Swapped out my old multimeter for a Fluke after 15 years of guessing

Used to test alarm panel voltages with a $20 meter from Home Depot and kept getting weird readings on 12v circuits. Picked up a Fluke 117 last month and found three zones that were actually running at 10.5v instead of 12v. Anybody else had issues with cheap meters throwing off your voltage checks?

2 comments

2 Comments

brianm278d ago

Three zones running at 10.5v? Man that's wild.

irishenderson7d ago

I had three continuous loops in my old place and ran them all at 10.8v for about two years before one started flickering on hot days. The thing that solved it for me was swapping to a thicker gauge wire on the longest run, just 18 gauge instead of 20. That voltage drop really adds up if your runs are over 20 feet each. Also make sure your power supply can actually handle the total wattage, not just the voltage, or you'll get that dimming at the far end.