Test lights?

Can you live without them or with them?

When and where are they ok and why?

Who should use them and who should not?

And do you own one and use it?

What will a test light do a dmm won't and why?

If you were to buy a test light what type and how many differnt types would you have?

Can you make your own so called computer safe test light and how?

Will there be a time when your current test light won't work for anything you do on a car? And what will you do then?

Warrning in no way is this an ok for the younger croud to use any type of test light unless you know what your doing,if this is a new car and you have never worked on that model then pull out the dmm. Don't reach for the test light to ck for power lock wires in a car with side impact airbags like the cougar the wires are the same size and color on newer ones and you can deploy the side airbags if you trip that wrong wire. also newer cars are going to be a highter voltage and you might just fry your test light neither mac or snapon will warrent an electrical tool from sending more then 12 volts down its line in fact most of them won't warrent it after one year anyway.

TESTING ANY live circut is your responsablity and you should know what your looking for befor looking for just anything. EVEN WITH A DMM.

Electracal componets in a car can cost thousands to fix or replace and if you let the smoke out its yours to admire. Or perhaps your shops.

PS even a traind seasoned installer can fry electracal componets,been there done it. When you do 10 installs of alarms and radios in one 8 hour day your bound to screw up once in a wile,it don't nessacary need to be an elctronic mistake it can be a screw in a gas tank or brake line light wire from a screw or perhaps a hole in a gas line,or even a hole in a fuse box. I've seen it all,did not do all of them. And pannels in new cars brake like crasy there cheep and brittel and even if you use the correct tool they can brake. In a lot of the newer cars the clips are stronger then the pannel they hold in place. Trust me at some point and time your going to screw somthing up.

How long have you been installing?

There are things you can not do with a dmm that a old factioned test lamp will do. You know bulb and wire type. also a computer safe test lamp will tell you if its a neg trigger or a positive trigger.

I am not saying i don't use a dmm i do but i also use a test lamp all the time and have never had a problem with one. But i don't test things i don't know what they are with it either,i use it to make sure i have the correct wire somtimes faster then a dmm,good for cking fuses and it has a clamp on it unlike the dmm and the clamp you can not find most of the time. in fact most of the time the dmm is used for cking speakers. I have been installing for over 25 years. when i first started i used a dmm but was laughted at for it.

got used to the test lamp and got a computer safe type from mac tools after i made a few of them. None of them are computer safe even mac tools so called but it can do what i use it for.

The old type of lamp and wire type can be used to ck for current draw,you can not do that with a dmm unless you have a shunt,i don't have a shunt to use to test for current draw. They cost too dam much. I don't have an amp meter either. same thing they cost too dam much.

You can spend a lot of money on a lot of tools but when they sit in the tool box and do nothing most of the time there worthless! Theres plenty of other tools i rather have and have use for then stuff that just collects dust.

just want to raise another question out of this thread, I agree I WANT to use a DMM all the time, b/c i do not want to fry anything, but I cant test wires SOOO much quickly w/ a logic probe or test light, I can also test them more easily because i can lay on my back and test a wire with out holding or looking at the meter, thats the ONLY reason I dont use a DMM most of the time, do you guy have any attachments that work great on a DMM so I can test wires more quicky w/ it? if you do have a kickass attachment throw me a URL where I can order it. 

Thanks,

Eric