Multimeter recommendation?

[MattJ]

I'm in the final stages of chasing down all the miscellaneous items that should be in my trail-repair-and-recovery kits. I'm collecting various electrical items (#16 and #10 wire, crimp connectors and leads, etc) and wanted to know if anyone has a recommendation for a good multimeter. I'm not sure if I should just buy a cheap Chinese one from Amazon or whether there is a particular type of voltage meter that is the best choice for a vehicle with dual batteries and lots of auxiliary systems (lights, fridge, subwoofers, etc). I assume that 12v is 12v and I should just buy the cheapest one I can find, but figured I'd ask first.

[JeepAddict]

I have this one. Works great for almost every scenario. Do you have an OBDII code reader ?

[MattJ]

No - is it worth having on the trail? Maybe instead of the multimeter? Or should I have both? I've already got more gear in my repair kits than I know how to use (ball joint press is a good example), so I am trying to find a good balance of having critical equipment that can save the day on the trail and just bringing way too much stuff, especially since I usually wheel with others who have full kits of their own.

[JeepAddict]

If the Jeep starts sputtering or acting funky, having a diagnostic tool like a code reader would be invaluable in my opinion. A meter can tell you quite a few things but, will you know where to start looking? Cylinder misfire, short circuit or sensor? The other thing is, will you have what you need once the reader spits out a code? Its a balancing act.

[Kurt]

For general troubleshooting I'd suggest a basic cheapo meter with a pair of probe leads.
I carry a Harbor Freight meter. $6. No biggie if it gets lost or run over.

[Kurt]

You can get small Bluetooth ODB readers that can talk to your phone. Just the reader module you plug into the ODB port.

I usually have a conventional code reader in my tow rig, especially for longer trips. Handy to have especially when my truck threw a code as I was tooling north thru Georgia last year. Was just a dirty air filter fault.

[Marky]

For trail work, pretty much anything will do. If you only care about +12v/0v then Kurt's suggestion will work. For any other use, the HF meter blows. IIRC there's no continuity tone checker and spinning motors can cause odd results. That being said, I think that's the meter I've got in my Jeep! My good one stays safe and snug in its case at home.

[MattJ]

Thanks for all of the input, as always. I decided to go with these. I considered buying one of the more expensive bluetooth OBD devices, but I worried it would be more complicated to set up, and I am hoping I rarely need to use it (if ever). Plus, the last thing I need is another app on my phone!

[Car Jack]

A cheap like Kurt pictured would be a good choice. Harbor freight has coupons now and then to get one of these for free. I have several of those and they work fine. You're not going to be trying to track down problems where you need to know if a resistance is 16 mili ohms or 28 mili ohms. Pretty much short/open and what the voltage is.

I'll mention I'm a practicing engineer of over 30 years and have one good meter at home, mainly so I can check capacitance and inductance. For the garage or in the Jeep, a freebie is all I've ever needed, including when my wiring harness in a YJ fried itself and I had to completely rebuild it following the charred strands in the harness.