someone give all the reasons i should not return this multimeter i just paid 32 bucks for.....quickly..i want my money Hahah....seriously, i bought it to check out my TPS, now i am done, should i keep it or return it?

 

A meter's a great thing to have, dude. Off the top of my head...

- check spark plug wires
- check circuit voltage, used for diagnosing service engine soon lights (ex: <a href="https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/showthread.php?threadid=61033" target="_blank">this code 34 chart</a>
- check alternator output (should be 12v at battery w/engine off, 13.8 at battery w/engine running)
- check output of manifold air temp sensor, coolant temp sensor

I wouldn't return it. What brand is it? Maybe you can find it online or thru eBay for cheaper. You can actually find cheap digital meters on the 'net, cost about $7, such as ones from http://www.harborfreight.com , that work fine for general stuff.

 

squirrelybird: a multimeter is a car enthusiast's best friend. As you get into more detailed work with the car, engine compartment OR interior, you'll find yourself always looking for the damn thing to check resistance, continuity, etc. $37 isn't that bad... I've seen a few upwards of 60 bucks at Home Depot. Don't throw it out!

 

The next time you are wondering if this thing or that is getting a good ground source or power feed to it, it might come in a bit handy........

But a $32 one is likely not all that heavy duty and/or reliable. So with that in mind, return it and get yourself a nice one, such as a Fluke DVOM, that will last and have more abilities.

 

Fluke 88, http://www.fluke.com/products/home.asp?PID=2278 best mutimeter to have in automotive.

 

I'm old school, got the 87 ....

 

checking voltages in atx power supplies is good use for a multimeter. Checking batteries and such is another good use.

 

Heck, I just used mine to install a second door bell...Before that, I tested an LMB off the satellite dish.

I opped to get the mac daddy version a few years back. It's a Radio Shack, & looks very much like the one on Stephen's link...

buttt, if you had to ask makes me wonder??????????????do YOU really need one?

Ron

 

I must be REALLY old school. I've still got an 8022A from about 1982. That was before there were any "automotive" DMMs from Fluke. Seems as I recall it was about a $400 item back then - back when the Simpson 260 was still the "standard" multimeter.

BTW - It still works fine but it seems to use batteries a lot faster than their newer models. It's amazing how many times you can use more than one meter simultaneously.

 

mine is a beckman, also long before they made them for automotive applications. i keep thinking i'm going to get a fluke but i never have yet.

 

I'm really old school I guess... I have a 8020 from about 1980 or 81. I got it back when I worked in a test equipment lab as a bench tech, I pieced it together from about 3 or 4 trashed unrepairable ones and re-calibrated it and all, even hand-selected the divider network to find the most accurate one out of the batch; but I still like my Simpson 260 better for alot of things, especially signals or whatever that vary quickly. I have a bunch of those that I got the same way.

If you have any electrical knowledge at all, it's an incredibly useful tool. It is to electrical work what a micrometer is to engine work. I would find it impossible to function without one.

Keep it, learn to use it, you will be a far more effective person with that knowledge and tool.

 

Fluke makes some nice meters, I have a half dozen or so various Flukes myself, but they aren't the best out there, nor are they the meter for an occasional hobbiest. They are expensive, and if you look at the original post, the guy wanted to return the 23 dollar one for some cash. I can honestly say that the less expensive sears DVM's are more than enough for someone who just uses it on their car, or occasionally around the house. The error in accuracy is the same for the sears, as it is for the fluke. I know because I compared them across each range. hfe, resistance, AC, DC, and even temp had a negligable difference, and unless your fluke is calibrated regularly, or if you use it any time other than in 70 degree weather, you'll have a lot more discrepency than the variation between the two. Not everyone can afford a Fluke, so I thought I'd just throw my $.02 in here to keep someone who's on a tight budget from thinking that they needed to shell out a lot of money for a Fluke. If you can afford one, then by all means go for it, but I'd say as long as you avoid the really cheap meters, you'll be OK. BTW, I've been an electronics technician in the IC manufacturing industry for years, so I'm not just trying to blow smoke up your ***.

 

Use more than one no kidding......I have two Fluke 45's an two Fluke 87's for the bench and use them constantly. Recently I bought a 189 (datalogger). I can acquire live temperature data at a reasonable cost. Compare a 8 channel Data/Acquisition system at around $2000.00 to a $400.00 Fluke DVM. I can use it for temperature C and F, speed sensing, as a stich meter and so much more. Cost wise, definately not a hobbiest meter, unless you have all the car parts you have been wanting to purchase or just have money to burn.....

I agree with ZZsmpch, you cant beat the more affordable meters for a hobbiest. $25.00.....keep it.....you'll use it some time or another. Cuz' as soon as you turn it back in, either you or a buddy will have a use for one....that never fails!!!!! He is also right about Fluke, they are not for everybody but they can do some cool things.

Being an Instrumentation/telementry Engineer, I have found so many things to stuff thermocouples into. Right now I am doing a study on intake temperature and density, to validate/evaluate some of the ideas that are shared on a few of the Camaro Tech sites and see if they really make a real world difference, cold air intakes and power produced by amount of temperature change and so on....

 

you can test the resistance of just about everything!!! and voltage to. like bread, apples, skin, water, and its cool to stick the test leads in ur mouth while checkng for resistance. u get a cool little shock. but then again i just have this thing for being shocked.. i play with my multi meter just about everytime i see it.. its some multimeter that i got from autozone with RPM function..

 

Nahh.... You guys are just old.....

 

ditto on what these guys all said, and if worse comes to worse you can use it to shim an uneven table

 

I got one of them $40 Sears ones, it's very easy to use and has a lot of functions including a readout lock (to save a value temporarily).

I mostly use it when expirimenting with different bus speeds in my computer... ex. to find out that my CPU runs at room temperature while at 285 MHz over spec (Celeron 850 CPU @ 1135)

 

AMD Duron 750 at 1.1.........

These damn computers, I'll tell ya, if its not the car its the machine!