Multi meter

[Skyedriver]

Now I'll admit to not being that capable with a multi meter, use one to test continuity and that's about it but after a period of non use, put a new battery i my Draper unit and get strange readings. And every time I remove and replace the battery the readings are different except most are negative.
Below are pics taken at different settings and with the probes apart and touching.
Any clues please?
And if you have a "how to use a multi mater" guide as well please....

[GreenV8S]

Either the new battery is duff and/or the meter is ucked.

The negative resistance value is not reasonable, and the wierd voltages with the leads shorted together are pretty unlikely. It may be you have a broken lead and a meter that is not smart enough to deal with that, but most meters will handle that sensibly - at least on the resistance scale, even if not on the voltage scale.

Are you sure the new battery is the correct type and fitted the correct way round?

[Skyedriver]

According to the battery package it is the equivalent and definitely the correct way around according to the markings on the unit.
I'm guessing the unit is kaboom, not used that much but has sat around a while. I've had a few meters over the years, none seem to last very long.

[NMNeil]

Same here. Kept buying cheap meters which didn't last. Ended up buying a Fluke, which is still going strong after 20 plus years.

[VanDiesel99]

different experience for me Neil, while I'm sure you've found that to be true, in my case I've bought three cheap Multimeters over the past 20 years; latterly for about a fiver.

They're all still going strong and oddly enough it was an old 'Fluke' that I was given that was initially fine, but I had to throw away (resistance readings all over the place)

Invest in a fiver in a cheapy, but buy some spare sets of test leads, about 99p a pair extra; making sure you get the correct size connector for that meter, coz they tend to break

If you'd like to post what you want to do with it, I'm sure myself or someone will point you in the direction of a Youtube vid or similar, but different tasks require a different method. Just learn the one you need first, don't try to learn how to use all of its settings, you'll just get confused

[Skyedriver]

VanDiesel99 said:

different experience for me Neil, while I'm sure you've found that to be true, in my case I've bought three cheap Multimeters over the past 20 years; latterly for about a fiver.

They're all still going strong and oddly enough it was an old 'Fluke' that I was given that was initially fine, but I had to throw away (resistance readings all over the place)

Invest in a fiver in a cheapy, but buy some spare sets of test leads, about 99p a pair extra; making sure you get the correct size connector for that meter, coz they tend to break

If you'd like to post what you want to do with it, I'm sure myself or someone will point you in the direction of a Youtube vid or similar, but different tasks require a different method. Just learn the one you need first, don't try to learn how to use all of its settings, you'll just get confused

Thanks, I'm easy confused.

[nigelpugh7]

NMNeil said:

Same here. Kept buying cheap meters which didn't last. Ended up buying a Fluke, which is still going strong after 20 plus years.

Probably the best bit of advice you can have,I have a Fluke multimeter too, which is over 30 years old and still giving great service.

I think I also have a cheap Draper one like yours too, it’s ok, but wouldn’t rely on it.

Time to treat yourself to a new quality Fluke one I reckon!

[darreni]

There are some new fluke 101 meters on eBay for about 30 quid - would they be any good?

[LimSlip]

There is a very similar Draper multimeter on our e-scrap pile at work that has the same problem. Probably fixable, but they are cheap, poorly built and hardly worth the time it takes to diagnose and fix.

Fluke are very nice DMMs but a little pricey if it's something you use very infrequently. The cheaper Chinese market Flukes are pretty good though. Mid/upper range brands are Amprobe, Extech, Brymen, all nicely built but again not cheap, but you are paying for a quality instrument with proper input protection that actually meet their claims.

UNI-T are between the cheap crap (that companies like Draper rebrand) and the mid-range meters. Performance tends to be very good, but historically their input protection has not been the best. For low voltage use (e.g. automotive) this isn't such a problem, it's when you are working on high energy circuits that good input protection is vital. For automotive use at home I have a UNI-T UT210E, and I can recommend it. It has a built in DC current clamp which is extremely handy for non-invasive current measurement.

[nigelpugh7]

darreni said:

There are some new fluke 101 meters on eBay for about 30 quid - would they be any good?

I can’t see a genuine Fluke meter going for £30, so I suspect it’s a Chinese copy.

As an ex sparky it was always our tools, and the quality of them that made the difference.

I would spend a bit more, and have something that will last for years.

Look for a genuine Fluke, not on eBay, I doubt if 5% of them are genuine.

I personally buy my test equipment from RS components, or good old radio spares as they used to be called.

Your will find the genuine Calibration certified fluke meters on there.

[nigelpugh7]

Now if it’s a proper multimeter you want, check out my old trusty AVO 9 Mk2!



Over 35 years old and still going strong !

Edited by nigelpugh7 on Saturday 13th June 14:03