INNOVA 3320 Multimeter - Mechanics Review - Garbage !

Rob shares his advice on the INNOVA 3320a Multimeter

[mannymanano]

Thanks. I haven’t used mine in a good while. I turned it on and did as you did, put it on DC volts, same result. It’ll start out at low voltage and it keeps climbing; and same bad as you I don’t have it connected to anything, same as you up to 140 and higher and then it drops back down and starts all over. Now it is registration negative voltage. I think I 2:03 paid $39 at Auto Zone.

[c.rutherford]

Bought two of these in row at Auto Zone. Upon turning first one on, it read zeroes on all the voltage reading settings. Then I tested a couple 9V batteries. The first battery read the voltage, but no green light- even though it was new. OK, switched terminals. Green light, OK. Good battery.
Checked another one. Slightly lower voltage, no green light either way. OK, maybe not fully charged.
But then I checked the new battery again. No green light, no red light, no yellow light, either polarity. Ever again.
So this only worked one freaking time? WTH.
Meanwhile, now the numbers are scrolling like crazy on every setting. When I touch the leads together, they zero out. But I don't have another multimeter to test to make sure its accurate.

I went and got a 2nd 3320 at AutoZone. It did exactly the same thing. Battery lights don't light up the 2nd time, it only worked once. Numbers scrolling now wildly when turned on, zeroes out when you touch the leads together.
I like the clear colored display and the easy indicator lights, but they don't work, so what's the use? I see this 3320 being recommended as #1 for hobbyists all over the place. Why? Major disappointment imo.

[michaelelliott]

I recently purchased one of these multimeters from Auto Zone last week. It had the exact issue you displayed in your video.
I had seen this issue before with other digital multimeters (not all, just some), so to me the real questions was whether the meter was still accurate despite this issue or was this actually a sign that the unit was defective? I therefore bench-tested my meter and it was in fact accurate and working properly, despite the numbers on the screen running wild while it was not in use but "on" in one of the voltage test modes. I was so curious about this issue (especially since I had seen it on other units, but not all of them) that I called the company's tech line to ask them if my unit was defective and why it was doing this. The tech line representative advised that this issue was normal and caused by the fact that the unit has an auto-ranging feature. I did a little follow-up research and he was in fact correct--many budget multimeters with an auto-ranging feature will have screens that show crazy voltage measurements when the unit is on but not in use. This has to do with static electricity in the air and other related electrical issues, but in fact it is not an issue with your meter. Just touch the leads together and the unit will zero out. Also, note that this only happens when the unit is in a voltage reading mode. If it is in any of the other modes (continuity, Ohms, etc.), you will not have this issue. Thus, I hate to say this, but the chances are really high that your unit was not defective. Did you actually measure any current with it to confirm that it was defective? Innova really should have an insert with the device warning owners about this issue. Any normal person would immediately assume the unit was defective when they turn it on and the screen goes crazy....

[swood]

Mine worked fine also the first few times and now it is all over the place. The reading seems to still be accurate.

[glenndafrank]

I have one that I had for several years with only minimal use. It was fine until 1 day it started doing this.

[rodrossi]

Oddly enough, if you let it on for a minute it will eventually return to "0".

[youneverknow]

Mine worked fine the first few times I used it but is now reading all over the place like the video. Junk