the other nice thing about fluke is the repair-ability there are hundreds of different vendors selling parts for meters even 10-15 years old. I would also recommend looking at eevblog's videos he has a few guides on what to look for an stay away from certain certain meters.
I have Harbor Freight's meter with the cover and the temp probe. I think it's a decent entry-level meter, not unlike the Sun-Pro, but I also have a Fluke T5 600, which is my go to because of the size and auto sensing features.
Fluke or bust for me. If you can’t afford a high end Fluke go on eBay and pick up a Fluke 17B. They are Flukes made for the Chinese market and can be had for $120. They aren’t quite as good as a US Fluke, but the beat the pants off most other DVOMs. I run several Fluke meters and love them all. I don’t have a scope currently but I’m looking into getting a Picoscope. The only thing stopping me is the $2500 price tag of the 4 channel Diesel kit
I have a Fluke 115 that I use, it does have auto ranging but you can change that to different scale such as using only the 20 volt scale. As for leads the PVC jacketed leads that come with most meters are worthless in cold weather, I bought the Fluke silicone jacketed leads and they work great as well as the Probe master silicone leads. Thanks for the video.
I love my Fluke 117. Fluke makes some of the best dvoms out there. I personally like auto ranging, but if I want to turn it off there is a button that lets me change it to manual.
I like to grab my own meter because I know it and am familiar with its quirks. It is as old as I am but it has never given me bad readings (Fluke 87). I bought leads at an electronics supply and soldered in fuses and my own tips and clamps, some folks might think it looks ghetto but the meter fuse is 100 times the cost of a blade and shrink tubing.
I just use my old trustworthy craftsman, gets the job done. It the $20 one that on sale for $10, bought mine in early 2000's, before the merger. It makes diagnostic work on my dodge ram, chevy 1ton, JD, and volvo,easier. Especially the dodge, 03 half ton. Its computers are super anal about their voltage, resistance.
Thank You for your videos. They are helping me make the transition from Jiffy Lube to an actual Dealership. I've had to invest in alot of different tools for the job and youve helped me decide what to get. Ive just went the cheapest route possible and hopefully I can get better tools and hope to get a real tool cart soon. So far most of it was free lol
I purchased a fluke 88 multi meter early in my career, probably close to 25 years ago. Damn thing is bullet proof. Never had a single issue with it. Not sure what fluke quality is like these days, but it was definitely legit some years ago.
Just got a Fluke 88v kit. Love it. Especially my auto ranging :p use them in the military where they had to be tested for calibration every year and they were just never off. Accurate reliable and $700
Well, I went wrong with a Fluke. Bought a Fluke 88. Used it for years and loved it. I dropped it about 2 feet onto the carpeted floor of a car and it cracked the LCD. Found the replacement part number and tried to to order a replacement from Fluke. "We don't make that part anymore". They had replaced it with the series V. Offered me a discount on a replacement (over $400). So I ended up with a FLIR DVOM which works pretty well. I still like fluke, I have an Fluke 83 DVOM and I still use a 97 Scopemeter (but saving up for a picoscope). But the bummed me out not providing a replacement part.
I own three Fluke meters, 73, 87 and 88. I have a difficulty using other brands. I tried a Sears DMM to keep in my truck. That thing sucked and I threw it away.
Good vid. my friend. May I add? When choosing a DVOM min/max is very useful! as is 10 amp setting But the best DVOM and one that every tech should have is the snap on vantage pro End of story best of luck man.
Love to see a vid of u talking about the worst bad calls or mistakes uv seen or made in your time in this field. Everyone makes mistakes its part of learning and id love to hear some stuff uv seen or experienced personally in the shop where things just did not go right. I asked u to do this type of vid when u first started your channel and u said u would so i was just reminding u. Love the vids flm
And peak hold, duty cycle, frequency and temp probe is handy to have. I use an amp clamp probe over 2 or so amps. Anymore than that can be read up to 10 amp but an accidental wire contact can spike the AMP internal shunt rating popping a fuse in it. Using the DVOM in line of the load can risk a live end falling off the probe and shorting to chassis so amp clamp is safer. If you are temped to replace a fuse and use the DVOM to short the fuse to get a reading over it, don't. If you are on 10A range measuring a 2 A fuse circuit the DVOM fuse wont blow till over 10A, so your circuit is not fuse protected. Aside from the fact you need to hold the probes on the fuse holder, and not shove it in them damaging them, to have a free hand to operate the circuit. Takes a few minutes to make a break out lead from an old fuse chopped at the tip and an inline fuse holder soldered to it so you can plug that old fuse end in and use the rated fuse in the fuse holder for protection and then AMP clamp one of break out lead wires and turn on peak hold and go operate the system to get a peak current reading.
Do you have a video on recommend starting electrical diagnostic tools? I have heard that a powerprobe is nice addition, with a good DVOM. I am forced to replace my ancient Modis(got it used and cheap.). Still stuck on the learning how to use the scope, hoping my Snap on guy get a traded in unit, in the next few months. No way I can afford to spend $5000+ for a scan tool/scope, buying a used all in one is the best route. Good video, Thank you.
I think people put too much into a multimeter most mechanics I know would be just as well off with the free harbor freight multimeter. Yes it is slow to respond so can not read digital signals but in a lot of cases guys can not do anything other then check static voltage and resistance anyway. For example my father does not understand electronics, I got him to where he can do most troubleshooting with a voltage sensing test light. I am to the point I think that is what a tech should start with, and work up from that point.
@behexen250 I cannot speak for anyone but myself, but it sounded to me like our reasoning was similar. I do not like auto ranging because I prefer to set things myself. When measuring ohms and farads it is even more important to me. An example there is do I want to see 1 megaohm or 1000 kiloohms. It is my opinion that the more knowledgeable you are and the more you do with electronics the more likely you are to like manual ranging, at least some of the time. I hope that makes sense as per my reasoning, I like to see my results in the form I wish to see them in.
If you want some really good probes go to www.probemaster.com. They have some awesome probes and they work flawlessly so far. I would put them against Flukes expensive as heel probes anyday.
