Jim, if you want a good analog bench meter, pick up an old Simpson 260/270
or Triplett 630 in good shape off ebay.  Note that for the high ohms range
you'll need a 22.5 volt battery, probably not worth the expense.  The lower
ohms ranges use a D cell.

These meters are 20,000 ohms per volt on DC and were the industrial
repairman's standby.  There are variations, but any of them will see you
right.

Yrs,
d

On Fri, Jan 6, 2017 at 8:07 PM, Jim Felder <jim.felder@gmail.com> wrote:

> I followed Stuart's link and bought one of the compact Radio Shack meters.
> It arrived today. I really like it for its practicality. You can fold it up
> and not worry about the cords getting snagged and messed up, which is what
> happens to most I carry around in a toolbox. It's great for what it is. I
> also have Harbor Freight digital and old-school d'arsenval meters, they are
> all useful for something. If I had to pick one to keep, it would be a top
> of the line Harbor Freight digital or maybe a big 1980s Radio Shack meter,
> hard to say. Sometimes it is better to watch a meter fluctuate than to read
> a bunch of numbers.
>
> Anyway, they all know a lot more about electronics than I do.
>
> Jim
>
> On Fri, Jan 6, 2017 at 6:42 PM Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Good ole Harbor Freight!  Some for $4.99, which one do you like?
> > http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result?q=multimeter
> >
> >
> >
> > Stuart
> >
> >
> >
> > From: dbeierl@gmail.com [mailto:dbeierl@gmail.com] On Behalf Of David
> > Beierl
> > Sent: Friday, January 06, 2017 4:24 PM
> > To: Stuart MacMillan
> > Cc: vanagonlist a
> > Subject: Re: Dang driver lowbeam and front driver turnsignal
> >
> >
> >
> > Stuart, Harbor Freight has $6 (sometimes free) meters that are perfectly
> > adequate for almost all van electrical stuff (better than the RS folding
> > one  in some ways) and easier to find/use for one fifth the price.
> >
> > What you need in a van digital multimeter are:
> >
> > Banana jacks so you can use different test leads or adapters.
> >
> > Power switch that is not a pushbutton that could get turned on in your
> > toolbox.
> >
> > Manual ranges -- auto-ranging is nice, but if you can't turn it off it
> can
> > drive you nuts in some circumstances.  Much better to not have it than
> have
> > one that can't be turned off (most auto-ranging *can* be turned off).
> >
> >
> >
> > Accuracy -- the cheapest digital meter is more accurate than all but
> > extremely expensive analog meters, and accuracy is specified in terms of
> > the reading rather than the meter full scale.  It will be good enough,
> > sight unseen, until you are advanced enough to work out the ramifications
> > yourself.
> >
> >
> >
> > High impedance -- the standard input impedance for electronic voltmeters
> > is ten megohms, which is excellent.  The lowest I've seen on a digital
> > multimeter is one megohm, which is still plenty for any normal van
> > purposes. Cheap analog meters have an impedance of 2,000 ohms for every
> > volt on the scale, so a ten-volt scale would have 20,000 ohms.  Sounds
> like
> > a lot, but it will drag your oxygen sensor practically to ground.  Huge
> win
> > for digital in this case.
> >
> >
> > DC Volts -- 20, 2, 200 mV (fancier meters with more "counts" may read up
> > to 3999 or 4999 on a range instead of 1999).
> >
> >
> >
> > DC Amps -- Ten or twenty amps and a milliamp range of some sort.  Note
> > that the high-amp range on cheap meters is usually un-fused, so if you
> try
> > to read volts with the leads connected for amps you will smoke the meter
> > shunt and maybe melt the meter case.  OTOH the fuses on my fancy Fluke
> > meter cost more (each) than the entire HF meter...
> >
> >
> >
> > Ohms -- 200 ohms to at least two megohms ranges.  You won't actually use
> > these often, as you'll mostly be concerned with resistances that are too
> > small to measure accurately (or at all) by this technique.  Instead
> you'll
> > be using the 200 mV scale on live circuits to get voltage drops directly,
> > which is the number that matters in any case.  In effect you are turning
> > the van and meter together into an extremely fancy ohmmeter that can
> > measure milliohms or even microohms.
> >
> >
> >
> > Diode Test -- Like ohms, but shows voltage across a semiconductor that's
> > conducting.  Modern digital ohmmeters use too low a voltage to turn on a
> > semiconductor junction, so they have a special function that will.  It's
> > nice if this function has enough voltage to turn on blue/white LEDs --
> some
> > do, some don't.  Pretty much all of them will work with red/yellow/green
> > LEDs, and all will work with germanium or silicon diodes.
> >
> > Your $6/free HF meter does all this.  For an extra buck or two you can
> get
> > one with a light.
> >
> > Things that are nice:
> >
> >
> >
> > Continuity buzzer -- nice, but can bite you since they usually beep
> > somewhere between 50 and 150 ohms.  That's ok if you're looking at a
> > circuit with an incandescent light installed in it, but not for wires
> > connected together, switches and so forth.  But if you ever get a chance
> at
> > an old Hickok meter with ?Vari-Trak? (audio beeper that changes pitch
> with
> > the meter reading) grab it.  It's a huge pity they went out of business
> and
> > nobody has picked up this idea.
> >
> >
> >
> > Bar graph display -- digital meters typically take 2-4 readings per
> > second, and average the reading over the measuring period which will be
> > roughly one-third of the cycle time.  For rapidly changing readings (like
> > the oxygen sensor on the van) this can lead to readings that appear
> > random.  Slightly fancier meters often have a secondary bar graph display
> > that isn't precise but responds much more quickly than the main display.
> >
> > Illumination -- can be very handy.  If I had to pick between continuity
> > buzzer and light I'd probably pick the light.
> >
> >
> >
> > Display hold -- lets you make a measurement and capture the reading to
> > look at in better conditions.
> >
> >
> >
> > Min/Max -- captures the highest and lowest values of a reading.  Handy
> for
> > example when measuring voltage drop during cranking.
> >
> >
> >
> > Frequency/duty cycle -- good for PWM (pulse width modulated) signals like
> > the 2.1l Idle Control Unit output, LED dimmers and such.
> >
> > DC+AC -- digital meters on DC ranges typically ignore AC.  This function
> > gives a separate reading for any AC component of a DC signal, like ripple
> > and hash on the alternator output.  Probably only on quite fancy meters.
> >
> > Type K thermocouple input for temperature.  Even nicer if you can switch
> > the reading for F or C.
> >
> >
> >
> > Auto-timeout on light and meter power -- can save your battery.  Can also
> > be a nuisance, so even nicer if you can shut if off.
> >
> >
> >
> > Yours,
> >
> > David
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Sun, Jan 1, 2017 at 11:19 PM, Stuart MacMillan <stuartmacm@gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > No, you are not being obnoxious, basic electrical troubleshooting
> requires
> > one.  At least get of one these, I give them away to my friends and
> family:
> > https://www.radioshack.com/products/radioshack-22-range-
> pocket-digital-multimeter
> > I now have a Fluke meter, but I still have the Radio Shack pocket VM I
> > bought at least 30 years ago in my Vanagon on-board toolkit.
> >
> > Stuart
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
> > Of Dennis Haynes
> > Sent: Sunday, January 01, 2017 7:43 PM
> > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > Subject: Re: Dang driver lowbeam and front driver turnsignal
> >
> > I’ll ask for forgiveness in advance for sounding obnoxious. Besides
> > changing parts did you consider using a meter? Each headlight high and
> low
> > bam does have its own fuse, yes 4 fuses for the lights. They are after
> the
> > switches in the headlight circuit. The turn signal sounds like a bad
> > ground, probably at the socket itself.  The 4 way flasher is not an
> > independent circuit. The flasher will not flash unless it sees enough
> > current being drawn for two bulbs. High resistance in the working or a
> bad
> > bulb will prevent the flasher from working.  This acts as an indicator
> of a
> > turn signal being out. The 4 ways connect 4 lamps so if one or two were
> out
> > it will still flash. Headlight grounds are also a common problem. There
> are
> > grounding clusters above the fuse box. It is common for the quick slide
> > connecters to both corrode and also break just from heat and age. As the
> > headlights are higher current items new ground connections near the
> > headlamps are a good idea.
> >
> > Dennis
> >
> >
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
> > Of C B
> > Sent: Sunday, January 1, 2017 7:48 PM
> > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> > Subject: Dang driver lowbeam and front driver turnsignal
> >
> > My driver lowbeam won't work at all.
> > What didn't help:
> > Swapped bulbs.
> > Replaced turnsignal ring & stalk.
> > Replaced dash headlight switch.
> > Traced wires and pulled apart the fuse block and driver's side wiring
> > stars connectors. (Should I try the passenger side one?)
> >
> > In addition, the driver front turnsignal stays on and won't flash whether
> > just parking  lamps, or either headlight combination is on.
> > BUT the driver front flasher works in emergency 4-way flasher mode
> > regardless of parking light/headlight configuration.
> > I know the 4-way flasher is its own circuit, so where in the
> > parking/headlight circuits are likely culprits?
> >
> > Other than that, Cunegonde finally home and ready for visual restoration.
> > It's been a long several years since the engine debacle.
> >
> >
> > CUNEGONDE  1985.5 2,1l WBX 4sp Westfalia
> >
> >
> >
>