Buying a decent cheap basic multimeter?

Myser

JustAnotherSaver said:

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?

In simple terms, the fuse is inserted inline with the positive supply to whatever you're fitting.  American's call the positive (red), hot!  They also call the live mains supply hot too.

Fuses usually don't have an orientation as such so can be inserted either way.  The only rare exception is if you buy special fuses with an LED indicator to let you know it has blown as mentioned above.

Mickey666

Fuses and fuse holders are reversible (at least I've never seen a polarised one), so how can anyone tell which way around the 'LED indicator fuses" should be fitted?   Especially as they are often a replacement for a standard fuse, so there will be no markings etc.  But even if there WERE markings, some people would still get it wrong!  These are the sorts of things that good designers take into account.

Given that a fuse COULD be inserted in two ways, a good designer will simply design the indicator circuit to work when the fuse blows REGARDLESS of which way round it has been fitted.

DiddyDavies

fred246 said:

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.

Many meters have internal fuses to prevent what happened to you (often 2 fuses, one for low current ranges and one for the high range). If you have a meter without this protection, you should really be using a set of fused leads.

JustAnotherSaver

So it really doesn't matter which way round the fuse is inserted then?

Well at least that rules that out then as a possible reason why my dash cam isn't working great now that i've hardwired it. Must be the power supply as was one suggestion elsewhere.

With other things that were in the way and the fuse i wanted to tap in to, i could only really comfortably insert it one way. The other way would've been forcing it in a bit / bending the wire.

Myser

No it doesn't.  Can you post a photo of the fuse holder in question?  Also, with your new meter on the DC voltage range, check that you read around 12V after the fuse.

mobileron

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdUK6RPdIrA
this will tell u,youtube has lots of links

JustAnotherSaver

Myser said:

No it doesn't.  Can you post a photo of the fuse holder in question?  Also, with your new meter on the DC voltage range, check that you read around 12V after the fuse.

No problem...

https://www.google.com/search?q=mk3+mondeo+fuse+box&client=firefox-b&sxsrf=ALeKk030MXz8ZFAVEvOI_B9Yh1WgCzEl0Q:1608809207225&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiv9rqqwebtAhU6RhUIHe_LCwMQ_AUoAnoECBYQBA&biw=1920&bih=946

I was tapping in to the 12v socket fuse which is over on the far left side right up against the side of the dash.

a

The thing with Chinese meters you often cant trust the safety ratings. Those 10A meters may support 10A but only for 20 seconds - no joke here.

To measure a set range of items like not going above 230v and 2A you should be fine with a 10A 1000v chinese meter for a few minutes? but I still would not leave it on for hours. Would trust it on 12v at 100ma though.

Good and cheap for electronics is ANENG AN870 loads of features for £35. Similar features with a slightly higher digit count and a more trusted rating is  UNI-T UT61E £60. Dirt cheap and useful is the Aneng 8009 £20. Yes, the fluke is better rating, possibly more accurate, but if you make a mistake with a fluke and break the meter, or like mine it dies then the repair costs a similar price to a new one. For many the £20 meter will be more than adequate, but if you do 3 phase or high current a cheap meter is not for you, but you would already know this

https://lygte-info.dk/info/DMMReviews.html