Having trouble reading ohms

[Kcfromva]

Hey guys. Hoping I can get some help on what I am doing wrong. I have 3 multimeters. 2 high $ ones from work and 1 cheap harbor freight one. I can not seem to get a steady reading out of any of them. I touch the ends together and it just jumps all over the place. I do not trust them. They read right when I check battery volts. Any help would be appreciated. Also what do you think about those cheap ohm readers that e-cig stores sell? Are they accurate? Right now I just use my provari but if I go too low it won't work. I am not a sub ohm guy but I want something I can trust for safety reasons. Thanks

 

[SoftSell]

I personally use a multimeter exclusively. I had one of those ohm readers and it's just awful. My multimeter will jump around if it's not a strong connection; don't use the points of the leads, use the sides. That's the only advice I have

 

[tobarger]

If you hold the probe ends together in Ohms what do you get?
You have to hold them together tight and steady
You should get about .3 ohm, the resistance of the meter and test leads

 

[Kcfromva]

It jumps from 4.2-70 plus and everywhere in between. I just touched it to my stainless sink side by side and it would not settle on a number.

 

[tobarger]

Try all three multimeters
Unless you can get one to read about .3 ohm steady with the probes touching
I wouldn't trust any ohm readings
Make sure your using good batteries

 

[Kcfromva]

I don't trust them. That's the problem I am having. I've been an auto mechanic for 30 years so I like to think I am not incompetent but this is frustrating me.

 

[dragoi90]

I use my vamo to read the ohm's.Its prety accurate!

 

[Kcfromva]

I have a provari but I don't want to have to unscrew both addy's just to check ohms. That seems like a lot of wear and tear.

 

[ancient puffer]

Test the resistance from one side of a penny to the other, using the points of the probes and pressing down firmly. If you can't get a good reading that way, there's definitely something wrong. Usually, when you get results like you're getting you're not holding the leads to make a steady contact. It can take a few seconds for the reading to "settle in" but then it should be steady.

 

[Kcfromva]

Test the resistance from one side of a penny to the other, using the points of the probes and pressing down firmly. If you can't get a good reading that way, there's definitely something wrong. Usually, when you get results like you're getting you're not holding the leads to make a steady contact. It can take a few seconds for the reading to "settle in" but then it should be steady.

Ok. Thanks for the tip. I used the penny tip and held it there until I found the problem. I had to move the leads around in the plug until I got it to settle out. So it was in the connection to the meter. So I adjusted the prongs and seems to be better. Thanks for the help guys. Sometimes the simple things are the ones we overlook.

 

[canoeist]

Turn the meter off & back on. Or try changing the setting (ohms) back and forth. Sometimes the cheap ones will straighten out when you do this. Mine do this sometimes. Also push the wire into the leads will help.