12V battery ready 18.14?

Yeah I think so. I have a pricey Milwaukee meter: it's sealed six-ways-to-sunday, and then the battery case is completely open to the inside, and directly next to the circuit board. I was using it recently, getting totally weird and jumping around ohm readings.

A month or two back it was dead, and when I opened it up the two AA batteries inside had barfed. I cleaned it up hoping for the best, but after getting the way-off ohm readings I opened it up completely and see battery salts here and there on the circuit board.

Luckily it was still within warranty period; I've dropped it off at the service centre.

Also made a resolution: in future always store the meter so the batteries are on the underside, just in case.

In the interim I picked up a cheap-but-decent dial style meter, kind of a nice change of pace. And always good to have two meters, so you can check one against the other.

The old/school cheapie I got, around $25:

 

That, or a world-changing new energy source. See if you can find a way to use it to back-feed the power grid.

-Chap

 

And, as @bisco would say: check the battery.

 

also, pop the hood the night before and test at the jump point in the morning. then you don't activate any power at all.

 

Pop the hood on the multimeter, check it's batteries.

BTW, as mentioned above, I think if you pop the hood on the car by going in through the passenger door, I don't think you wake up anything to speak of, at least not the brake pressurizing. Either way, I don't think it makes much difference. I mean, you wouldn't want to leave the hood up, if the car was outside in sketchy area.

 

not much, map light only? my ack won't allow me to do that anymore.

 

I shut off all the lights with switches, still have door sill and footwell lights that come on. Try this though: measure one morning with the hood popped beforehand, and then another morning just pop the hood and measure. I don't think you'll find much difference.

 

i will do it. 3 advil first.

 

Definitely a bad meter. If your 1.5V batteries are reading wrong, why continue to use this meter? It's only job in life is to provide an accurate reading. If it's not doing that, throw out away, you are only eating yours abs others' time.

 

i had 2 digital meters both go funky after 20 years, i thought nothing happened to electronics.

 

For me, if it's not a Fluke, it's not a multimeter.

 

It's worthwhile having an analog meter too? Maybe they're more durable. You only need the battery for ohms.

 

for me, if it was a fluke, it would be a fluke.

 

I have an 87A that's probably 30 years old and it works like new and I expect will continue to work like new for another 30 years or more. It's one of those things you only buy once. I bought mine used, too, so no idea of its history.

 

@VFerdman is right. Obviously a problem with your meter. Try new batteries in the meter. If it's still reading AA batteries that high, throw it in the trash and get a new one.

 

i've always advised people to buy a cheap digital met, but never thought about how inaccurate they might be.

 

They can disappoint you, but it's not hard to test their accuracy. I like Fluke, but I think they are a little over priced. Used a Fluke 87 in the factory. And I like my Klein that's also a clamp on current meter. Had a nice Beckman, too. For analog, my Simson 260 was fantastic, but it finally took too many industrial use beatings. I wouldn't mind having another one.

 

now i'm wondering if my 12v isn't really 12.7 volts. when i check new 1.5v, i get 1.6 volts. and a 3 volt button will measure 3.3 volts.