Buying a decent cheap basic multimeter?

JustAnotherSaver

Was going to ask this in the motoring forum since that's the forum i keep getting told to use a multimeter in, but then i saw the thread from a guy asking about Chinese multimeters so thought i best ask here.

I don't actually know how to use one but i've been told a few times now in recent weeks/months to use a multimeter to help along with answering my scenario.

Recently wanted to hard wire a dashcam and i see YouTube videos of people testing which way the fuse should be inserted (I wasn't even aware there was a 'way'). So i suppose if i just follow whatever it is they're doing in the video then it should at least help. There was a situation at the start of the year when working on the wifes car we suspected a faulty crankshaft sensor. I was told to use a multimeter to test it. Couldn't do that and had to ask a guy i know who had one.

Just pitching out scenarios where I've been told to use one to help anyone advising what to get.

Issue is since i've never used one and don't know how to (as there's a dial with so many settings and all those buttons) i don't know what's worth a purchase and what is tosh. Clearly for someone like me i don't need to be spending 3 figures.

I noticed they come with differing batteries so a meter that doesn't have a specialist battery would be better than one that does.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=Multimeter&ref=nb_sb_noss_2

What should i be looking at for what i'd be using it for?

Browntoa

This sort of thing is fine 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07BMQ578Z/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_nlG4Fb91WAW0K?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

DC/AC/resistance etc .

Most home users with only test DC batteries , mains AC , resistance is useful on occasion ( I use it for checking continuity , if connection is good then no resistance ) and this unit has a continuity buzzer which is good for proving wiring on cars etc.

I'm from an electronic background and use an almost identical unit at home , it's all I need

fwor

There's not really a good reason for anyone to be telling you how to use a multimeter here, because there are already thousands of YouTube videos out there that do that. It would just be a waste of someone's time typing it all out.

Pretty much any cheapish meter will do for the average person. If you don't know what the specialist functions (like measuring the hFE of a transistor) are for then you probably don't need those functions. I'd recommend spending around a tenner for an auto-ranging meter, and then watch a few YouTube "how tos" on using it.

Myser

If a lot of your testing will involve mains, then pick one from a reputable manufacturer that has a genuine CAT rating.

JustAnotherSaver

I've just ordered the link that Browntoa provided.

Thanks

I don't really play with home electrics. Any time i've ever been told to get a multimeter out it's been on a car or a car part.

A_Lert

You already ordered, but Screwfix and Toolstation would normally be my first choice for something like this. They both have cheap options. (And expensive ones.)

With the one you've ordered, beware that the high current input is unfused, quite common on cheap meters. If you put too much current through it the meter will probably catch fire. Doesn't need to be high voltage either - a car battery can provide several hundred amps.

Heedtheadvice

As per the above comment by all (together) but would add make sure it has a case and for car use (if not included already) get a pair of leads with banana plugs on so you can add pluggable large crocodile clips to connect to large terminals/earth points.

Do learn how to use it. If you try to measure battery voltage, for example, whilst on a current (amperage) setting or some of the other meter settings.....oh dear or as above worse!!

Would be best to get a fused version for current measurement.

Some extra points:

This type of meter is no use for measuring high currents (usually 10Amps max) such as in  headlight, heater and charging circuits (but fine for voltage measurement)

Temperature sensors is very handy.

Beware that voltage measurement is only part of the diagnostic job. These meters are very high resistance so will sense the voltage even when you might have a duff connection such as a corroded one so you need to use in conjunction with resistance.

And once again beware use on the powerful batteries and their circuits. Apart from meter disaster you can get a nasty burn.....and even a battery explosion if you use jump leads. Just beware and do a bit of learning first!!

oh_really

Consider a clamp meter that reads DC to test loads on circuits like starter, glowplugs etc. The clamp meter will also accept test leads to allow connection to measure volts and resistance. A clamp meter is in my essential kit for fault finding.

droopsnoot

My experience of the very cheap meters is that the leads fail quite quickly, giving false results when trying to check continuity.

I didn't know fuses had a "way" either. Unless it's one of those car fuses that has a built-in LED that lights up when it blows, I'm struggling (though it's years since I learned about any of this stuff) to see how it would matter.

fred246

They always have a separate socket for the 10A current. I was testing mains voltage once and accidentally had it plugged into 10A. I think it tested how much current the mains was capable of producing. There was a big bang and a flash of light before the mains tripped. Put me off testing mains voltages for a few minutes.

JustAnotherSaver

I wasn't going out near my nearest Screwfix and the nearest Toolstation is an age away.

It's all well and good this or that meter being better but as i say i don't really know what i'm looking for. You see 100 on a page and it's needle & haystack job. Like the chap who mentioned banana clips earlier. He's offering help and i'm grateful for it but i saw that and was like what..the...hell?? Banana what? Had to google the term. There's other terms mentioned in this thread that have me glazing over like i do not have a fraction of a clue.

But it's easy when you know

droopsnoot said:

I didn't know fuses had a "way" either. Unless it's one of those car fuses that has a built-in LED that lights up when it blows, I'm struggling (though it's years since I learned about any of this stuff) to see how it would matter.

I'd seen some videos where the person installing the camera just put the fuse in.

Then other videos saying if you're doing it 'properly' then they're using multimeters testing which part of where the fuse inserts is 'hot' (i assume they mean live?) and this dictates that when they're piggybacking in to it the fuse needs to be inserted say with the lead running from the bottom rather than rotated round and the lead ends up running from the top.

I know LEDs are polarity sensitive but i thought so long as the fuse was seated right, it was fine enough?