I'm finally getting around to looking at some minor electrical gremlins and I remembered that my great Fluke multimeter heroically died several years ago.

Really no need for another $450 item, so what are my cheaper options. Seems there's a huge selection out there but which ones do work well while still being affordable?

I have this <$20 one from WalMart. Innova 3300.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Innova-3300-Equu...13=&veh=sem

The free one from Harbor Freight is actually a good meter. . also has a battery tester function. .

Probably not what you would need to work on a motherboard, but I wouldn't know how to do that anyway. For automotive stuff, it should be fine.

Ive used this one. Works and is reliable. There is an auto off one for a few bucks more. worth it. Available at Ace Hardware or bunches of other places.

Gardner-Bender-GDT-3190-Gardner-Bender-GDT-3190-14-Range-4-Function-Manual-Ranging-Digital-Multimeter-With-Rubber-Cover

fluke 101

A couple years back, I lost a fair quality craftsman multimeter. I went out and bought a new one. Yesterday, I found the lost one. Want it?

Hold up. I just put new batteries in it. Nada. Guess it might be toasted...

I like my Klein from Home Depot. $70 or so. Does everything I need.

I have a number of meters, but really like the used Fluke 87V I bought off Ebay. Just used it today at lunch to troubleshoot a friends RV that wouldn't show full charge on the batteries.

I have a $100 fluke that I bought new 15 years ago. Usually when I am figuring something out on the car there are only two features that are important.

It needs to make an audible tone for continuity....best feature for me. The cheap ones don't have that feature and I use it all of the time.

The second feature that is nice is auto range but less for working on the car.

Not trying to be a jerk or provoke a debate, but I am seriously curious as to what can be accomplished with a $400 multi-meter that cannot be accomplished with a $6 multi-meter on a 40 year old car.

Two options for you:

From your local Frys-
http://frys.com/product/6449882?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

From your local Home Depot -
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Commercial-Elec...8301A/206177756

Either one will be sufficient for automotive use. I prefer manual rather than auto ranging because the casual user will find it less confusing.

I have 2 of these.

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/actron-...mp;gclsrc=aw.ds

Spend the $$$ and buy a decent one ....end of story ,mines 15yrs old and still go's ,think it was 100nzd.

I got an Actron too. Unless you do circuit boards for a living, can't see why one would spend the dollars on a Fluke.

I have about 6 cheap meters. The craftsman for ~$30 has been solid for years, but I bought one for my brother that failed in two years.

The cheap HF or Walmart units will work fine for basic troubleshooting, but they cannot take any abuse (drop once, turn knob too hard, etc.).

The ONLY reason to buy a Fluke is that they are seriously durable. You could probably drop a Fluke 87 from a 20 foot ladder and it would be fine.

Look at the Harbor Freight units cross-eyed, and they will break.
And be sure to get a unit with auto off.

40 + years of service is what you'd expect from a quality meter vs a POS. The Auto range feature means no more blown fuses or burned boards on your VOM. That's about the only difference. The thing with cheap VOM's that bugs me is the cheap assed leads. They become loose and wobble very quickly. If you accidentally yank the leads they break. I would buy a used Fluke before I'd frustrate myself with a Chinese VOM. JMHO,

+1 It is a good meter and a great meter for the price.

(Well, actually +4 not +1 for the number of them I have.)

As for the drop it and it breaks comment, none have broken yet.

Yes, an audible continuity tester is a big help, sop they lack that.

If you are going to spend money, these are good for general weork
https://www.amazon.com/Uni-T-B4Q094-UT210E-...eywords=UNI+210

and for automotive work
https://www.amazon.com/UNI-T-UT105-Automoti...tive+multimeter

I'd buy a used Fluke 87. Around hear at least you can find them on Craigslist for ~$30 with leads, etc. They never really die, and the calibrations stay quite well. The POS leads on the cheap ones really bug me. Not important for cars, but I don't trust the dielectric withstand ratings on cheap ones for doing higher voltage work.



I've used this one too and it's really quite nice for the price.

Wow, those are pretty inexpensive. I thought the lowest cost meter Fluke made was the 115.

Don't spend more than $50-$75 for the multimeter but do get one with auto-ranging.

As with most tools, if it's going to be a one-time use, HF is often "good enough", but if you need it to last and work properly for a long time, you need to spend a bit more. And, unless you are a pro, you don't need the top of the line, either.

For example, HF ratchets & sockets suck. Craftsman (and others) tools cost more, but are typically really good and stand up to years of use & abuse. Snap-on is better, but probably way more than you need.

Just my opinion.

I get one of the free HF multimeters whenever they pop up. Keep one in every car and I have a draw of them. When the batteries go out I throw it away.. I've got an expensive one from the 50's as my grandfather was an electrician but I never use it because the HF one is smaller and easier to use.

Well, all the reviews on the "Fluke 101" on Amazon say that the package has Chinese writing on it, so those for < $50 may not be the real deal.

Can I get your old fluke? I might be able to fix it

It was submerged in corrosive liquid for several hours, there was not much left of it ...

Current draw, temp, etc..but some of us work on things other than cars so why not buy the meter that will tell you what frequency the generator set is running, or check the caps and resistors on that guitar amp or microwave you're fixing. If the only thing you're going to work on is 40 year old cars, you can solve 90% of your problems with a piece of wire, light bulb, and a battery.... so the $6 meter may be fine for that... just depends on what other types of equipment you find yourself working on.

Gremlins? Just little things that annoy you, yes? O'Reilly's 'Performance Multi-meter' $22.99. Limited lifetime warranty. Battery included.

My old Fluke went out so I got a HF unit for free. to be honest most of the stuff I use it for it works well...maybe give it a shot if you haven't already.

For troubleshooting on our cars, you don't really need much of a multimeter. If it does the basics, you're fine. Accuracy is not very important, since most of the time we are dealing with questions like "is this 12V or nothing" or "is there any continuity here?"

Get a couple of meters that are cheap enough that you don't care if one dies.

--DD