Watch out for fake terminal blocks on cheap testers

Had a customer bring in a multi meter that read 50mV off on every setting. Pulled the block and the brass inserts were aluminum with a brass coating. Check your tools if you bought them off Amazon in the last 6 months. Anyone else run into this?

2 comments

2 Comments

janaf911mo ago

Why would a cheap tester being off by 50mV even matter for most people's use? If you're not doing lab work or calibrating expensive gear, a few millivolts is basically nothing. Aluminum with brass coating still gets the job done for everyday checks like car batteries or household outlets.

charliep791mo ago

Gets the job done" is exactly right. If you're just checking if a car battery is dead or an outlet has power, 50mV is basically a rounding error.