Flash-bang with Multimeter?

[LoveRocket]

I still don't see where Mikey has said that putting an ohmmeter across a live component such that enough current flows to instantly trip a (probably 32a, yes?) MCB wouldn't damage anything. If you are refering to his first reply, then that was to "can continuity testing with a multimeter damage anything?". Now the question is "can being an idiot and putting a continuity tester across a live board and tripping an MCB damage anything?", I'm sure his answer would be YES. Mikey...?

Hib, I'm trying to help you here, I don't know why you're getting so arsey and trying to pretend that you haven't been a dangerous idiot.

Now, voltage and continuity...

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Why don't u criticise all the spelling mistakes made on here simply because people couldn't be bothered correcting them.

Sometimes I do.

But spelling mistakes are not the same as deliberately, and repeatedly, writing "u" instead of "you" and "ur" instead of "your".

 

[mikhailfaradayski]

Hib,

Seriously dude, just wack the meter on ebay, call an electrician next time you think you feel like dabbling with the black art of lectrickery.

I think its safer for you.

BTW, im don't think im in disagreement with anyone here.
Maybe a safe conclusion you could take from this is 'you do not understand what you are doing or asking, so why would you understand the answers you have been given'

Its going to be a lovely weekend, why not put the meter down and try a spot of gardening? ( no power tools )

take care

 

[Hib]

continuity testing shouldn't cause an issue…
Why haven't you isolated the appliance before carrying out any tests?

There u go - Mike was completely aware that i was continuity testing with the power on and said it 'shouldn't cause an issue'

well, it was probably alien intervention, or sumthink

When informed that i certainly had the probes connected properly, Mike then thinks the idea that there could be a flash-bang incident is so odd that it would require alien intervention 'or somethink' (careful with that spelling Mike, Sheds' blood pressure will go through the roof).

Rocket on the other hand gets the same information and is so horrified that he says:

I am glad you are still alive to type this post.

Even after Rocket has given his apocalypse opinion, Mike then goes on to say:

well, if it wasn't aliens... then it must have been some spurious chance happening that you have overlooked.

Proving w/o doubt that he thinks continuity testing the oven with the power on should in no way have caused the problem

Now if ur both going to maintain that those statements don't contradict eachother then ur just being silly; at best.

And don't try to change the subject by saying that the test with the power on is useless, that's not the point here. The point is whether or not it should have caused the meltdown. Mike thinks it's a miracle that it did, Rocket thinks it would be a miracle if it didn't - the only black arts being used here are Mike and Rocket's black reasoning in claiming that they are in agreement with eachother.

If some confusion has been caused by my unfortunate introduction of the L/E power circuit fault, then say so, then lets keep the two issues seperate and clear up the oven part first.

But spelling mistakes are not the same as deliberately, and repeatedly, writing "u" instead of "you" and "ur" instead of "your".

That's why i specifically said "because people couldn't be bothered correcting them." If u make spelling mistakes and don't bother correcting them out of laziness then the mistakes are little different from deliberate.

My use of modern 'text' acronym slang is little different from ur use of acronym slang (e.g. FFS), and less offensive (i'm not saying ur obvious frustration is uncalled for, but to be consistent with urself u should probably express that frustration in a different manner).

As u've asked politely however and because i understand ur dislike of the dumbing down of the language, i will consider making more of an effort in future (after this topic is finished).

Its going to be a lovely weekend, why not put the meter down and try a spot of gardening? ( no power tools )

Ur not in any position to patronise just yet Mike. Answer the question please

 

[mikhailfaradayski]

sorry greeny4, your conclusions are warped and demostrate a lack of understanding.

Quoting out of context won't disguise that fact as the other posts are still available to read in their entirity

I don't see what you hope to gain and getting shirty/stroppy about the whole thing won't really help you.

Take care (you need to more than others here)

BTW, i don't particularly care about your grammar or spelling, but for the benefit of others here, you should try a bit harder

 

[1john]

I think the long of the short of it is that NO ONE is going to advise you to do continuity testing on anything live with a multimeter.

If you had read the instructions with the multimeter I am certain it would have stated that too.

 

[holmslaw]

Ijohn is correct!

Electricians survive by having safe working procedures beaten in to them when they are apprentices. So that testing for dead and refusal to live test become second nature, just like looking right and left before crossing a road.

Years ago I was on a site where a spark was seriously injured. He was told to check output voltage on transformer. Seems he made a mistake and connected his multimeter to the HV side and the meter blew up in his face, he died a couple of days later.

Ok an extreme example, but electrical safety should not be treated in a cavalier fashion.

When electricity bites it does so without warning and without mercy, so you've had a few little shocks, beware the next one could kill you.

 

[Hib]

Mikey, Mikey, such bold faced dishonesty i've thankfully seldom witnessed.

As you say the posts are there to be read and they prove w/o any doubt whatsoever that what I say is true

In other words can i just randomly check continuity in an appliance w/o fear of something blowing as long as i don't make any mistakes - like grabbing hold of the live for example?

The very next post…

continuity testing shouldn't cause an issue, insulation testing on the other hand...
What meter are you using?
What are you testing?
Why haven't you isolated the appliance before carrying out any tests?

Mike knew I was testing live.

And as in my immediately previous post –

Rocket on the other hand gets the same information and is so horrified that he says:

I am glad you are still alive to type this post.

Even AFTER Rocket has given his apocalypse opinion, Pinocchio then goes on to say:

well, if it wasn't aliens... then it must have been some spurious chance happening that you have overlooked.

How you can shamelessly deny those facts is very sad Pinocchio. An astonishing level of immaturity and dishonesty – hang ur head in shame.

And u Rocket –

I still don't see where Mikey has said that putting an ohmmeter across a live component such that enough current flows to instantly trip a (probably 32a, yes?) MCB wouldn't damage anything

When I informed Mike that I was continuity testing and not current testing….

Cheers Mik and BAS
the probes definitely weren't connected for the current.

well, it was probably alien intervention, or sumthink

Seriously fellas – what is ur malfunction?
Rocket, HOW does putting a continuity tester across a component cause a 32a MCB to trip?
You seem to be saying that because something tripped a 32a MCB, then of course it's going to damage the cooker. But that just begs the question - what caused the MCB to trip? Surely i shouldn't have to point that out.

I think the long of the short of it is that NO ONE is going to advise you to do continuity testing on anything live with a multimeter.

John, I never asked anyone to say that live continuity testing is OK, because as we all now know (even me) it has no advantage over dead testing. What I asked was “should it have caused the bang”. And Mike’s very, very clear answer to that question was “NO”. He never said it was a great idea, and I never said he said it was a great idea, and I never demanded that anyone say it was a great idea. All I asked was ‘regardless of the risk of working live should it have caused the meltdown’ – Mike’s answer – “NO”.

Regarding H&S – more than enough has been said about it on this thread already, no-one said it’s not important, but the job was 6 months ago and it is completely irrelevant to the questions I’m asking – so please be quiet about health and safety and concentrate on the problem.

If Mike and Rocket are willing to pursue this, that’s grand, if not then can anyone else answer the following:

I still don't see where Mikey has said that putting an ohmmeter across a live component such that enough current flows to instantly trip a (probably 32a, yes?) MCB wouldn't damage anything

Rocket please explain to me EXACTLY how continuity testing would cause an adverse effect on the cooker (Notice how at his point Rocket lives up to his name and we never here from him again).The way I see it, the cooker affects the meter, the meter has a completely insignificant effect on the cooker.

If you had a probe in the 'test for current' socket, not the 'test for voltage' but you then touched on something live, IT could rapidly go into melt down. (some current meters are unfused, which makes them more accurate, but care needs to be used) this would probably happen irrespective of the setting on the meter control.

Isn’t the ‘it’ that Mike speaks of here – the meter? Mike clearly thinks that there should have been no problem continuity testing. But even when he suggests that i was current testing he still has no explanation for the cooker damage - he is here only concerned with damage to the meter.

The question is as unanswered as ever - how did the cooker get damaged?

 

[Hib]

If you had read the instructions with the multimeter I am certain it would have stated that too.

Thank you John, i don't remember saying that i hadn't read the instructions, and there's a good reason for that.

More later

 

[Spark123]

The question is as unanswered as ever - how did the cooker get damaged?

Never use a multimeter on ohms to test on a live circuit, it can damage the circuit board in the multimeter and other items, and the reading will be pretty useless anyway.
Anther reason could be too much metal showing on the tips of the probes and you have shorted something out.
Another reason if you are moving boards about is the back of the PCB may have touched metal.

 

[Hib]

Cheers Spark,

I never put an ohmmeter across anything, some others here seem intent on using the terms 'continuity tester' and 'ohmmeter' interchangably and thereby confuse the issue - inaccurate readings are therefore not a problem as i've explained above. How can a continuity tester 'damage other items'?

Shorted something out? Highly unlikely - the tested parts of the components were very large, this was far from micro electronics - i don't think i could have shorted something out like that if i'd tried.

I never moved any boards about, everything was completely stationary - i just took the back cover off.

Thanks Spark, i appreciate ur suggestions, and of course if we can't figure out any way that the damage was caused w/o postulating some kind of short circuit caused by my error then that's ok and we'll just have to assume that something did indeed touch something it wasn't supposed w/o my knowledge.

But my main question remains - if nothing like that did happen (which is what i believe) then how could C-testing even with power on cause a problem? You say it could 'damage other items' - how?

Cheers

 

[securespark]

The only way to know exactly where the problem lies (should you wish to) is to post pictures of the tester, the site of the test and the device that tripped.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I never put an ohmmeter across anything, some others here seem intent on using the terms 'continuity tester' and 'ohmmeter' interchangably and thereby confuse the issue

FFS.

You must, really MUST spend a lot more time learning the basics, like what voltage, current and resistance are, how and where current flows in circuits, WHAT YOUR METER DOES ON EACH OF ITS SETTINGS AND HOW IT WORKS , where and under what circumstances you introduce it into electrical circuits and what characteristics the circuits will see when the meter is part of them, and so on and so forth.

 

[securespark]

aren't there some tests for which the power has to be on?

Continuity testing is not a live test.

I think part of the confusion is that you are using the term "continuity testing" which with reference to the regs means a dead test, to describe your fault-finding on a live appliance.

Are you simply testing for live voltage throughout the appliance, from one point to another?

 

[1john]

TESTING AND HEALTH AND SAFETY GO HAND IN HAND

A CONTINUITY TESTER IS AN OHMMETER - WHAT UNIT DO YOU MEASURE CONTINUITY IN ????? WHAT ARE YOU CHECKING FOR WITH A OHMMETER ?????

AS YOU SO POLITLY REQUESTED, I SHALL BE QUIET FROM NOW, I WAS TRYING TO HELP YOU THOUGH.

I DO NOT WANT ANYONE, INCLUDING YOU, TO KILL THEMSELVES OR LEAVE SOMETHING IN A LETHAL CONDITION DUE TO NEGLEGENCE AND LACK OF UNDERSTANDING COUPLED WITH IGNORANCE TO LISTENING!

IF YOUR BOILER BREAKS DOWN DO YOU WHIP THE COVERS OFF AND START POKING ABOUT, DO YOU CHECK FOR GAS LEAKS WITH A MATCH ??

STOP HARPING ON ABOUT WHAT MIKE SAID, OR WHAT YOU HAVE INTERPRETED HIM TO SAY, IT IS NOT CLEAR THAT HE TOLD YOU TO TEST 'LIVE', LIVE IS ALSO A TERM USED FOR THE LINE OR PHASE CONDUCTOR. I SUSPECT THAT IT DIDNT EVEN CROSS HIS MIND THAT YOU WERE TESTING FOR CONTINUITY WITH AN OHMMETER!