Have I bought the wrong leads?

[Ingwe]

Thought I’d treat myself to a pair of better leads than the ones that came with my multimeter. The supplied leads are very short and the tips are too short sometimes for what I want to test. So ordered some silicone leads. They arrived today and unless I’m being thick (a likely possibility) I have bought the wrong leads!

The sockets on my Skytronic multimeter (pictured) accept what look like 4mm banana leads. The ones supplied fit nicely in the sockets but they seem to have a silicone cover over metal part. See the photo. This red silicone ‘core’ doesn’t seem to come off. Tested continuity with leads supplied with the meter and the meter works. With the new leads connected, zilch.

 

[pappajohn]

Looks to me like the red and black out sleeves pull off
Once they are off you'll be able to see the center pin and figure how to take the silicon off.

 

[Ingwe]

Looks to me like the red and black out sleeves pull off
Once they are off you'll be able to see the center pin and figure how to take the silicon off.

That’s what I thought too. Took quite a grip on the sleeve but they didn’t budge. Don’t want to risk breaking them.

 

[tonka]

Have you tried the red centres on each lead to see if they pull off ?
I would expect the outer red and black sleeves to be there but can't see why the centres are not metal unless they are capped off plus why are they both red ??

 

[andy63]

Not sure if I can help but when I read your post I remembered I had a bit of bother with some leads I bought a long time ago.. Basically the standard fitting is a metal tube in the socket into which slides another metal tube of the leads..
You can see from the photo that I trimmed one set that wasn't allowing the metal parts to make contact..
On the picture of the yellow meter you can see the sockets with their insulating sleves on the bottom and on the top pair the bare sockets...
At least it will allow, you to make a judgement about whether to try trimming the plastic sleeves on your new leads..
Andy

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[donkey]

I bought two pairs of these a while back. For the money they are excellent quality, actually better than the originals.

Test Clips Alligator Volt Meter Cable Digital Multimeter Lead Probes 1000 V 20A | eBay

Max current: 20A. Material: Nickel brass + insulated rubber. Size: approx.1120mm. Different color for different current range. Durable in use.

www.ebay.co.uk

Geoff

 

[autorouter]

They are touch-proof leads that ought to work just the same as the original leads. The pins will have sprung sides so that contact is made with the hollow socket of the meter. As andy63 says, you may have to trim the outer shield a bit, if the meter sockets are a bit small.

Those connectors are probably good for up to 600V, or even 1000V, and the silicone tip is to prevent inadvertent contact with fingertips.

 

[Ingwe]

As an update, I trimmed the outer shield by about 2.5cm ( I started with a smaller cut) and all works now. The extra length and flexibility of the new leads is great and much easier to use then the short, stiff leads supplied with the meter. I also now have the point extensions which allow me to take readings, for example, on my hookup plug where the original leads couldn’t reach far enough into the socket to get a measurement. A cost effective upgrade to my DMM.

 

[andy63]

For anyone buying leads for a multimeter it pays to get a set of open ended leads that will take a good number of different ends from the standard type probes to clips of different sizes.. Piercing probes, fine probes etc etc.. Used to be more commonly associated with the oscilloscope which also use the 4mm bananas type connectors..
Can make life so much simpler..
Andy

 

[TDub49]

For anyone buying leads for a multimeter it pays to get a set of open ended leads that will take a good number of different ends from the standard type probes to clips of different sizes.. Piercing probes, fine probes etc etc.. Used to be more commonly associated with the oscilloscope which also use the 4mm bananas type connectors..
Can make life so much simpler..
Andy
View attachment 709264

Some serious probing capacity there . . . .

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[andy63]

Some serious probing capacity there . . . .

It's the hands free bit that can be really useful.. And if I wasn't stone deaf the continuity buzzer would be useful as well ..
But yes the small needle probe can be handy on the connectors about an engine.. The piercing probes are sometimes controversial. With some saying its making problems for yourself..
Andy