Clips

[Liteace]

I had today a old Merc SL600, its fitted with dual pumps, I wanted to clip on to the power and ground on both the pumps, in my Pico clip box was 4 clips, 2 x Large Dolphin/Gator Clips (TA005), red & black & 2 x Small Crocodile/Gator Clips (TA004) red and red, I remember the last time I used the little f****rs they pinged apart on 1st use, as I was out and in another yard I had no choice but to use them again and guess what, they pinged apart again, the little spring when flying never to be seen again, the owner of the vehicle and potential buyer was there waiting for me to give them an answer as to what was wrong with it and there's me now trying to make something so I can clip a test lead onto the fuel pump.

The crap accessories let me down AGAIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why was they made like this:

No pivot pin, Who thought that was a good idea ? maybe ok for bench testing through hole components but for automotive use, come on !



Here is my very very old Fluke croc clip that I use most days with my Fluke DMM

Its been lost found, squashed, trodden on, slammed in door latched and its still going

Scope, Fantastic. Accessories, UTTER CHEAP CRAP

[kona]

Oh ... how strong are your arms
It's horrible !
You need to buy 100 spare from China.

[Liteace]

You need to buy 100 spare from China.

I dont want to buy any shite from China, Im fed up with it, I dont mind spending the money if Im getting quality but what really really gets me mad is spending money and getting unreliable CRAP

[diko]

had the same problem as Liteace.
Pico should change that.

Diko.

[PicoChris]

I am very sorry that you have had a poor experience with the small croc clips we supply. The parts we use were selected as the smallest industry standard clip that we could find that meets the insulation requirement for the current safety standards.

We do regularly look into possible alternative accessories and will take another look at these to see if we are making the correct choice. We have introduced the new battery clips as an alternative to the older dolphin clips as we feel these are easier to use on many automotive components and I will look again at possible options for this part

Yours

Chris Lowe

[Liteace]

had the same problem as Liteace.
Pico should change that.

Diko.

They should yes, but why replace crap with more crap only to have it let you down again. I got these second hand of the bay, they cost basically nothing, used them loads with DMM and Pico and so far so good, they're not covered in cheap plastic and Ive not electrocuted myself.
Having reliable tools give you the confidence to the the job.

If anyone needs any poor quality accessories buy from China, same crap but a quarter, or less the price

[Liteace]

I went to Lidl today, I sometime have a look through their stuff, they had battery / alternator testers at 3 euro's each

I looked at them then, laughed and thought, I bet they're good for 3 euro's BUT then looked again and bought 2 just for these:

quality clips with a pivot rivet, chopped off tester opened it, looked inside, chucked it in bin, Ive now got 4 x quality clips for 6 euro's

[mabrinkhoff]

I get a chuckle out of the pic of large clamps as this thread does point out that as an automotive tech we run into situations where we need a variety of clips and probes because of the wide range of test situations we face. Sometimes Jumper Cable size clamps, sometimes a fine needle tip wire probe. I wound up with a bunch before I retired. The leads on my first Fluke meter were very similar to those in the top pic. Great for grabbing onto a 3/8 in lug but hard to cram up under dash in a tight spot. Variety will be as big of an issue as quality. Even a high quality probe will get damaged used in a situation it wasnt well suited for. And I destroyed more than I care to tell about over the years.

[Liteace]

I get a chuckle out of the pic of large clamps........................

They're not large clamps, bigger that the little Pico supplied fall apart jobbie's they'requite small clips but with wide opening jaws,