MM vs Test Light

the circuitry of a MM acts as a filter, which prevents blowing things up....

the problem with test lights, even the "computer safe" test lights, is that they illuminate with anywhere from 2 volts to 18 volts..... i've been burned in the past from assuming i had a good connection/circuit because a test light lit up, only to go back to that same circuit after 20 minutes of further troubleshooting and meter it properly with a meter and find out i only have 4 or 6 volts, where i should have had 12 or 14 volts....... this whole industry is about remembering the lessons we learn along the way.... for the past 10-15 years all i use for circuit testing is a good quality digital MM ( analogue when checking for shorted speaker wires )

Kgerry ,what about the powerlogic II probe, is that a safe probe to use ? I've accidentallly used it when trouble shooting an RS and probe the tach wire by accident and nothing happened. I would never use a powerlogic to find a tach wire. I would use a DMM to find  tach . I've used that snap-on  hummingbird, mac , those all leak ground. I've found the that the powerlogic II probe makes my job alot easier. But I'm still very cautious when using it, when in doubt I still rely on my DMM. I think that with common sense you can use test light & logic probe. But I was wondering what are your opinions on the powerlogic II probe? thanks

no real reason per se, just habit... when you see the needle start to climb you know you have continuity to ground ( where you shouldnt )... i bought a couple of good analogue meters when i opened in the late seventies, early eighties and they still work fine so thats what i use.... it's actually quicker for testing than waiting for a DMM to auto-range....