Products > Test Equipment

Absolute Best MultiMeter Test Leads - Very Low Resistance?

(1/18) > >>

nytefog:
Hello,

I’m in search of the absolute best multimeter test lead available that have the lowest possible measurable resistance available.

The fluke TL175 test leads I normally use for everyday testing always seem to have 0.5 ohm resistance reading. I’ve tired cleaning the test leads and meter connection ports but it makes little difference.  I have even tested a set of brand new fluke TL175 lead and the have about the same resistance.  I tested them both on a Fluke 87v and 289.

I recently bought some Probe Master 8100 test lead which definitely have a much lower resistance, which I can’t remember off the top of my head now, and I am happy I got them but hoping there might be test leads that are a step above Probe masters or multiple steps above them!

Does anyone happen to know of any better meter test leads to that have almost no measurable resistance? I know they will always have some resistance of course.  I know this is probably not a common question people ask. I know I should have a 4-wire kelvin milliohm meter for measuring very low resistance reading, but i really can’t justify the cost of such a meter at this time.  I would really love to get a Gossen Metrawatt Metrahit IM Tech BT multimeter (M272S) but that is definitely out of the question as of this time.

I love to hear any suggestions.  I’m sure others are much more knowledgeable about this subject than I am.

I appreciate any and all feedback!

Whales:
Is the 0.5R only from the leads or noticeably from the multimeter itself (eg input fuse)?  It might be worth checking with a big metal shunt across the input jacks.

bdunham7:

--- Quote from: nytefog on January 02, 2024, 11:41:06 pm ---I recently bought some Probe Master 8100 test lead which definitely have a much lower resistance, which I can’t remember off the top of my head now, and I am happy I got them but hoping there might be test leads that are a step above Probe masters or multiple steps above them!

--- End quote ---

If you have the 8000-series with the fixed probe tips (and threads) then the body of those tips is stainless steel which has higher resistance--although the gold plating helps.  If you have the 8150 retractable "pogo-pin" style, then you probably have one of the lowest resistance probes that I know of, with the drawback that the resistance varies a bit.  There's only so much you can do with a 2 wire system.  There are almost-4-wire systems that have 4 banana plugs or the equivalent, dual conductors going to each tip and then a low-resistance tip.  I tried making some using ProbeMaster 8000-series parts, but the resistance of the tip body was enough to make it not as good as it needed to be.  What multimeter or ohmmeter are you using?

tggzzz:
So you think low resistance leads will solve your problem, but you haven't explicitly stated the problem and your objectives (including numbers, not adjectives). For an example of how that can be important, see
https://entertaininghacks.wordpress.com/library-2/good-questions-pique-our-interest-and-dont-waste-our-time-2/

Errors in measuring resistors below, say, 10ohms can have many sources of error, including variable contact resistance, I2R heating causing resistance changes, thermoelectric (Seebeck) voltages.

If none of those are significant, you could do a differential resistance measurement, subtracting out the lead resistance. Alternatively, use a Wheatstone bridge.

The Electrician:
Just short the probe tips together while in ohms mode.  Subtract that value from any measurements you make of very low resistance components.

Some multimeters have the ability to automatically subtract the lead resistance.  My Fluke 187 has a button labeled "REL" (relative).  I just short the probe tips, press "REL", and the display then shows "0.000".  Measurements I then make will have the lead resistance subtracted from the measurement.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

There was an error while thanking
Thanking...
Go to full version
Powered by SMFPacks Advanced Attachments Uploader Mod