Multimeter for low current DC use...

[DNS1]

Hello lovely people, been ages since my last post.

Who can recommend a reasonably priced multimeter to diagnose a van which is flattening it's battery...

They all seem to spec the highest direct current they can handle, but I'm interested in how low they can go reliably...

Van battery is draining overnight and I'm trying to work out the cause. I've added a few bits to the system (inverter with leisure battery, caravan Zig unit and lights etc)

Never bought a decent multimeter and very rarely need one, so don't want to go ott, just need something sensitive and reliable. No pound shop brands, but preferably don't want to spend ,£300 on a Fluke!

Cheers guys

 

[Rpa07]

Try the Uni-T range, you can get them from Maplins and seem good. Obviously the classing of 2 and 3 will be needed for low voltage 230v and up to 600 but for what you need you may find them useful. Look at the range on line then check them out at Maplins (or the other way around!)

 

[Leesparkykent]

what about a fluke 101? The spec doesn't look bad for a £30-£40 DMM.

 

[Davemorgan]

I would like to recommend the Kewtech KT203 Multimeter, with clamp feature to see which circuit is pulling all those amps to drain your battery.
Hope you find the cause!

 

[Marvo]

I'd second Uni-T as being generaly good value testers.

I don't think the current you'll be seeing will be as low as you think.

For example if you have a 1A current draw for 8 hours on a fully charged 50Ah battery it would still be 84% charged and would most likely still start your vehicle in that state.

I'd expect most van or decent size saloon car batteries would be at least 70Ah so I'd guess that you'd be looking at a current in the region of >1Amp which any multimeter should be able to measure/detect.

 

[PEG]

Hi,easiest way would be to use a quality DC clamp with a minor scale,you can then either clamp circuits,or disconnect items,until the drain is identified.
A cheaper way would be to purchase a low cost multi-meter,such as the Uni-T (i got one for my 14 year old),once the vehicle is locked,access the battery (bonnet/door switches fooled...) on the low amps scale,usually <10A,probe between battery terminal and lead,then disconnect and measure at same time.

Do not disconnect,THEN measure,using this trick,as sudden appearance of battery power may enable functions which exceed 10A,and blow meter fuse.

Do not discount other causes of your symptoms,which include failing battery/starter/connections,or intermittent load due to vehicle ECU or additional ancillary fault.

If you had a Fordson Major,the only two things needed this time of year are check anti-freeze and park on a hill...

 

[DNS1]

Cheers for the advice guys,

Now have a Kewtech KT203 winging its way to my local Screwfix.

Hopefully will make life much easier!

 

[PEG]

Looks OK,and a decent manufacturer,says it will measure down to 10mA so should find any sizeable drain. Got to be careful on DC based power systems,where at source or close,current can alternate from a few mA to several hundred amps or more.

Have fun with your new toy,and let us know if it gets the thumbs-up