Automotive only 10 amp DC amp meters!

[Bill]

I needed to add some electrical gizmos to a vehicle I bought and I wanted to
connect these to existing "ignition on" circuits which could handle the
additional load (amperage).

Well NOTHING in a car is marked so far as watts or amps the device uses. The
wiring has no markings as to size. All you have is say a 20 amp fuse and a
bunch of electrical things connected to that circuit.

So no easy way to tell if that circuit is using 17 amps, 18 amps, 19 amps,
etc. (and would then have a few amps spare for an additional device to be
added to the circuit).

So let's go to the auto parts store and buy a DC amp meter so we can see
what these circuits are actually drawing...

Well I went to every single auto parts store and the highest amperage meters
they had were 10 amps!

The vast majority of fuses in my vehicles are above 10 amps!

So how is your typical auto repair person expected to troubleshoot and
repair electrical problems if the proper tools for the job are not readily
available? (I know how to make my own "shunt" using a resistor so that my
meter can be used to measure more amperage, but most people would not know
this.)

I guess this is why it is common for people to add things to cars and then
have trouble with fuses blowing. Then the auto repair person has a difficult
time finding/fixing the problem...

 

[Rheilly Phoull]

I needed to add some electrical gizmos to a vehicle I bought and I wanted
to connect these to existing "ignition on" circuits which could handle the
additional load (amperage).

Well NOTHING in a car is marked so far as watts or amps the device uses.
The wiring has no markings as to size. All you have is say a 20 amp fuse
and a bunch of electrical things connected to that circuit.

So no easy way to tell if that circuit is using 17 amps, 18 amps, 19 amps,
etc. (and would then have a few amps spare for an additional device to be
added to the circuit).

So let's go to the auto parts store and buy a DC amp meter so we can see
what these circuits are actually drawing...

Well I went to every single auto parts store and the highest amperage
meters they had were 10 amps!

The vast majority of fuses in my vehicles are above 10 amps!

So how is your typical auto repair person expected to troubleshoot and
repair electrical problems if the proper tools for the job are not readily
available? (I know how to make my own "shunt" using a resistor so that my
meter can be used to measure more amperage, but most people would not know
this.)

I guess this is why it is common for people to add things to cars and then
have trouble with fuses blowing. Then the auto repair person has a
difficult time finding/fixing the problem...

DREAM ON !!