Is My Multi Meter Messed Up?

[pn15 10+ year member]

If I touch the test leads together so that they form a cross, the internal resistance varies wildly. Is that normal?

If I touch ends the of the pointed tips of the two leads together, I get a constant reading of ~.9 (the dial is on the "200" setting).

Any thoughts?

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[mikelaubach 10+ year member]

Sometimes the length of the tip has a coating on it, and this will interfere with the readings. The tip ends are generally clear of coating and have a good connection. This depends on quality of the meter/leads.

You are set to the ohms scale, right? That is how to test the leads (and resistance in general). My fluke reads 0 ohms when touching the tips together. But as long as the reading is steady, the meter might be reading the wire resistance instead of having the meter adjusted based on the leads being in circuit. Again, it depends on the quality of the setup.