[chuckmnv]

LPETE - The wife doesn't remember where the got it, but I think Cen-Tech is a HF house brand.
cm

[george kujanski]

Venturing a guess...I think you use the dial to set the bepp/diode function and then use the button to select which function, i.e. beep or diode. the display should change to indicate the selection.

The manual should give you hte specifics.

I also believe that is the brand from Harbor Freight.

George

[chuckmnv]

George -
I think you're right about the beep thing. It's really a short, p*ss-poor manual for those of us who don't do this on a daily basis.
I'm also guessing that micro & milli-amps measurements are for either AC or DC, since the DC symbol is over the AC symbol.

I'll also go back to the manual to see how to measure Hz; seems to me that has to do with sound? Don't know what I would be measuring.

In any event, I'm going to keep this thread.
Thanx, again, for all the input.
cm

[chuckmnv]

I just can't stop asking questions. What is the mACX red plug for?
cm

[LPete]

Originally Posted by chuckmnv

I just can't stop asking questions. What is the mACX red plug for?
cm

It's for milliamps, and, I assume, capacitance.

[george kujanski]

yep, Cx is for measuring capacitance.

Hz is Hertz, a modern name for "cycles per second". You can measure the frequency of an AC signal, whether it's your AC wall outlet (should be 60 Hz)

You can even use this function to measure the frequency of the ignition pulses and calculate the actual RPM of the engine.

George

[chuckmnv]

George -
Thanx for all you info. Yep, I think you could/should write your paper on this. Do you know of any good references? With every answer you give, I think up more questions. I'll stop now, and let you get back to your day job.
cm

[Karch]

Originally Posted by johnsma22

I have, and use the same Fluke 87 True RMS meter that George pictured. Continuity is also performed from the ohm function. The arrow function is for checking diodes.

I too have the Fluke 87V...it was a work present (it's not actually a present, but I needed it help with diagnosing and troubleshooting).

I am not sure if it was mentioned earlier, but you need to be very careful when measuring current through these meters. They can only handle a very limited amount of current, as the current is being drawn through the meter.

I purchased some very high CFM ford electric fans, and I wanted to measure current. I recently added a Fluke i1010 to my arsenal which allows me to measure 1000A DC current, when attached to my 87V.

The fans I measured run on high at about 35A, which would have killed my 87V. These fans on initial startup pulled over 85A!

My next step is to see what kind of current draw I am getting from my IMI starter. I suspect my ground circuit is not up to snuff, which will limit the current, or cause a significant voltage drop?

Anyways, I just wanted to post that you do need to be careful how much current you send through your DIMM.

Cheers.

[LPete]

Originally Posted by Karch

Anyways, I just wanted to post that you do need to be careful how much current you send through your DIMM.

My Fluke 88 has fuses for both ammeter ranges (I assume the 87 does too), so the meter won't be damaged. The bad thing is the fuses are about $14 each (Lowe's has them, if anyone needs them).

[BVR421]

Lots of excellent electrical help around here especially professionals like George and at least two other folks whos names I dont recall. They are obviously well qualified like George is.
On the meters, It seems the pro meter is a Fluke brand. Those are several hundred dollar professional instruments. Beyond reason for most hobbiests. I have a $10.00 Harbor Fright multimeter that has all the functions and functionality of the other multi I own which is a $50.00 SunPro which as far as I can see does all a Fluke will do?
A $10.00 meter and a $6 light probe will give you all the diagnostic power the average Pontiac fixer will ever need. That and the excellent step by step procedures George often offers.
Point is, you don't always need pro level ($$$) tools for these auto electrical deals so don't feel that the cost of a multimeter can hold you up.
A little reading wont hurt either, I have a fair layman's knowledge of electrical theory but since I dont do every day like George, I often refer back to a text to help comprehend the results of a test I have done. (Like how can I get the smoke back in the wire?)

Off my MEDS again & LOVING IT!

[george kujanski]

A new wire already has the smoke installed.

True that Fluke is probably the high end of the hand-held meters, but Sears often has good meter values on sale too.

The fuses Fluke uses, BTW, are that expensive, because they are rated to be able to interrupt (blow) a large fault current. The typical 2AG glass aren't rated for that.

Assume you have the meter set to current and decide to use the meter on the AC lines coming into your house. In current mode, the meter is essentially a wire and doing that will create a short circuit across the AC mains, which will blow the fuse. However, the AC mains can source many thousands of Amps instantaneously. The fuse has to be able to interrupt that nasty of a fault.

Moral of the story....check your settings and the jack positions when you are using your meter.

George

[wfbarto]

I just picked up a mulit-meter....it is an Electronic Specialties model and from what I can tell it is a pretty nice unit with all the functions that I will ever need. However, the user's manual is a "pile of crap"! Not detailed at all and very poorly written. I found at least 6 misspelled words in it with just a quick read-over.

Is there an on-line user's guide to multi-meters that could be downloaded or printed out? That would be a great help! George's posts are great, but to have this in one handy booklet or print-out would be fantastic rather than asking message board questions everytime something comes up. Thanks!

[george kujanski]

My sons and I call this the "book test". When we buy stuff, if the book is thin, we say it doesn't pass the book test.

George

[george kujanski]

Try this: I googled "multimeters"

http://mechatronics.mech.northwester...ultimeter.html

george

[BILTIT]

My trusty sidekick.

[wfbarto]

Originally Posted by george kujanski

Try this: I googled "multimeters"

http://mechatronics.mech.northwester...ultimeter.html

george

George...thanks for the link but the manual that came with mine has the basic info that is found in that link. What I was looking for was more specific to automotive use, like specific directions on reading dwell and rpm and performing checks on different wires and circuits to determine where faults, shorts, bad connections, etc. might exist. What to set the meter at, what leads to use, where to hook them up, and whether to have the power on or not....those type of things that you learn from people who have done it before or else you learn by bad experience!

[chuckmnv]

I'm with wfbarto -- that's the kind of real world stuff we need.
cm

[Jack Gifford]

Originally Posted by wfbarto

... What I was looking for was more specific to automotive use, like specific directions on reading dwell and rpm and performing checks on different wires and circuits to determine where faults, shorts, bad connections, etc. might exist. What to set the meter at, what leads to use, where to hook them up, and whether to have the power on or not...

I probably shouldn't barge in here- but I think a career in electronics allows me to comment. With the list you gave, you're really looking for a general education in electrical systems, not merely multimeter instructions. Perhaps an adult-ed short course in basic electronics is available near you?
Let's see what George has to say.

[george kujanski]

General use of multimeters and diagnostic techniques can be a large topic.

Debugging specific automotive cases may be easier to handle. I'll think about it but in the meantime if there are specific topics anyone wants addressed, post them and we can answer them quickly.

George

[wfbarto]

Originally Posted by george kujanski

General use of multimeters and diagnostic techniques can be a large topic.

Debugging specific automotive cases may be easier to handle. I'll think about it but in the meantime if there are specific topics anyone wants addressed, post them and we can answer them quickly.

George

One thing that I came across since my last post that has been and will be a great help for me in learning how to use my new multimeter are a few sections in the Pontiac Chassis Manual that I have also picked up. Since both my old Pontiacs are 1966, I picked up the 66 Pontiac Chassis Manual and it has some very good descriptions of how to test certain things along with good diagrams in the "Engine Tune-Up" section and the "Engine Electrical" section. For 1966, these are both located in Chapter 6 of that manual. I am sure that these manuals for other years probably have the same good info in them. If I run into something that I need specific help on....I will post it and get some advice. Thanks George and all the others for being a great source of knowledge and experience!