A little information about the HIGH-LOAD ADDITIONAL SWITCH BOX AND ELECTRICAL PREPARATION

@RoadBuilder From everything I’ve read Fluke is the real deal but a bit more than I’d like to spend.

@DenisM I‘ve been watching all kinds of videos. Amazing what we have access to 24-7.

@DaveB I did want to make sure whatever I got was auto useable so thanks for the link. The Klein stuff seems like a path worth exploring.

As a follow-up.. .for automotive use, a digital clamp multimeter is extremely useful and can be had for less than US$50 on Amazon. It's utility allows you to measure voltage and current in difficult places simply by clamping the jaws to the outside of the insulated wire

Depending on your budget and how serious/often you plan on using it, I can recommend this:


Especially useful if you work alone.

Krabby said:

Any suggestions on a good choice for a meter? Seems like you can get ones for as little as 10-15 bucks and on the other end of the spectrum they can run into the hundreds. I don’t need the latest and greatest but I believe in buying quality tools.

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I am an electronic engineer and have an expensive multimeter, I almost never use it.
In my toolbox I have a very cheap one, something like this:

For simple car maintenance and repair, you usually only use the Ohm (green) position to check wire continuity and DCV for checking voltage.
And indeed you need some basic knowledge. But the main principle is like "water flow": current goes in somewhere, and has to go out somewhere else.

The advantage of the old fashioned multimeter with coil and needle like this, is that you immediately notice the movement of the needle!

In my opinion: if you are a beginner, buy a cheap one!

Krabby said:

Any suggestions on a good choice for a meter?

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This one:

Brymen BM257s

Excellent.

• Full Automatic mode (for electronic noobs)
• Manual modes
• true RMS (!)
• Backlit display
• CAT II, CAT III, CAT IV protection
• Fused AMP inputs
• 10 A input
• Beep for Diode / shortage tests
• Min/Max/Hold functions
• Temperature measurement
• Very fast reaction
• Frequency measurement
• Optional logging adapter for PC-side recording

I payed around 100 € two years ago. That's not cheap but price-worthy. You'll have it for a lifetime.

This is my "rough jobs" multimeter. At home, I use my Fluke 289 and for ultra high precision my Gossen Metrahit Energy. Though they are extremely tough benchmarks for the Brymen, the Brymen is still competitive.

Electronic engineers around the world use and love it. The price is really fair.

PS: A 30 Euro DMM will probably do. But I don't like doubts when I measure something, and I want the min/max/hold function and the diode beep with an ultra-short (i.e. instantaneous) response, and also the PC recording capability, since long term effects (e.g. battery charging) are only visible that way. All this together in one device is hard to find in the lower price range.

AND: It has the "AUTO" mode you are looking for.
And it has a bargraph display to immediately see changes in the measurement.

emax said:

• Full Automatic mode (for electronic noobs)
• Manual modes
• true RMS (!)
• Backlit display
• CAT II, CAT III, CAT IV protection
• Fused AMP inputs
• 10 A input
• Beep for Diode / shortage tests
• Min/Max/Hold functions
• Temperature measurement
• Very fast reaction
• Frequency measurement
• Optional logging adapter for PC-side recording

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If I was to buy sth new especially dedicated to car use, I'd probably look at Benning MM3 and, as a serious upgrade also to any other multimeter, CC3.
Why?

• For car use (not talking about that EV stuff again...), you don't really look for CATx or tRMS.
• What's missing with all the discussed multimeters is decent DC _current_ measurement: The MM3 alone supports 20A at least, the CC3 increases range up to 300ADC (!) And that's what's encountered frequently when inspecting 12/24V car electric circuits.

I personally love my Fluke 87iii, but for reasons that are not related to car use.

TD5-90 said:

For car use (not talking about that EV stuff again...), you don't really look for CATx or tRMS.

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That's right. But I don't only use it for car or motorbike cases. And as always: To have it is better than to need it.