Automotive Multimeter Recommendation?

[RavenManiac]

Hello everyone. I need some help selecting a prosumer automotive multimeter for home use. I currently need it to find a parasitic battery drain in my son's 2019 Mazda 3. Below are a few of the meters I'm considering. Admittedly, some of these choices may be overkill for the task at hand, but I need a good reliable multimeter anyway so I might as well buy one that will last. Any help is much appreciated.

Brymen BM869 (difficult to find in the USA)
Fluke 179
Fluke 87 Series (III, IV, or V)
Fluke 88 Series (V)
Greenlee DM-820A (I think this is a rebranded Brymen, but I'm not sure which model)
Hioki 4256
EEV Blog 121GW (seems slow in Joe Smith's review)

Thanks,
Kelly

[TimFox]

To find that battery drain, do you need to sense current without breaking or disconnecting wires?  That requires a clamp-on DC meter.

[bdunham7]

A clamp meter likely won't be the best because they lack low-level sensitivity and you have to zero them somehow.  What you need is a battery knife switch, some 1-ohm resistors (no point in blowing meters or fuses) and absolutely any DMM at all--even the cheap D830 ones they give away at Harbor Freight.  Unfortunately, this exact task--finding a draw on a car--is one of the most common meter-killing adventures and I'd recommend using disposable ones until you have some more DMM experience. 

If you are bound and determined buy a top-flight DMM, just get the Fluke 87V.  The E2 kit is pretty nice too.  The 88 is 'automotive', but there's very little functionality that is of any use any more--it's not 1985.  Greenlee charges too much for their versions of Brymen (the DM-820 is not the BM869--the DM-860A is either the BM867 or BM869, not sure which)

You've checked the glove box light, right? 

[wizard69]

Hello everyone. I need some help selecting a prosumer automotive multimeter for home use. I currently need it to find a parasitic battery drain in my son's 2019 Mazda 3. Below are a few of the meters I'm considering. Admittedly, some of these choices may be overkill for the task at hand, but I need a good reliable multimeter anyway so I might as well buy one that will last. Any help is much appreciated.

Brymen BM869 (difficult to find in the USA)
Fluke 179
Fluke 87 Series (III, IV, or V)
Fluke 88 Series (V)
Greenlee DM-820A (I think this is a rebranded Brymen, but I'm not sure which model)
Hioki 4256
EEV Blog 121GW (seems slow in Joe Smith's review)

Thanks,
Kelly

If you do a lot of automotive work the 88 is the way to go from your list, get the kit with the inductive pickup.   One the other hand the Snapon #EEDM596FK is worth considering as it isn't that much worse price wise (very surprising).   The snap on has a few more features that would make it more useful of automotive work.

As far as Fluke goes I've had really good luck with all of their handheld meters.   I've never used a Snapon meter so that is an unknown, however they have a good warranty on the meter. Beyond all the engine support features the Snap on is the first meter in a long time that has attempted to change the conventional physical layout of a rugged meter.   It is out of my price range at the moment but I cold see myself buying one in the future.   That mainly for the engine specific features.

[RavenManiac]

A clamp meter likely won't be the best because they lack low-level sensitivity and you have to zero them somehow.  What you need is a battery knife switch, some 1-ohm resistors (no point in blowing meters or fuses) and absolutely any DMM at all--even the cheap D830 ones they give away at Harbor Freight.  Unfortunately, this exact task--finding a draw on a car--is one of the most common meter-killing adventures and I'd recommend using disposable ones until you have some more DMM experience. 

If you are bound and determined buy a top-flight DMM, just get the Fluke 87V.  The E2 kit is pretty nice too.  The 88 is 'automotive', but there's very little functionality that is of any use any more--it's not 1985.  Greenlee charges too much for their versions of Brymen (the DM-820 is not the BM869--the DM-860A is either the BM867 or BM869, not sure which)

You've checked the glove box light, right? 

Thanks! Yes, I've checked all of the interior lights, including the glove box. I also just purchased this item to help troubleshoot the problem and protect the multimeter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RGN5UAY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Once I've determined how big of an amperage draw there is, and whether it's consistent or intermittent, my plan is to check the voltage of all of the mini fuses when the car is off and all of the computers are asleep. Does that sound like the best way to proceed? Thanks again for your help.

[RavenManiac]

If you do a lot of automotive work the 88 is the way to go from your list, get the kit with the inductive pickup.   One the other hand the Snapon #EEDM596FK is worth considering as it isn't that much worse price wise (very surprising).   The snap on has a few more features that would make it more useful of automotive work.

As far as Fluke goes I've had really good luck with all of their handheld meters.   I've never used a Snapon meter so that is an unknown, however they have a good warranty on the meter. Beyond all the engine support features the Snap on is the first meter in a long time that has attempted to change the conventional physical layout of a rugged meter.   It is out of my price range at the moment but I cold see myself buying one in the future.   That mainly for the engine specific features.

Thanks for the suggestions. Actually, this is just for personal, at-home use, which is why I was considering a few multimeters that were a little more universal. After viewing dozens of Fluke reviews on YouTube I can see why that brand is one of the most preferred. Flukes equipment seems pretty solid.

[bdunham7]

Once I've determined how big of an amperage draw there is, and whether it's consistent or intermittent, my plan is to check the voltage of all of the mini fuses when the car is off and all of the computers are asleep. Does that sound like the best way to proceed? Thanks again for your help.

You may need a lot of spare fuses for that!

That device may help, but a shortcoming is that you can't start the engine and run stuff with it hooked up.  Parasitic draws can be continuous, random or then can occur only after something is done.  Disconnecting the battery may reset whatever is drawing current so that the drain goes away. An unusual but real situation is a relay that develops an internal short that makes it self-latching--once it turns on, it stays on until all the power is removed.

When I did this sort of work, I used a large disconnect that allowed me to cycle the power on and off, run things, etc, using a clamp meter to monitor the large current draws.  Then, after everything had settled down and the current was low enough that the current clamp couldn't reliably read it, I could connect my small ammeter or better yet, a small resistor, across the switch and open it.  Measuring voltage at the fuses won't tell you anything--most of them will have 12 volts all the time.  What I would typically do is after everything had timed out (it can take several minutes or longer for normal draws to drop off) and I had established that there was a draw, I would just pull out the fuses one at a time without putting them back in until the draw stopped.  Then I would know what circuit to look at.

If you are Amazon shopping, I'd recommend these:

https://www.amazon.com/Battery-Master-Disconnect-Switch-Doctor/dp/B078973R19/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=battery+knife+switch&qid=1592786127&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExNTZXMTc4SENCNDdUJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMzM3OTA2Q0RQSENZTDFISzczJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAyMDk4NDc4VEdFMjFCNE5LOEEmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl

https://www.amazon.com/EDGELEC-Resistor-Tolerance-Multiple-Resistance/dp/B07WHQKQB8/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=1+ohm+resistor&qid=1592786196&sr=8-5

EDIT:  These won't blow up, although they are bulkier.  https://www.amazon.com/Comidox-Aluminum-Housed-Wirewound-Resistor/dp/B077ZMFZM6/ref=sxin_7_ac_d_rm?ac_md=1-1-MSBvaG0gcmVzaXN0b3IgMTAwdw%3D%3D-ac_d_rm&cv_ct_cx=1+ohm+resistor&dchild=1&keywords=1+ohm+resistor&pd_rd_i=B077ZMFZM6&pd_rd_r=414bac0a-7178-4c14-8519-a01c741bf0fc&pd_rd_w=8PvKh&pd_rd_wg=bJmju&pf_rd_p=7140382f-2020-43a7-a2a8-20d62e199d2c&pf_rd_r=B3VV87E0KA4DYJHNWER4&psc=1&qid=1592786495&sr=1-2-12d4272d-8adb-4121-8624-135149aa9081

[RavenManiac]

@bdunham7 Hmm. Those are some very good points. Thanks!

[RavenManiac]

So Joe Smith (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsK99WXk9VhcghnAauTBsbg) is suggesting that I consider this instead of the 12V inline contraption I purchased on Amazon: https://www.uni-trend.com/html/product/General_Meters/digitalclampmeters/UT210_Series/UT210E.html

Thoughts?

[Jwillis]

I picked up one of these. The JET H3630 . Has Dwell angle   ,Tach , Temp probe , Inductive pickup  as well as the standard features . Works very well . $200 bucks Canadian. 
 

[bdunham7]

So Joe Smith (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsK99WXk9VhcghnAauTBsbg) is suggesting that I consider this instead of the 12V inline contraption I purchased on Amazon: https://www.uni-trend.com/html/product/General_Meters/digitalclampmeters/UT210_Series/UT210E.html

Thoughts?

Yes.  I have 20 years of experience doing this and you'd be hard pressed to think of something I haven't tried yet.  Clamp meters don't work well enough for parasitic draws that can be less than 100mA and still drain your battery.  Even excellent, fantastic, sensitive current probes like the Fluke 80i-110s, assuming they fit over your battery lead, will be difficult to manage because of the zeroing issue.  Having a clamp meter is handy because it can tell you when the large drains have gone away, but it is pretty hard to measure small, absolute currents without a zero reading.

[bdunham7]

I picked up one of these. The JET H3630 . Has Dwell angle   ,Tach , Temp probe , Inductive pickup  as well as the standard features . Works very well . $200 bucks Canadian.

I'm curious now that two of you have mentioned these auto-specific meters-what are you using them on?  I had them 30+ years ago, until I got a Fluke 98 Scopemeter in the early 90s, but even that didn't get out much toward the end of my time working on cars.  Tach? Dwell?  Inductive pickup?  The vast majority of cars that you would use those on have long gone to the scrapyard. 

[Vovk_Z]

A clamp meter likely won't be the best because they lack low-level sensitivity and you have to zero them somehow. 

Yes, you need to zero them, but I don't agree with lack of sensitivity.  My (about $45) clamp-meter measures  milliamperes (000 mA). I don't remember an exact model (I'll put it later).
I think it have to be at least two meters - robust multi-meter (as stated upper) and DC-clamp-meter.