Tried a cheap multimeter vs a Fluke on a fridge compressor call last week

I had a no-cool call on a Whirlpool fridge last Tuesday. Used my $20 meter from Harbor Freight and got weird resistance readings on the compressor. Borrowed a Fluke 117 from a buddy and the readings were totally different. Turned out the cheap meter was giving false OL readings on a good winding. Swapped the relay and the fridge fired right up. Anyone else had a cheap tool steer you wrong on a diagnosis?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_rowan5d ago

Oh man, I've been burned the exact same way... picked up a cheap meter off Amazon to save a few bucks and it almost cost me a whole weekend on a dryer that wasn't heating. Thought the thermal fuse was blown, kept getting weird continuity readings that contradicted my gut feeling. Swapped it out anyway and nothing changed. Finally borrowed a friends Fluke and the cheap meter was showing false continuity on a totally open fuse. That was the moment I learned you just can't trust those cheap meters for anything serious... they'll straight up lie to you and waste your time. I still keep one around for quick voltage checks but for any real diagnostic work I'll never go back to the cheap stuff. The false OL readings you got on a good compressor winding is exactly the kind of nonsense that'll make you chase ghosts for hours.

verab285d ago

Oh come on, you're definitely exaggerating here. I've been using a $20 Cen-Tech meter from Harbor Freight for years now and it's never once given me a false reading when I double checked it against something else. Those expensive Flukes are nice and all but most folks don't need that kind of precision for basic appliance stuff around the house.