Multi-Meter advice...

WyoTraveler wrote:

CA Traveler wrote:

BFL13 wrote:
Rather than the $10 type, which fry if you go over the 10amp limit, I now like the more expensive version that has a fuse in it. I am now ahead on the money buying fuses instead of new meters. :)

And that is exactly my point! With the low cost of DC clampon meters why would you even consider cutting or opening wires for a serial connected meter versa a clampon???

And here's my trick - Opening a circuit can and sometimes does change the conditions that you were trying to measure and hence the measurements isn't related to the original cause.

I use a small needle and poke through insulation.

An excellent way to create problems down the road. Water can get into the wiring and will cause corrosion which will eat up the wire strands and cause a reduction in current carrying capability.

It might not happen this year or the next but sometime down the line, you will have a corroded wire.

This is not a good troubleshooting technique.