I’m thinking that the sliders on the switch have worn/corroded a bit and this is what’s affecting your readings. The ohmmeters use very precision resistors and some corrosion/wear creating a resistance point could throw things off.
Maybe you could try come contact spray.
Yea Greg, that’s the one. For simple volt and ohm readings it works just fine. And being that its a Harbor Freight special, its inexpensive (cheap) and so when it gets broken, its not a major loss.
On my workbench, I have a Beckman meter, that sort of followed me home from work one day, many years ago. But that one doesn’t leave my workbench. For field work, where damage and/or loss is possible, I use the Harbor Freight one.
I can not disagree with Rooster on the choice of Fluke, I loved mine until I left it out side all winter. I replaced it with a cheaper one $40.00 ish from the auto parts store and I have to say it works just as well for what I use it for with is volts (DC and AC) and Ohms. I never have used either for amps. i don’t know the brand name because I can’t find it, I hope I didn’t leave it outside for winter again!!
Todd… A dumb question… Did you change the batteries on the craftsman? Perhaps the poor readings are just a symptom of nearly dead batteries.
Dog gonit I should have read all the replies… Sounds like you tried that and a new one is in order. As said before Fluke is a good name from way back… Hope they haven’t been cheaped out!
From someone that has been an electronics technician for 40 years and calibrated test equipment for 30+ years, Fluke makes the best multimeters in the industry. There are many excellent Fluke DMMs available for under $100. If you want a cheap (less reliable) meter, there are plenty of those; but remember you usually get what you pay for.
My vote is for Fluke as well, used one for over 20 years in my work, even dropped it from a man lift a couple times, case was beat to hell but it kept on ticking. Some may think that it’s over kill for hobby uses, I had one from Rat Shack that I used at home for years and hated it, never felt I could trust the readings. So as soon as I could afford it I tossed it and got a Fluke for home.
On this subject how does one measure amps on our locomotives under various loads? The only time I have used a multi meter for amps was on large line shaft motors. We used a loop clamp device and placed them around each wire. Do I need special leads or what?
Devon, the meter goes in series in the circuit. Between the power source and the load (motor). you don’t really need special leads, but clip leads would help.
For track powered locomotives just plug the standard multi-meter probes into the Ammeter jacks, then put in series with one leg of your power supply. For battery power the meter would need to ride along and be placed in series with one battery lead. The second case is a good application for that $5 Harbor Freight meter so when it gets tangled up on something and dragged along the track you won’t be crying (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)
I was in Sears a few days ago and they have a pretty decent looking DMM on sale for $20. It’s no Fluke, but I’m sure it will do the job so long as super accuracy / durability s not required.
I have owned and used the same Fluke since 1992.
Santa brought me a new Craftsman multi meter. He figured the last one lasted me over 15 years so if I can get the same life from this one it is a good deal for the money.
The Fluke was a bit more than Santa could afford.
Thanks all
After the bad leads on 2 x popular meters I listed above I bought a $10 jobby post paid from China. Does what I want and the leads are better quality.
I had been using an auto ranging Sanwa for over 20 years. Bought it for around US$20 when I was once in Hong Kong way before the Chinese got it back. HK that is -
i noticed, that multimeters, like other electric tools, i own, are seldom used. and when i want to use them, normally the battery has leaked.
so, on the last multimeter, i bought about ten years ago, i made some minor surgery. i drew the battery cables to the outside, and fixed the battery with tape to the outside too.
now its just a flick with a finger, to separate the battery from the meter. and no more ruined electronics.
Now I’m the guy that needs a new one 
Was trying to fix the bad buzzer contacts on my 25 year old RS meter and loosened the display in error. While trying to put the tiny screws back in I fumbled it and tore the mylar ribbon cable from the board. No way to fix it so I salvaged two fuses, two knobs and the fresh batteries - the rest went in the trash.
I’'m looking in the under $50 range; mostly on Amazon because I have Prime. There are so many choices it’s hard to decide, 90% of my use is continuity and voltage and I don’t need super accuracy. I really liked my old two-knob manual ranging meter. It seems they don’t make them like that anymore. The $16 meter gets as good a review as the $35 one - I think it’s down to how it looks (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)
Mastech, Tekpower and HoldPeak are all Chinese meters in the running for my $.
I have 2 $5 harbor freight throwaways, and I have a HP (Fluke equivalent) for my accurate stuff… most measurements are for troubleshooting.
My “good” meter is true RMS, needed for DCC voltage checking, and also good on PWM outputs on decoders.
Greg
John, for continuity and voltage in the not super accurate range, the Harbor Freight 2 for $5 meters cant be beat. And if you get the flyers from Harbor freight, you might even get a coupon for half off, or a free one, when you purchase that other thing you wanted.
While the Fluke are the best, the cheap ones will do.
I use both.
The Fluke is very accurate and the cheapos are not, but for most uses on our trains the accuracy is not needed.
Some meters on the full scale readings can be off by more than 1 per cent, but on 5 volts that is only .05 volts and does not matter on our trains.
However when setting up regulated supplies I defer to the more accurate fluke.
If I could afford even a basic Fluke that would be my choice too. The HF meters are just too cheesy for me, so it will be one of the Chinese ones that have good reviews. It will probably come down to battery style. I prefer AA or AAA over 9V. If I can get the right batteries in a color I like even better. What a terrible way to choose a meter (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-yell.gif)
For now I have another basic RS Auto-Ranging meter borrowed from work. I hate it compared to my old RS one with two knobs.
Mikey likes Fluke meters too, use mine all the time! But I have to suggest the expensiver $10.00 or so inexpensive offerings will suffice for most users in every regard… Tony’s comments about test leads sounds all to familiar, I do a lot of field work so I’m pretty rough on these things. Quality has its place, good test leads are all that…
There are literally thousands of BIN listings anywhere from $1.89 to $9.99 shipped on eBay for basic throw away DMM’s of all sorts.
Just looked eBay has multiple Buy It Now’s for Fluke DMM’s NEW, Fluke DMM #101 $46.00 shipped and Fluke #115 True RMS DMM for $110.00 shipped…
Michael
