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Amp clamp purchase, which one?

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3 years 3 months ago #45655 by Live2Fish88
Hey guys, I do a lot of car audio stuff whether it be installs of head units, amplifiers, speakers, etc and would like to buy an amp clamp. I also recently bought an autel MP408 oscilloscope so it would be a purchase used for both. For the majority of automotive/audio stuff, what amp clamp rating would i want to buy? Most of the amplifier installs i do are under 2,000 watts.

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3 years 3 months ago - 3 years 3 months ago #45674 by Andy.MacFadyen
What size are the fuses/circuit breakers the manufacturers recommend ? use that as a guide to the max current you will actually see.
Amp clamps for osccilloscope will usually work well above the rated current.
In North America look at the generic amp clamps sold byAES Wave in UK & EU look at the wide range sold under the well know Sealey brand.
Hantek clamps are cheap but quality isn't great.
Also consider a multimeters with a built in DC amp clamp it saves getting the scope out for every job. I use my Uni-T UT203 meter a lot for everything from alternators, starters, glow plugs, and heated seats down to 25ma parasitic drains,

" We're trying to plug a hole in the universe, what are you doing ?. "
(Walter Bishop Fringe TV show)



Last edit: 3 years 3 months ago by Andy.MacFadyen.

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3 years 3 months ago #45675 by Live2Fish88
The largest fuse in my vehicle is 120a. Which is actually the reason I'm looking for a clamp lol. It would be nice to see other amperage & use on a parasitic draw test as I do a few a year. I don't work in a shop anymore but do still work on vehicles. And I'm located in the US. I'll have a look at AES, I was looking at ESI.

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3 years 3 months ago #45681 by Matt T

Andy.MacFadyen wrote: Also consider a multimeters with a built in DC amp clamp it saves getting the scope out for every job. I use my Uni-T UT203 meter a lot for everything from alternators, starters, glow plugs, and heated seats down to 25ma parasitic drains,


Or just use the clamp with a regular DMM. Not as convenient as a built in but it is easier to get the display somewhere you can read it.

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3 years 3 months ago #45721 by RJMARRA
Just got the same scope for my Autel Ms906TS. I also just got an amp clamp from NAPA to go with it. BK 700-0105. www.napaonline.com/en/p/BK_7000105?keywordInput=7000105 It has banana plugs so you will either need to use a scope lead or get a bnc to banana adapter.

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