I've been using a multimeter to check for continuity on every single wire for years, but a guy at a supply house in Tacoma said he just uses a test light for 90% of calls. Am I overcomplicating things?

3 comments

3 Comments

My old boss in Seattle used to call me the "continuity king" because I'd check every pin with a meter. It took me a decade to admit a test light is faster for most live voltage checks. I still grab the meter for anything tricky, but for a simple "is it hot or not" the light gets it done.

the_holly1mo ago

Test lights can lie on modern cars with low current circuits. A meter shows you the real voltage under load.

joseph_torres1mo ago

Exactly! That low current thing is why I keep both in my bag. The light is for quick sanity checks, but the meter tells you the whole story when a circuit is acting sleepy. You really need both tools now.