rocks mostly for the amp reading ability. i also have a fluke meter i also like that one. i think im a collector of meters i have @ 5 different ones mostly from visits and trips where i help someone fix something jon

 

[Sackett2]

These are great test probes
Power Probe PP319FTC Circuit Tester - Electronic Testing

Hooked up to the battery, just by touching a point you can see 12v or ground; and by rocking a switch you can apply 12v or ground.

I use this more than a multi meter, and it has a meter in it also

here is a video of it in work..

Power Probe PP319FTC Circuit Tester - Electronic Testing

 

[tglass]

There was a survey done in Canada that showed 1 in 10 electricians had experienced a catastrophic meter failure. These are guys using meters all the time, although at typically much higher voltage levels than most of us see.

That is part of what drove the development/specification of pro-level test leads with high interrupt (1,000's of amps) capacity built-in fuses.

If you regularly test above 30 volts, make sure your meter has at least the basic approvals for your geography (CSA, UL, VDE.....). I'm pretty careful with instruments, but will admit to blowing fuses. A good habit to get into is pull the lead from the current (I) socket as soon as you are finished taking your current reading -it's easy to forget, and flick the switch to voltage, connect the leads to a voltage source - boom. At low voltages, the fuse goes - at high voltage, I've seen a Fluke 7x years ago that our Marketing VP fried in the field - the centre 1/3 of that meter PCB was charcoal, but the outer case easily contained the energy burst. That was high voltage DC exposure, not something most people get into (good thing) at home, but a lesser meter would be REALLY scary under those conditions.

For testing AC in the house, most people would be better off using an approved tester that just has indicator lights - Go, NoGo, Faults.

Using a cheapie digital meter on a car/truck/tractor can help you figure out a problem providing you always check the meter connection integrity. I've found that the plating on the connectors is so cheap now, that if the meter sits long enough (I'm not talking out the rain), the connection is actually "Open". If doing 12v checks, regularly measure the battery voltage to make sure your meter leads are working properly. You'll find you have to rotate the connector lead in the socket, to regain connectivity, at least for a little while.

Fixing a problem on a vehicle can be frustrating. Replacing parts, and burning time trying to fix a "problem" that is nothing more than a cheap meter not working properly can be addressed by using a large hammer, then followed by going to buy a Fluke. :thumbsup:

Be safe. If you are unsure about a measurement or connection, go find someone who knows more about electrons than you do.

Rgds, D.

hmmm..glad to see people bring up this subject. There might be a place to use a cheap meter, but alot of people will eventually use the same meter to test higher voltage and not know the precautions involved. Even though I use a fluke, I still test, look at the leads for any type of crack (very shocking) and have experience with that. I'de spend a little more for top of the line that will last a lifetime and can be used on most things people have. I know a 12v battery is only involved, but see so many people buy these cheap testers and later try to use them on 120-240 volt and do not no the hazards involved.

 

[JakeBrake]

When I was working, I used a top of the line digital clamp-on ammeter with a variety of functions and voltage ranges. When I retired, the meter retired with me. Now, I use a 26 year old Radio Shack analog multimeter around the place 99% of the time. However, I did recall the digital clamp-on from retirement recently to troubleshoot my septic system aerator. The aerator was blowing fuses. The solution was to replace a 4 amp CB with a 7 amp CB. The digital clamp-on was able to show the AC current surge that was causing the 4 amp CB to operate, but the 7 amp CB could handle.

 

[SPIKER]

I have over a dozen testers most of them from harbor freight & radio shack all work pretty good I have couple analog meters as well as a couple 2000+volt testers. used many different versions and brands. honestly if you know what you are doing for most situations a cheap meter is as good as a expensive one and when you drop that 5 buck HF meter you dont have to worry about it. Reason I have so many it was more than once that I hit a bargain and picked up 2 or 3 just because they were on clearance and the price was less than a new battery! ANYHOW the newer 3 buck meters are pretty good for the fact they are less expensive than a new 9volt battery. The leads are pretty cheap and I would not suggest them for anyone measuring 120/240 but functional for automotive uses for sure. There are older versions and better quality HF units in the 10~15 buck range that have better leads and probably a couple % more accurate than the 3 buck ones. I do like having the analog units available too as you can pick up small fast fluctuations in voltages or amperage.

SO if you are an industrial electrician maintenance ect then a FLuke is a good meter to have other wise it is just for occasional automotive house & farm measuring then the under 30 buck meters will do plenty...

Mark

 

[Markcuda]

How come you type with all capital letters?
If you only knew how annoying that is to read.

 

[fbson395]

I have seen some really nice meters for a reasonable price at a pawn shop.
Just a thought.