I finally got why good meter leads matter after a stupid mistake

I was troubleshooting a 277 volt lighting circuit in a warehouse last Tuesday. Had a cheap set of leads on my Fluke and got a weird reading that made no sense. Turned out the probe tip was loose and giving me intermittent contact. Spent 30 minutes chasing a ghost when it was just bad equipment. Anyone else ever get burned by low quality test leads?

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2 Comments

calebw503mo ago

Were you using one of those molded silicone leads with the flimsy tips that wiggle around? Always curious if there's a specific brand or model that's the worst offender.

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thomas1053mo ago

The three I bought from some off-brand place on Amazon lasted maybe a week before the tips started flopping around like a tired old fish. @calebw50 you nailed it, those molded ones are the worst - i actually knocked my own coffee mug over trying to get one to stay put.

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